“My doctor told me I needed gallbladder surgery.” These were the exact words Sarah, one of my clients used when going through her health history. She was still in shock. Sarah is a 34-year-old, active woman and she was not ready for gallbladder removal. She is a busy working mom of 2 young boys with absolutely no time on her hand to be sick. And she has been sick a lot.

Her ultrasound confirmed the presence of several small gallstones. Besides the stones, no other problem was found with her gallbladder. Her doctor promised he could take all her pain away and offered to schedule her in for gallbladder removal.

Is gallbladder removal the only option?

Sarah felt uneasy about getting one of her organs taken out, but her doctor reassured her that losing her gallbladder wouldn’t be a big deal and called this small, sac-like organ right under her liver nonessential. Considering her level of pain and misery, she made peace with the idea of parting ways from her gallbladder. The promise of bringing all the physical suffering to an end made the surgery sound like logical solution.

What to expect after gallbladder surgery? 

At home, Sarah jumped on her laptop and did some research. She wanted to be prepared and know exactly what to expect post-surgery. After hours of dedicated research, Sarah started having doubts about the decision she made earlier. She read tons of horror stories about how people regretted getting their gallbladder taken out, how their pain never went away, or even got worse.

Thanks to her research, she came across plenty of articles pointing out the role diet and lifestyle play in gallbladder health. As a result, she decided to course-correct and gave herself two months to see if diet and lifestyle-change could save her gallbladder. She figured, if there was a chance to preserve one of her organs, it’s certainly worth taking. She thought that getting nutritional advice from a professional could help. That’s when she contacted me.

What does the gallbladder do?

Before deciding whether you should get one of your organs taken out, it’s a good idea to take some time and understand the main functions of that organ. One of the many roles that the gallbladder plays is in fat digestion. The gallbladder stores the bile produced by the liver and is responsible for supplying bile to the digestive tract. Once the gallbladder releases the bile, it enters the small intestines through the bile duct to emulsify oils and fats. The bottom line, fats cannot be digested without bile or bile acids.

While the liver is responsible for producing bile, it is the gallbladder’s job to store and release it into the small intestine when needed. Interestingly, the bile that is stored in the gallbladder is different than the bile produced by the liver, it’s far more concentrated.

What are gallstones? 

Gallstones are crystal-like particles caused primarily by cholesterol and bile pigments. 80% of gallstones are yellow and white cholesterol stones. The remaining 20% are pigment stones. These stones are small and dark in color and made up of bilirubin and calcium salts. As you can see, the majority of gallstones are cholesterol stones which form when the bile contains too much cholesterol and not enough bile salts.

Besides cholesterol, generally, two more factors may contribute to gallstone formation. First, it is the reduced ability of the gallbladder to contract, and second, the presence of specific proteins in the liver that either encourage or inhibit cholesterol crystallization.  

Gallbladder removal (cholecystectomy) 

Gallbladder removal (cholecystectomy) is one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures in the US today. Patients suffering from any gallbladder disease will more than likely be presented with only one treatment option, and that is to remove their gallbladder.

While, in some cases, cholecystectomy is the absolute best interest of the patient, many develop painful symptoms after surgery that are worse than their initial gallbladder symptoms.

Post-cholecystectomy syndrome (PCS)

With over half a million people agreeing to part ways from their gallbladder each year, it is staggering to realize how few have ever heard of the term post-cholecystectomy syndrome (PCS) before choosing to go under the knife. PCS is a blanket term for conditions that can range from bothersome to life-threatening, such as bile reflux, gastritis, liver disease, pancreatitis, and IBS.

PCS, which is the occurrence of new symptoms after gallbladder removal, affects approximately 10-20% of these patients. These people end up suffering from symptoms that are often worse than the ones that prompted the surgery. You can learn more about the prevalence of PCS here.

What’s the root cause of gallbladder disease?

According to the World Gastroenterology Organization, gallbladder disease is largely lifestyle driven. It is most common in countries where the typical Western Diet has become the norm. The most important risk factors to develop the disease are:

• Obesity
• Type 2 Diabetes
• Metabolic Syndrome
• High cholesterol
• Western diet
• Sedentary lifestyle

The common theme here is: diet and lifestyle. Right? So if diet and lifestyle are so important in the causation of the disease, shouldn’t diet and lifestyle be at least considered as one of the possible solutions? If 80% of gallstones are caused by too much cholesterol in the bile, shouldn’t we take a look at how we could possibly reduce the amount of cholesterol in our body?

Why not examine your diet first to see if you could incorporate more liver and gallbladder-nourishing foods in your diet? Why not eat less processed and animal foods, lose weight, move more? 

Besides the obvious diet connection, there is another predisposing factor that is rarely talked about.

The gallbladder-hormone connection

It has long been understood that being pregnant increases your risk of developing gallstones and the awful symptoms of pain, burping, gas, and bloating, indigestion that comes with it. So does being on long-term birth control pill and hormone replacement therapy (HRT). But why? This is a fundamental question that should be asked by women considering any hormone therapy.

Unfortunately, no one asks these questions because women aren’t made aware of this often underestimated risk. So let’s take a look at what happens in the bile when estrogen and progesterone are present in excess amounts.

How your birth control pill causes gallstones?

Make an educated decision

It’s essential to seek proper diagnosis when suffering from gallbladder attacks. You want to know what causes your pain and discomfort. But it’s also important to dig deeper and try to find the root cause of your gallbladder problems. Take all the possible contributing factors into consideration and understand that in the body, nothing occurs in isolation. So when your gallbladder is forming gallstones, you should consider this as a cry for help, and ask the following questions:

• Is my diet supporting the health of my gallbladder and liver?
• Is my diet rich in whole, plant foods or instead, loaded with lifeless, processed and animal-based products? 
• Am I moving enough throughout the day?
• Could my birth control pill be contributing to my problem? 
• Could my hormones be out of whack?

Gallbladder diet

While everyone’s situation is different, identifying the root cause of your gallbladder issues is essential for healing. Sarah was able to save her gallbladder by changing her diet, and bringing on board a few herbs and supplements to support the function of her liver and gallbladder. She is committed to making better food choices every day, improving her hydration, and incorporating regular walks into her day. As far as birth control? She even decided to ditch her pill and is now using natural family planning methods.

If you suffer from gallbladder attacks, indigestion, burning in your tummy or gallstones, you will have to make some dietary changes to feel better. If you already had your gallbladder removed but still experience digestive discomfort, you should still follow a gallbladder-friendly diet in order to get well. Food is the most power medicine that can help your body heal.