Realizing Your Potential
Supporting You to Be Your Best - -
In Health, In Business, At Home and In LIFE!
By Dr. Mark B. Sanders, Chiropractor /
Coach
MAKE FRIENDS WITH YOUR GALLBLADDER
You may wonder why I, a
chiropractor, would even be interested in gallbladders. It turns out that I see a fair number of
people with structural problems that relate to the gallbladder. You may know that gallbladder problems can
refer pain to the mid back and right shoulder areas. You probably did not realize that knee instability and pain could
also be related to an unhappy gallbladder.
And then there are those mysterious neck “cricks” that show up for no
apparent reason. They too may be due to
a gallbladder problem. You may have
already known that your gallbladder plays an important role in digestion and
detoxification. Obviously if those
functions are impaired it can affect many other aspects of your health.
Not only does gallbladder distress cause structural problems, certain structural
problems could take a toll on your gallbladder. This whole area of viscero-somatic (organ affecting structure)
and somato-visceral (structure affecting organ) relationships is one of the
cornerstones of Applied Kinesiology.
You may be thinking that your gallbladder is just another one of those excess
or rudimentary body parts that you would be better off without. Well, think again. After gallbladder surgery (cholecystectomy) fat digestion and
absorption are impaired. Even taking
supplemental bile salts with each meal will not fully make up for not having a
gallbladder. In addition, it is now
being discovered that those who have had a cholecystectomy are also a greater
risk for certain kinds of cancer.
NOW is the best time to think about taking care of your gallbladder. In populations that do not consume the
standard American diet gallbladder problems are rare. On the other hand, it is estimated that at least 20% of the
people in our country have some kind of gallbladder dysfunction. You are better off not joining those
ranks. Making a few changes in your
diet and other health habits can go a long way toward removing stress on your
gallbladder. Keep reading to find out
more.
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TAKING CARE OF YOUR GALLBLADDER
What is
My Gallbladder? Your gallbladder is an organ of digestion located in
the upper right of your abdomen, just under your ribs. It is actually an extension of your liver
designed to store bile, a substance made in the liver. Following meals your gallbladder releases
some bile into the small intestine to aid in the digestion and absorption of
fats and other nutrients. One of bile’s
main functions is the “emulsification of fats”. This is similar to what dish soap does when cleaning greasy
dishes. Once fats have been emulsified,
they can then be absorbed into your bloodstream. Another function of bile is to remove liver toxins and cholesterol.
What
Goes Wrong With the Gallbladder?
About 20% of people living in Western cultures develop thickened bile that can
result in the formation of gallstones.
These stones are primarily made of cholesterol and calcium. When the gallbladder becomes sluggish it is
also more prone to inflammation (cholecystitis) and infection.
What
Are the Symptoms of Gallbladder Malfunction? Some people
with gallstones have no symptoms. When
gallbladder symptoms are present, the most common include right upper abdominal
pain and tenderness and referred pain to the mid back or right shoulder blade
areas. Often there is increased pain
after eating, as well as bloating, gas and sometimes constipation. Gallbladder pain tends to be worse at night
or in the early morning.
Besides back pain, a gallbladder symptom that brings many people to my office
is an acute or recurrent neck pain or “crick”.
A seemingly unrelated gallbladder symptom is knee pain. Applied Kinesiology has found a relationship
between the gallbladder and the popliteus, an important knee stabilization
muscle. Another sign of improper
gallbladder function is increased undigested fats in the stool. This can result in light colored stools or
stools that float and are loosely formed.
Because the symptoms are so varied, the gallbladder has been called the
“Great Mimic”. A gallbladder attack can
also mimic an ulcer, a heart attack or a wide variety of other gastrointestinal
conditions.
What Could Cause My Gallbladder to
Malfunction? Several dietary and lifestyle factors have been
related to gallbladder problems:
Food Allergies: James Breneman, M.D., former chairman of the Food
Allergy Committee of the American College of Allergists studied the
relationship between food allergy and gallbladder disease in 69 patients
gallstones or with “residual gallbladder pain” after removal of the
gallbladder. All of these patients
experienced relief within one week after removing allergic foods from their
diets. The symptoms returned when the
offending foods were eaten again. This
study found the most common foods causing gallbladder symptoms were egg, pork
and onions. Another study found that
patients suffering from gallbladder disease and bronchial asthma are frequently
allergic to wheat. Other foods that have
been implicated are cow’s milk, chocolate, and coffee. It is believed that food allergy causes a
swelling of the bile duct and thus restricts bile flow. A poorly draining gallbladder then becomes
prone to infection and stone formation.
Nerve Interference: Medical research has linked spinal nerve
health to the function and health of the liver and gallbladder. Henry Windsor, M.D. did a cadaver study that
demonstrated related spinal abnormalities in every person who had died of liver
disease. Other researchers have found a
high correlation of gallbladder disease with spinal dysfunction in the
midthoracic spine.
Refined Foods: Studies have revealed that diets high in refined
carbohydrates (sugar and white flour) and low in fiber and unrefined
carbohydrates (fruits and vegetables) help promote gallstone formation. High fiber diets are recommended as a
gallstone preventative, since they can help increase the flow of bile.
