Gallbladder Removal

What does your gallbladder do for your body?

The gallbladder enables fat digestion, absorption of fat soluble antioxidants and vitamins A, E, D and K. It assists in the removal of cholesterol from your body, and also with the removal of toxins that have been broken down by the liver.

The gallbladder is a pear-shaped sac about four inches long that stores bile. Bile is made in the liver and then stored in the gallbladder for use by the intestines to help digest fat. At least 10 percent of adults, twice as many women as men, form stones in their gallbladders. Statistics show that women are more likely to experience gallbladder problems because of the female hormone estrogen. The incidence of gallstones rises with age. After the age of 60, 10 to 15 percent of men and 20 to 40 percent of women contract gallstones. The stones can cause inflammation of the gallbladder, or the stones may enter the connecting ducts causing a blockage and possibly a life-threatening infection. When there is significant inflammation or extreme blockage in the gallbladder or its duct, both can be removed though surgery. This surgery is called a Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy. Removal of the gallbladder is one of the most common surgeries performed in the US. This problem does tend to run in families.

What happens if and when you have had your gallbladder removed?

Your liver continues to manufacture bile even after your gallbladder has been removed. Because you no longer have a storage place for the bile there is no longer a place to store or concentrate it. Without a gallbladder, bile created in the liver slowly trickles into the intestines. Digestion of fatty foods, is virtually impossible without your liver and gallbladder working in tandem. When fats are ingested your liver alone will not be able to secrete enough bile as needed to break down these fats, therefore most fats will be poorly digested. This means many people may and do experience diarrhea, bloating, nausea or indigestion.

Our bodies need essential fatty acids, which are the omega 3 and omega 6 fats. Without a gallbladder the body will have a hard time absorbing fat soluble vitamins such as vitamins D, E, A and K. Some of the antioxidants in vegetables are fat soluble: lycopene, lutein and carotenoids are all fat soluble. If you have no gallbladder, these fats are not absorbed adequately from foods or vitamins. Even if you take any of the above mentioned vitamins in supplement form, without sufficient bile, your body can’t absorb them.

Symptoms of poor fat digestion are; dry, brittle hair, dry skin, premature aging of the skin, weak nails and painful joints. Essential fatty acids are important for optimal brain health. Therefore, low mood, anxiety, depression and impaired cognitive function are all possible manifestations of poor fat digestion.

Most people who develop gallbladder problems have suffered with poor digestion for many years. If your stomach and intestines are not in optimal health, they will not send signals to your gallbladder, telling it to contract properly. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), dysbiosis, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth and Candida overgrowth are common in people with a gallbladder problem. If you have had your gallbladder removed, you may continue to suffer symptoms due to those conditions. These digestive problems also cause insufficient digestive enzyme production.

When your gallbladder is removed what’s next?

If you have lost your gallbladder you need a replacement enzyme supplement. There are many that are marketed but only one has a patent. ZymeBoost+ is that patented enzyme replacement supplement. More than 9 years of exhaustive testing and studies were completed to establish this patent. For more information or to purchase ZymeBoost+ please visit EUDOMA’s website at www.eudomalabs.com

Many promote enzyme replacement but cannot deliver a working product. This is due to their lack of this patented enzyme replacement system.