Your Digestive System, Gut Health and Their Connection to the Gallbladder

Tools to Combat Poor Gallbladder Health

If you’ve ever experienced gallbladder pain or gallstones, you’ll never forget it. Gallbladder disease can be caused by a number of problems that speak to the declining condition of this small organ that actually plays a big role in digestive health. The organ is important because it releases bile into the intestines, where it helps emulsify and break down your fats from your food.

Gallstones are one of the most common causes of gallbladder pain and discomfort, which a client will commonly feel in the upper right quadrant of their abdomen. Stones are created when excess bile products, like cholesterol, grow and accumulate in lumps, and then block the flow of bile in the gallbladder or bile ducts. You can also suffer from inflammation in the organ called cholecystitis.

Often, gallbladder surgery, also known as a cholecystectomy, will be recommended for the treatment of this condition. Unfortunately, removal of the organ doesn’t always lead to ideal results for patients. Following this invasive surgery, patients will still have to make dietary changes, and likely experience diarrhea or other intestinal discomfort following the consumption of certain foods.

If you suffer from gallbladder issues, you will likely be able to make positive changes through diet and supplementation before surgery becomes necessary. Gabrielle Grandell provides her clients with a variety of tools to combat the problems and improve their digestive health and wellness.

Comprehensive Tests to Determine Cause

There can be a large variety of contributing factors to the development of gallbladder issues, from diet and weight, to imbalances and bacteria that affect the bile flow.

Through a stool test, Gabrielle is able to uncover what’s going on with the bile flow of a client, and she may refer you out for separate scans when necessary. She can also request a comprehensive blood test, called a complete blood count test (CBC). An elevation in white blood cells can indicate that there’s infection, inflammation or if there’s a biliary obstruction.

A comprehensive metabolic panel will look at a variety of things, including the liver enzymes, bilirubin and alkaline phosphatase. If there are abnormalities among those levels, that can also indicate there are obstructions or inflammation in the gallbladder. Females can also experience more gallbladder issues due to the impact of estrogen metabolism.

A Holistic, Surgery-Free Approach to Care

From there, she’ll be able to recommend improved diet choices and supplements that work to increase bile flow and your digestive health. Supplements available through Gabrielle’s online dispensary include bile acids such as TUDCA and bile salts like ox bile that can be very beneficial.

Bitter herbs such as dandelion, parsley, cilantro and milk thistle; beets or beet powder; and artichoke or artichoke extract also increase the flow and can reduce the risk of stones and obstruction, and Gabrielle will be able to identify your best plan of action and the proper amounts for your personal health goals.