Is Your Gallbladder And Liver Healthy?

Author's Bio: Katie Bailey, MS, RD, LD, FNC

Hi everyone. Welcome back.

Your liver and gallbladder are vital organs that play a crucial role in digestion, detoxification, and our metabolic health. If either of these organs are not functioning properly, it can lead to a cascade of different health issues. Understanding how to maintain the health of these organs as well as recognizing early signs of dysfunction can help to prevent serious symptoms as well as health issues.

In today's video, I'll be discussing what is the role of the liver in the gallbladder?

What are factors that contribute to an unhealthy liver and gallbladder?

What are some signs and symptoms of gallbladder in liver dysfunction?

What can you do to support a healthy liver and gallbladder?

And lastly, how do you know if your liver and gallbladder are healthy?

Hi, I'm Katie Bailey. I'm a gut health dietitian at Oswald Digestive Clinic where we help individuals improve and resolve their bothersome gut issues. If you're interested in learning more about gut health, I'll link our free guide Five Ways to Improve Your Gut Health here.

Alright, let's get started on today's topic.

[Video Transcript Below Video - it is the same information]

What is the role of the liver in the gallbladder?

So the liver is the body's main detoxification organ and its responsible for many vital functions including detoxification in waste removal. So it filters toxins, drugs, and harmful substances from the bloodstream and converts them into less toxic forms so that they can be excreted from the body. It plays a role in bile production, so the liver actually produces the bile and then it's transported to the gallbladder for storage.

It's important in nutrient processing and energy storing. It metabolizes carbohydrates, proteins, and fats as well as stores glucose as glycogen to be used later when needed for energy. And then lastly for protein synthesis. So it produces proteins that are crucial in blood clotting as well as the immune function. The gallbladder plays a crucial role in digestion by storing the bile that was produced by the liver and concentrating it, and that's going to make it more effective at breaking down the fats when fatty foods are consumed.

The gallbladder contracts and releases the bile into the small intestines, which is going to aid in fat digestion as well as the absorption of our fat soluble vitamins, which are vitamin A, D, E, and K. Without the gallbladder, the fat digestion is not always optimal because the gallbladder is what is releasing the bile when it is necessary during the time that you're eating. And it's also important for supporting our gut health. So bile that is stored in the gallbladder or released by the gallbladder helps to maintain a healthy gut microbiome and helps to prevent the overgrowth of bacteria because of its my antimicrobial properties.

What factors can contribute to a unhealthy liver and gallbladder?

Well, the first is our diet. So a diet that's high in processed foods, refined carbohydrates and sugars, unhealthy fats and low in fiber can all overload the liver and lead to gallstone formation.

Next is toxic exposure. So environmental, toxins, alcohol and medications can really stress out the liver and lead to liver dysfunction. Next is gut health. So conditions like leaky gut or gut dysbiosis can contribute to inflammation, which is going to negatively impact both organs. And then lastly, different lifestyle factors. So not getting enough exercise in too much stress, excess weight around the abdomen, inadequate hydration, all these things are also going to negatively impact both the liver and the gallbladder.

What are some signs and symptoms of liver and gallbladder dysfunction?

So due to the various roles that the liver plays in the body, dysfunction in the liver can present as many systemic symptoms, so things like fatigue and weakness, jaundice, which is yellowing of the eyes and the skin due to bilirubin buildup. Digestive issues like gas, bloating or abdominal pain, skin issues, rash, acne, itching, fluid retention or swelling, and also blood sugar imbalances.

Dysfunction of the gallbladder usually manifests as digestive issues like intense pain in the upper right abdomen, especially after eating nausea or vomiting after eating fatty foods. Digestive discomfort like gas, bloating or reflux due to poor fat absorption, and then also really dark urine or pale colored stools.

What can you do to support a healthy liver and gallbladder?

So to keep your liver and gallbladder healthy, there are a few things that you should consider. The first is going to be your diet, so focusing on whole nutrient dense foods, prioritizing getting a variety of different fruits and vegetables, proteins, complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, especially those omega threes, while limiting the consumption of alcohol, processed foods and unhealthy fats. You can also incorporate foods that are going to help to support liver detoxification and bile production. Things like beets, cruciferous vegetables, dandelion greens, artichoke, turmeric, lemons and ginger, cilantro, and parsley ensure adequate hydration as well, which will support liver detoxification and bile flow.

And you also want to be making sure that you're getting adequate exercise in as well because this is going to help to maintain a healthy weight as well as reduce the risk for gallbladder disease.

The next thing you want to do is to manage your stress levels. We know that chronic stress is going to impact these organs. You can also choose to supplement. You can choose things like dandelion root, milk thistle, probiotics, and B vitamins with choline. Those can all be very beneficial for the liver and the gallbladder. Gut health is super important as well, so addressing things like leaky gut or gut dysbiosis or just any gut dysfunction that you may be experiencing while supporting your overall gut health through diet and eating high fiber foods, prebiotics, probiotics, those are going to all be beneficial. Then lastly, minimizing toxic exposure as much as possible that way that you decrease the burden that the liver has to deal with.

So how do you know if your gallbladder and your liver are healthy?

Now, there are several ways to assess liver and gallbladder health. The first is just to assess your symptoms. Do you have any of the symptoms that we discussed in today's video that could indicate liver or gallbladder dysfunction? If you do, then working with a practitioner can be really helpful in determining what your next steps should be. Liver and gallbladder health can also be assessed through blood testing and imaging. A LT and a ST are liver enzymes that when elevated can indicate potential issues with liver function. Bilirubin and alkaline phosphatase are often helpful in indicating potential issues with the gallbladder when those are elevated. Depending on the severity of your symptoms, you may need an ultrasound, a CT scan or MRIs to determine if there's any inflammation or gallstones or obstruction that what path you take to assess the health of your liver. And the gallbladder is going to depend on your specific symptoms as well as the severity.

To wrap up our topic for today,

A healthy liver and gallbladder is essential for digestion, detoxification, and our overall health monitoring for early signs of dysfunction, as well as supporting the liver and the gallbladder through your diet. Lifestyle, supplementation and gut health is an important step to keep your liver and your gallbladder functioning optimally. If you have any concerns about the health of your liver and the gallbladder, I would highly recommend that you work with a practitioner that can help.

That's it for today's video. If you like this video, please hit the like button and subscribe for more nutrition videos. If you'd like to work with our clinic, you can click the link here to schedule an appointment. We do take insurance. You can find more information about that on our website.

Thank you for watching. I'll see you next time. Bye.

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