Keep your Organs — Tips for Digesting Well

Are you one in 20 million?

- by Terry S. Mast, MNT at your Nutrition Ally 

An estimated 20+ million people in the US suffer with gallbladder issues. Every year another 1 million are added, about 300,000 of whom face surgical removal (in a procedure called a cholecystectomy), often after they develop painful gallstones.

The gallbladder stores the bile made by the liver and releases it in appropriate amounts to help break apart fat molecules after a meal. Bile is made of bile pigments, cholesterol, and mineral salts. Knowing this, is an “ectomy” a big deal? 

Many people get relief from their worst symptoms or maintain with medication. From a holistic wellness perspective, however, prescriptions often bring with them new and potentially disruptive side effects. In any case, removal of the organ will require new adjustments, since the job the gallbladder was meant to do in the body is no longer being done. (“…Small risk of diarrhea and fat malabsorption” anyone?)

Prevention of inflammation, in the gallbladder and throughout the body, is key to any functional nutrition strategy. A healthy lifestyle can reduce our risks significantly. Major risks for developing gallstones include obesity, high blood sugar, and the use of oral contraceptives. When we habitually eat damaging fats and fried foods, the risk rises. (Remember, there ARE healthy fats that we need!) A high number of processed foods and refined grains also contribute by breaking down quickly into glucose, which creates inflammation, which then raises cholesterol and triglycerides. Incredibly, “yo-yo” dieting -- a repeat pattern of significant loss and gaining back of pounds -- raises the risk of stones up to 68% (Linda Page, ND).

Nobody wants to feel miserable or have horrible pain flare-ups. As your Nutrition Ally, my goal is to advocate for your organs – by helping you to do what you can to keep them and care for them, so they can perform the jobs they were designed to do. Eat many, many fresh vegetables, fruits, and herbs such as mint, to steadily move cholesterol through your system and keep it from collecting, and make a priority to get plenty of whole-food Vitamin C, which helps to break down cholesterol .

Without the gallbladder, new forms of digestive support will need to be use for the remainder of life. Nutrition therapy offers strategies that help to ease ongoing discomfort.

 First published March 2023, in “Highlights”, an online newsletter of Blue Skies Massage & Wellness in Longmont, Colorado. © Terry S Mast, your Nutrition Ally, LLC