How to repair your gallbladder

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Many people are not aware they have a gallbladder until they experience pain, a doctor tells them that they have gallstones or, worse, that they need to have their gallbladder removed. There are natural options available to help nourish and repair the gallbladder that has worked for many people. Here is some information to get you educated on your gallbladder.

To start the healing process, it is important to dig deep. Several sources point out that every organ in the body has an emotion related to it. In one powerful book, “Feelings Buried Alive, Never Die,” author Karol Kahn Truman points out the liver represents anger, the kidney is fear, the stomach is from worry, and the gallbladder is bitterness. Are you bitter about something in your life? It may be showing up as a gallbladder issue.

To address gallbladder issues at the core, it is important to address any bitterness you may be holding onto consciously or your body is holding onto unconsciously. Being aware of the bitterness you or your body is experiencing is the first step in letting go of it. Truman’s book is one way to get assistance in this area.

Once you address the emotional piece, here are some additional suggestions for improving the health of your gallbladder.

The Organ

The gallbladder is a small sack that serves as a reservoir for the bile secreted by the liver. It lies on the liver’s inferior surface on the right side of your body and joins the common bile duct via the cystic duct.

Because fats form large globules, they must be broken down into smaller particles to increase digestion’s surface area. This is the function of bile. Fats in the chyme (partially digested food) containing lipids or fats enter the duodenum. It initiates a mechanism that contracts the gallbladder and forces bile into the small intestines, stimulating the secretion of the hormone cholecystokinin (ko-le-sis-toe-KYE-nin) or CCK from the intestinal mucosa of the duodenum. This hormone then activates the gallbladder’s contraction, and bile flows into the duodenum.

Between meals, the bile moves up the cystic duct into the gallbladder. Gallstones are a common problem when this process isn’t working properly.

If you want to read more about how your gallbladder works, I recommend another book called “Your Health, Your Choice” by Dr. M. Ted Morter, JR., M.A. He explains gallbladder information, in an easy language, on pages 69–75, including how the pH plays an important role, how sodium is a major factor and cholesterol’s role. Anybody thinking about gallbladder removal surgery should read this book first. This is just one point of view. There are other diet options, as well.

Anyone who has gallbladder issues or had their gallbladder removed should be diligent about improving their diet. Eating more bitter foods helps your body process bitter emotions, amazing how food and emotions are intertwined. If you eat a lot of sugar, this prevents the bitterness process and starts to create an imbalance leading to issues.

Removing an organ doesn’t improve health. It may reduce symptoms, but it doesn’t typically cure the underlying cause that brought about the symptoms. People who must have their gallbladder removed have overall digestion issues making them sick. Unless they change the conditions that brought about the problem, they will remain sick after the gallbladder and pain are gone, causing additional symptoms that will crop up elsewhere. Gallbladder disease is a symptom of overall physiological distress. The problem is the person’s health, not whether or not they have a gallbladder.

Fats And The Gallbladder

The average American diet is heavily concentrated in bad fats and oils. Most people consume too many of the wrong oils in the wrong forms.

All fats aren’t bad. We need a certain amount to maintain health. Without them, we can’t absorb the fat-soluble vitamins A, E, D and K, and form healthy skin, hair capillaries, and cell membranes. But, fats are not all alike. Some fats are better for us than others. How fats are digested and assimilated determines their effect on our health.

After consuming fats and oils, the body breaks them down into fatty acids and glycogen through digestion, which occurs in the small intestines and is aided by fat-digesting enzymes secreted from the pancreas. The gallbladder also secretes bile for emulsifying (making water-soluble) the fats. Bile acts just like dish soap, making the grease mix with the water in the body.

Both glycogen and fatty acids are absorbed and used by the body. They may be burned as fuel or recombined into body fats for insulation, food storage, tissue growth, and repair.

Toxic fats

Oxidized fats contain harmful free radicals, which contribute to aging, heart disease, and cancer. Therefore, it is important to keep oils fresh. Purchase them in small amounts and minimize their exposure to light and air. Ideally, they should be stored in glass jars in the refrigerator. Oils kept this way will last 4–6 months after they have been opened. I pour olive oil into a glass container with a lid that I keep in the refrigerator so it is easy to scoop out with a spoon for cooking.

Oil Extraction

Oils are typically created mechanically once the nut or seed has been cooked. Expeller-pressed oils are the least refined, cleanest, and healthiest. The expeller method can create heat of around 300 degrees F. The term “cold-pressed” is often applied to oils, which have been expressed at temperatures between 140–160 degrees F. so as not to damage the oil by heating further.

