Is there a connection between the gallbladder, high cholesterol and the heart? There is! And it is a strong one.
It is a well-known fact that the liver and the gallbladder regulate blood cholesterol level.
The link between the gallbladder and the heart can be traced to a substance produced by the liver and stored in the gallbladder. This substance is called the bile.
You may have never heard of bile before, yet this substance has major of influence over digestion, immunity, and cardiovascular health. If you ever thought about
you need to optimize your bile. Unfortunately many people are bile deficient.
Light poop means low bile
Bile is made in the liver. It is collected between meals in the gall bladder and released during a fatty meal. It is the substance that gives the poop a brown color.
Darker poop means there the more bile inside. In other words the poop color tells how much bile is released by the gallbladder. It is sort of like a quick diagnostic technique. Look into a toilet. How’s does your poop look like?
Your poop should be dark, not yellow or pale. If it is on a yellow of pale side, you may suspect bile deficiency. Bile deficiency is not something you want, because it causes other problems, such as high cholesterol.
A side note for constipated folks. Constipated poop is always darker and does not indicate good bile flow. Constipated poop stays longer in the intestines and has a much more time to be saturated. The poop is darker not because of good bile output, but because of extra time in the intestines.
Bile removes cholesterol and does other things
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Bile removes cholesterol
Bile is made of cholesterol. The more bile is made the more cholesterol is taken out of circulation. Low bile production means that there is very little cholesterol removed. So, if you have cholesterol problem an intelligent thing to do is to ensure better bile production.
Bile regulates bowels
Bile decides on intestinal health and frequency of bowel movements. For example, its lack leads to diarrhea after fatty meals. Bile is needed to break down fat in the intestines. Without it grease is not broken down and not absorbed. Fat stays in the intestines and causes fatty stools. These are slippery and are hard to control. Diarrhea after fatty meals suggests bile deficiency.
But constipation does not mean the opposite. Constipation does not have be the result of too much bile. Strangely, constipation can also result from bile insufficiency. Bile homogenizes matter and makes stools softer. They are easy to pass that way.
If constipation is accompanied by bloating, indigestion, fullness, and a litany of other symptoms of digestive incapacity consider that low bile may be the underlying cause. Did you know that lack of bile is one of the causes behind microbial overgrowth of the intestines including Candida?
Bile cleans lymphatics
Lymphatic system is a home for your immune system. You need strong lymphatics to fight infections, calm down inflammation, and prevent cancers.
Bile is a frequently forgotten, yet tremendously important factor that cleanses lymphatic system. Lymphatic fluid is filtered by the liver. Filtered debris end up in the gallbladder as part of the bile. Frequent infections and bloating may be tied together if poor lymphatic flow is a common denominator. If this is the case liver health needs to be improved.
Symptoms of bile deficiency or bile flow problems
- Low or high cholesterol in blood. Bile removes cholesterol. When deficient expect increase in cholesterol numbers.
- Indigestion, irregular bowel movement, bloating, bitter taste in mouth, light colored stools, or Candida symptoms.
- Vitamin deficiency especially vitamin D. Vitamin D is fat soluble, and without bile, which breaks down fat, you cannot absorb this vitamin. Suspect long term insufficiency if you have osteoporosis.
- Presence of gallstones. They are nothing else, but the end result of super-concentrated bile, which never made it to the intestines.
- Skin or vaginal itching: bile that did not descend to the gallbladder will irritate skin
- Environmental sensitivities. Liver detoxifies chemicals. These end up in the bile. Insufficient bile results in insufficient detoxification and over-sensitivity to the environment.
- Thick blood and excessive clotting. Vitamin E is a natural blood thinner. Vitamin E requires bile for absorption.
Common causes of low bile:
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- Lack of nutrients necessary for bile production;
- Lack of specific dietary fibres, which are necessary for its removal;
- Liver inflammation; inflammation can cause ducts to swell up and block bile flow.
