Should I Take BILE Supplements Without a Gallbladder?

Do you need bile supplements without a gallbladder? This is a question that a lot of people ask, and a lot of people get different information out there. There's a lot of people that are told that no, you don't need support. A lot of other people are told you need to be on bile support for life. So we're going to talk about why there is different information out there, how to sort out for you what is the best scenario. So gallbladder— before we do that, I want to make sure to understand that you understand that the one of the main purposes of the gallbladder is, you probably know this, to release bile. Now when you get your gallbladder removed, you still make bile, you just do not store bile. So what that means is bile, which we use to digest fats, is that your body, when you eat a meal that has fat in it, your liver, which makes the bile, is going to have to release the bile on demand. There's not that storage capacity because you don't have the gallbladder. The other thing to understand that makes the gallbladder really important is that with the movement of bile is also the movement of toxins. So as bile gets created and moved, toxins get moved out of the body. And so one of the things that can happen sometimes is if we are not moving our bile as much because we don't have a gallbladder, there's potential for changes in detox. Now, whether or not you're able to do this enough on demand is going to depend upon a few different things. Some people have genetic tendencies where their liver doesn't make as much bile. So that is one possibility. And then other people have things that are slowing down the bile release in the liver. Things like small intestinal bacteria overgrowth or mold toxins are examples of what can slow down the release of bile in the liver. So most commonly, if people are not releasing enough bile, they will have various things happen after they eat a meal with fat. They might get bloated. Bloated, they might have diarrhea, they might have a little pain or indigestion. Other people, it might not manifest as digestive problems. It might manifest as, say, a headache or just feeling foggy after a meal. So if any of those are happening and you do not have a gallbladder, this could be a very good sign that you need some bile support. So taking a supplement like Ox Bile or taking a supplement like Tudca which is going to help with the process of the liver releasing the bile, can also be extremely helpful. Any herb in the category that we call a cholagogue is going to help to thin the bile, help to move it out of the liver. So you can look for herbs that do that. Gentian is a really lovely one. But the point is, as far as do you need this for life or not without a gallbladder, well, it really does depend. I do find a lot of people with their gallbladder removed do find that it is a helpful thing for them to have a level of bio support so that they can eat meals with fats in them. Because we want to continue to eat healthy fats because that's how we absorb our fat-soluble vitamins— vitamin A, D, E, and K. So we want to make sure that we're not all of a sudden going too low fat because the benefits of fat and plus the fat-soluble vitamins. So all of that's really important. Now the biggest thing though is how are you feeling, and are you feeling, you know, toxic? Do you feel like headachy after you eat, or any of those things, again, that can be signs that you need more bile support so you can move the toxins out. And some people, I find that they're really healthy and they're doing well, then they modulate the need for this based upon the fat in their meal. So if they're eating a meal that has more fat in it, then that would be a reason to all of a sudden take more bile support, right? So they're eating a meal with higher butter or higher cheese or higher olive oil, you know, higher salmon, like all your healthy fats, and then in those cases it might— you might consider, yeah, taking a little bile support to help you with the proper digestion of that. But that's how you can kind of judge whether or not you need that or not. And again, it does depend— it depends upon your genetics, it depends upon toxic buildup, it depends if you have other situations like SIBO happening or any of those types of things. Remember, if you want to ask me any questions, you can always join me at my group program where you can get a ton of educational content like this, plus the ability to ask me questions in my live calls twice a month. Information on that is below. Please do subscribe. Please do share this with anybody that needs it. So many people get their gallbladders removed, and this is a very, very important conversation to consider as far as helping you and helping somebody process fat after this is I'm Dr. Diane Mueller, founder of My Lyme Doc, and I am a double doctorate. You can find me at mylymedoc.com. I'll see you soon.