Unless the label says the oil is “unrefined,” most expellers pressed seeds to undergo a further chemical extraction. A highly volatile, flammable, and toxic petroleum derivative called hexane is poured into the seed meal, dissolving and extracting the remaining oil. The oil is then heated to evaporate the hexane. However, some of the solvent residues may remain. The oil is then bleached, de-gummed, alkali washed, and deodorized.

The oil may be further processed by hydrogenation. This process turns unsaturated fats into saturated ones by passing bubbles of hydrogen gas through the oils, causing them to remains solid at room temperature, i.e., shortening and margarine. The process makes the oil less subject to oxidation (turning rancid), but it also reduces the availability of the essential fatty acids required for optimum nutrition.

Newly created fatty acids may interfere with the body’s fat metabolism, disrupting normal heart function, enhancing fatty deposits, and producing other harmful effects. Products advertising “no cholesterol” can be very misleading. Just because an oil product does not contain cholesterol does not mean it is healthier for you. If it is highly processed, it is really not that healthy because the body has a hard time digesting it. That is why it is imperative to read labels carefully.

One of the healthiest oils is virgin olive oil because it is high in monounsaturated fats. It also has a high vitamin E content, helping preserve it. It is the only oil that is truly cold-pressed and unrefined. Some studies suggest that raw olive oil may actually help lower blood fat and cholesterol levels. Many people use olive oil to help clear the gallbladder of gallstones.

Butter is another fat to consider. It is highly maligned because it contains cholesterol and is about 62% saturated fat. However, butter is a natural fat made without heating. It contains significant amounts of vitamin A and some minerals. That is why many of us have long felt that natural butter is much healthier than the artificially saturated (hydrogenated), colored, preserved, and artificially flavored margarine. Recent research is starting to bear out that natural butter is much healthier for us than margarine.

Flushing Out The Gall Bladder

I mentioned that olive oil is used for flushing out the gall bladder. Generally, people trying to flush out their gall bladder will fast for 24 to 48 hours on fresh, raw apple juice (or some other raw fruit or vegetable juice) to clear their digestive system.

Sometimes it is advisable to take an herbal laxative before to ensure that your bowels are empty, especially if you are prone to constipation. Liver formulas may also help here. One might also wish to take Hydrangea (a stone solvent) as well. These steps are not all required, but they do help prepare the body for the flush.

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Gallbladder Flush

Before going to bed, at the close of the fast, drink ½ cup of cold-pressed virgin olive oil and ½ cup lemon juice. Mix these thoroughly like you would shake up a salad dressing. The lemon juice cuts the olive oil and makes it more palatable. It sounds and smells worse than it tastes. Drink it down. Next, lie on your right side for one-half hour before going to sleep. In the morning, if you don’t have a bowel movement, you can try an enema. Generally, you will pass some dark black or green objects, which look like shriveled up peas.

There are several versions of this procedure, but they all rely on olive oil. This is because the olive oil acts as a solvent of cholesterol, the chief constituent of gallstones.

Fried Foods

One of the biggest favors you will ever do for your gallbladder is to quit eating fried foods.

Every time you heat oils, especially toxic oils, such as most vegetable oils, particularly soy or canola, you create free radicals, contributing to cancer, heart disease, and aging. The more the oil is heated, the more of these hazardous substances develop. Fast food restaurants often deodorize, filter, and reuse the same oil for days or even weeks. So, if you never go to another fast food restaurant in your life, you will be doing yourself a huge favor.

Sometimes staying away from fast foods is tough because we crave their products. Many health experts believe that if you have a constant craving for fats, you may have difficulty digesting them. In fact, any food we crave excessively probably contains nutrients we need but are not digesting properly. Many of my customers find that when they do a gall bladder cleanse, they no longer crave fatty foods.

If you no longer have a gallbladder, it is recommended to take enzymes and/or beneficial herbs to support your liver that is now doing the gallbladders job, else you may end up with additional digestive issues down the road.

In Summary

There are herbs can assist with the gallbladder, ginger and other bitter herbs are often beneficial. It is best to talk with your herbalist to find the herbs suited to your body.

We all feel bitter at times; however, how we process our emotions determines our well-being!

Look past the symptoms and to the cause. Examine your feelings and their relationship to your health. Then take care of your body on a spiritual and physical level. Now is the perfect time to let go of your bitterness and find the forgiveness and joy you deserve for loving yourself and the loved ones around you.

About the Author

Kasara is educated as a Mental Health Therapist, Master Herbalist, Traditional Naturopath and Energy Worker with over 35 years of helping thousands of clients find alternative health options that work. She writes articles on Medium, and on her website http://truhealth.com. You may subscribe to her Medium account or her newsletter to stay connected.