- Food allergies. ducts can swell and cut off the flow of the lymphatics if allergenic foods are eaten. These are usually hidden allergies that can only be revealed via specialized tests.
- Sugary diet. Bile becomes thicker sludgier after only a few weeks of high refined carbohydrate diet. So, the more sugar and white flour in the diet the more chances for gall stones and sluggish lymphatics. And this means poorer digestive flow.
Bile and a healthy gallbladder is extremely important for overall health. It is very easy to remove an ailing gallbladder, but this body mutilation does nothing to improve bile flow. To the contrary, it makes bile flow even more irregular.
Unfortunately, standard medicine sees gallbladder as a useless organ. Gallbladder health restoration is an unknown concept among medical doctors. If you are scheduled for surgery make sure that this is for absolutely the only option you have. Contact a knowledgeable alternative health care provider that would be able to advise you. To know how to reduce cholesterol without killing yourself please read my new book “The Cholesterol Trap!”
Below are common dietary mistakes to watch out for
- Is juicing truly healthy or is it just another fad
- Are there any almonds in almond milk
- Alkaline diet – a bunk?
- Are all salads healthy?
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Will it make the colour of the stretch mark go away?
Red and purple stretch marks disappear after inflammation is calmed down. I had a case of 19-year old boy with terrible stretch marks on the back and 50% fading was noticeable within 3-4 weeks. I will try to work an algorithm on this one as many people are asking.
I have had my gallbladder removed almost a year ago and just did some blood work that revealed an increase in bad cholesterol levels. I’m stuck as what foods I can eat to encourage enough fat to aid in ADEK vitamin absorption and decrease cholesterol levels. I do take Bioplus to help with digestion.
Look up “choloretics”. These are foods that encourage bile production. In case of lack of bile, bile acids in a form of a supplement would really help.
I have high cholesterol.I am a vegetarian that has two huge gallstones and lots of sludge in my gallbladder. I am extremely low of vitamin D. Any suggestions?
Yes, as always, can you tell why you have either? Is it your diet, lack of exercise, inflammation or other? Your condition cannot change unless you know what causes it and in order to know what causes it you have to understand what you are doing wrong. If you are overweight, start with that. If you are not moving, make a schedule. And regardless of where you health is… stop frying and ditch vegetable oils.
Hello Dr. Dorothy, I was just tested with high cholesterol of 294 mg/dl, LDL 212 mg/dl, HD 63 mg/dl, & trigycerides 94 mg/dl. Calculated non HDL 231 mg/dL CHOL/HD 4.7 mg/dL. This is the most I have ever been, and I have been using real butter rather than any yogurt spread and using 2% milk rather than unsweetened almond milk. I’ve also been eating as a please with red meat so that can be stopped. I just bought Nutrim a Beta Glucan powder to add to my food and have tried red yeast rice but was allergic to it. Wouldn’t I be allergic if I went on the statin as the doctor is thinking? She thinks it is hereditary, but I have read that is rare. I’ve read they are all made of red yeast rice. I am good to read & do the Paleo diet and TLC diet as much as I can which gives many good foods so I should not be bored with them. I was told 6 weeks to get it lowered but have already spent a week looking things up. How long do you think I should give these things to lower my cholesterol and do you think added bile would help? I know bile transfers the cholesterol out but would you want to increase your own or supplement, would it be the same thing?
I like what u r saying. IN my case u r right on. Where are u. Can I make an appointment? I have been saying these things to doctors for years and they don’t listen. Just want me on pills + more. I love ur site.
Thanks for your support. Glad to help.
Many people are looking to lower cholesterol without understanding why their numbers increased. Your numbers don’t look hereditary, because in the case of hereditary cholesterol both LDL and HDL are high. Your numbers are definitely lifestyle induced. How do I know? Because your TG are through the roof. What is high TG associated with? High carb diet, fatty liver and obesity. How about instead of red yeast you start with lifting weights, run a bit, add heaps of fibrous vegetables, and lower carbs. How fast to see results? That depending how long you have been carrying high TG. If long it may be 2 months to see the change. If high TG are recent you will see the change in about 2-3 weeks. Good luck, but really…. red yeast is a good money maker. It lowers cholesterol, but does not add to health.
