What function does it serve?
The gallbladder is a super nifty organ, endowed to us meat eating, fat using mammals by evolution. It is not the ‘unnecessary’ organ it is deemed to be by those who would remove it when it becomes blocked with gallstones before trying anything else. The gallbladder stores biles that is produced by our liver to be excreted when we need to digest fats. This is an important function. As anyone would know who ever feels sluggish after too big of a meal or having eaten the wrong things. When your digestion is not working optimally you can experience, cramps, bloating, gas, or other similar symptoms. You want your digestive system working at its best and most optimal capacity to properly break down food.
Proper digestion also means you are extracting all the nutrients you need from food. Nutrients that are the building blocks of our cells and support all of our functions.
Hmmmm…. too late, its gone.
That’s okay! You can still absolutely thrive, it just takes a bit of investing, planning and being mindful. Some important things to note are:
- Your digestive system will never again work at optimal capacity. So be kind and go easy on it.
- Big meals, fatty meals and fibrous foods will be tougher to digest.
- Fat soluble nutrients such as omega 3’s , vitamins A, D, K & E will no longer be absorbed so easily and these are critical to health, longevity and having energy.
Avoid the worst of it by:
- Eat small meals (300-400 calories).
- Avoid eating more than 10g fat per meal (1 tbsp peanut butter, or 1/2 avocado contain about 10g).
- Eat slowly, without distractions.
- Track the things that seem to upset your stomach, reflect and adjust your diet accordingly.
So what should you do?
- Take a supplement to get your omega 3s, vitamin D. A, K & E should be stored in sufficient quantities but check if it becomes a concern.
- Take a supplements to help you digest foods such as ox bile or digestive enzymes that contain lipase.
- Eat bitter and sour foods to aid digestion such as lemons, herbs, rocket.
But why did I get gallstones in the first place?
- Your liver may not be working very well and if so, it needs support and cleansing. You can do this by taking a good quality liver (sometimes called hepatic) detox supplement.
- Genetics, prescription medicine and other factors can play a strong role in the formation of the cholesterol pigments that form into gallbladder stones. Regardless of cause, it is still a sign somethings is going wrong upstream and showing your body compassion and understanding by supporting the system over treating the symptom will improve general health quality.
Healthy fats and recommended serves
1 tbsp nut butter: 8g
1/2 avocado: 10g
1 tsp olive oil: 5g
2 eggs: 10g
85g salmon: 11g
Keep in mind that you want to keep it to 10-15g per meal/ so having all the above together would not be ideal. Choosing one and paring with delicious carbs and protein is the way to go.
To the left demonstrates a balanced and nutritious day’s food intake that will leave you feeling energised and nourished whether you have a gallbladder or not.
If you would like an experienced nutritionist on your team to help you craft a diet that will see you thrive reach out! I would love to work with you.
- Further reading and resources:
- Bosisio, E., & Galli, G. (1985). Liver, nutrition, and bile acids (E. (Enrica) Bosisio & G. Galli, Eds.; 1st ed. 1985.). Plenum Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-9427-7
- https://www.sciencecare.com/blog/gallbladder-health-importance#:~:text=While%20the%20gallbladder%20may%20be,when%20fatty%20foods%20are%20consumed.
- Wang, D. Q.-H., & Portincasa, P. (2017). Gallstones : recent advances in epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis and management (D. Q.-H. Wang & P. Portincasa, Eds.). Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated.
- Way, L. W. (1990). Changing Therapy for Gallstone Disease. The New England Journal of Medicine, 323(18), 1273–1274. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199011013231810
- Image of gallbladder courtesy of https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/21690-gallbladder
SaeYond Health 