Dorothy Adamiak,
I also have problems with my gallbladder and I just had my cholesterol checked. My cholesterol was also high. Ldl is 127,Hdl 90,TG 50. The notes also stated that one liver enzyme (ALT) was also elevated. They told me to cut down on alcohol consumption and any meds. I don’t drink or very seldom take any meds. I also workout on a regular basis and eat fairly healthy. I have lots of abdominal discomfort. Had many tests done and the only thing they found was sludge and gallstones. Do you think I should have my gallbladder removed? Please help!!
Hi Mina,
Gallbladder removal only prevents further discomfort from gallbladder flair ups. It does not prevent cholesterol from going up, neither from the body producing the sludge. Neither it will make you any healthier. It will just prevent gallbladder inflammation, which is the end effect of excessive bile thickness. Is bile thickness some kind of a genetic or random event? Of course not! It is again, lifestyle related.
To permanently improve gallbladder health there are a few things you need to change:
1. Thin the bile: look into herbal choloretics and cholagogues as well as non-herbal supplements that do that
2. Open the bile passages: look into smooth muscle relaxants such as peppermint tea
3. Facilitate removal excess bile from the body: focus on bowel regulation and soluble fibre
Also find out which foods spasms your gallbladder and its outflow. Eggs, onion, milk, chicken, beef are well known for that, but it’s better you find your own. Hopefully this provide enough direction for you to decide which course you are going to take. Take a smart road.
This is good info. Background info really but i need some more distinctive foreground info.. the info that helps me move forwards i guess. Im scheduled for gallbladder surg and i pushed it off several times bc “I” BELIEVE theres a reason the gallbladder is malfunctioning. And all this makes sense. But where do i go from here. Just lower my cholesterol by eating healthy? Will that make my gallbladder contract and empty finally? Of not what causes it to contract and empty? Will it stop the development of stones? If not what will?
It looks like cck triggers gallbladder contractions and lipids and proteins trigger cck.. (and from what i found lipoproteins are cholesterol levels) so… lower cholesterol lower lipoproteins?? Or higher? And higher lipoproteins means more cck?, or less? Its all got my head swirling. Can you map it out for me a bit better? Id really like to get better and prove to docs this can be done and gallbladder health can improve not just decrease. Please help i would really like to not have an organ taken from me when i believe so strongly that there is a reason and a solution to all this.
There are two steps to follow:
1. Find your food triggers. Typically gallbladder reacts 1-3 hours after ingestion of these 5 foods: eggs, milk, onion, chicken, beef. Test them first. After that test other fatty foods like nuts or oils. Whatever causes discomfort, eliminate till you dissolve the stones. PS. The discomfort may not be due to the stones or gravel at all, but due to swelling of the cystic duct. When interstitium in the gallbladder duct swells it can completely shut down any bile outflow. Interstitium is part of the lymphatic system. You can reduce the water burden of the lymphatic system by going low carb. However, avoiding processed food is much better. Processed foods are very difficult to clear by the lymphatic system. Their residue lingers and causes low-grade inflammation. You may be ecstatic to know that I am about to publish a cookbook that is liver and lymphatic system friendly. Magnesium supplement may be also helpful to prevent duct from spasming.
2. Dissolve any gravel or stones. My favorite supplement for that is Chanca Piedra https://amzn.to/2nMxXXj That may take you a few months, so be patient. However, if you know your triggers this can go smoothly.
PS. If you lowered your cholesterol by avoiding animal foods/fats and upping grains and legumes this was a wrong road (that’s why it does not make sense). Grains and legumes are not healthy. They carry a very high burden of pesticides that are number one enemy to the gut and to the lymphatic system. I hope I put in a few missing pieces into your health puzzle.