Poor Quality Dietary Fats: Fried foods, chips and baked goods are
loaded with poor quality fats that stress the digestive system and can result
in a thickening of the bile. Trans-fats
are particularly bad. These are oils
like margarine and Crisco that have been hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated
to harden them and increase their shelf life.
This processing also makes these unnatural substances very difficult for
your body to metabolize.
Inadequate Stomach Acid: When the stomach does not produce
adequate hydrochloric acid, digestive complaints such as heartburn, belching,
bloating and gas can occur. This
aggravates and may be a partial cause of gallbladder problems since the acid
levels of partially digested food leaving the stomach help to trigger bile
release.
Insufficient Exercise: A study of over 60,000 women revealed that
2-3 hours of recreational exercise a week reduced the risk of gallbladder
disease by 20%.
Obesity: A study published in 1992 by the American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition revealed that obese women are seven times more likely to
develop gallstones than those who are not obese.
Hormones: Women on hormone replacement therapy are 25% more likely to
have gallstones than their counterparts who are not on HRT. Women on birth control pills increase their
risk by 20%.
Other Risk Factors: Stress, constipation, spicy foods, iced drinks and
cold foods like ice cream have all been related to an increased incidence of
gallbladder distress. Women are more
prone to gallbladder problems than men.
And, women over 40 are more likely to have gallbladder symptoms than
younger women.
How
Are Gallbladder Problems Treated Medically? The standard
medical treatment for symptomatic gallbladders is to first reduce dietary
fat. If that does not resolve the
problem, which it often does not, it is quite common to recommend surgical
removal of the gallbladder. Holistic
physician, Dr. Joseph Mercola, says,
“I believe it is nearly criminal what traditional medicine is doing to our
public when it comes to managing this problem. It is RARELY ever indicated to
remove someone’s gallbladder. If one ignores warning symptoms and does not
address the reasons why their gallbladder is not functioning properly, than the
disease can progress to the point where the pancreas is inflamed or the
gallbladder is seriously infected and may have to be removed to save a person’s
life. However, it is important to have a proper perspective here. Nearly
ONE MILLION gallbladders are removed every year in this country and it is my
estimate that only several thousand need to come out.”
Dr. Mercola goes on to add,
“Not only are surgeons removing these organs unnecessarily, but in their
nutritional ignorance they are telling patients that their gallbladders do not
serve any purpose and they can live perfectly well without them. This is a lie.
The gallbladder serves an important digestive function… Anyone who has had
their gallbladder removed will need to take some form of bile salts with every
meal for the rest of their life, if they wish to prevent a good percentage of
the good fats they eat from being flushed down the toilet. If one does not have
enough fats in the diet, their entire physiology will be disrupted, especially
the ability to make hormones and prostaglandins.”
What
Can Chiropractic Do For My Gallbladder Health? Chiropractic
adjustments work to clear nerve system stress that can cause abnormal organ
function. Since nerves control every
cell and tissue in the body it is important that this system is functioning
optimally. Spinal areas that have shown
correlation with gallbladder function are the mid back and upper neck. Applied Kinesiology has also found a relationship
with the gallbladder and the popliteus, a muscle in the back of the knee. It appears that the popliteus muscles have
to be functioning properly to provide proper energy to the gallbladder. There are a variety of Applied Kinesiology
techniques that can be employed to re-establish proper muscle function.
Can
I Do To Improve The Health of My Gallbladder?
Dietary Habits:
Improve Quality Of Dietary
Fats: Cut out trans-fats (margarine, Crisco, fried foods, chips, and
cookies or baked goods containing hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats
and oils). Make sure you have good
quality oils in your diet. These
include extra virgin olive oil and such products as fish oil and flax seed oil
that are high in Omega 3 essential fatty acids.
Reduce or Eliminate Refined Carbohydrates: This includes sugar,
candy, white flour and products containing these ingredients.
Increase Dietary Fiber: Eat raw fruits and vegetables every day
and possibly supplement with 2T of oat bran.
This is especially important if you suffer from constipation.
Discover Food Allergies and Avoid These Substances: Food
sensitivities can be determined by a variety of means including elimination
diets and muscle testing. Ask me if you
want to know more about this.
Other Things to Avoid if You Are Having Gallbladder Symptoms: Spicy
foods, very cold drinks and cold foods like ice cream can aggravate gallbladder
problems and should therefore be avoided.
Eat Breakfast: People who skip breakfast or just drink coffee in the
morning are more prone to gallbladder distress.
Lifestyle Changes:
Gradually Reduce Your
Weight if You Are Overweight:
This will be much easier to accomplish if you are following the previous
dietary recommendations. In addition we
may need to discuss the proper eating plan for your body type. It is important to make changes in your
eating patterns that will allow you to attain and maintain your ideal weight
rather than undergoing some crash weight–loss diet.
Reduce Stress: Excess stress or poor handling of stress have a variety
of negative health effects. Strategies
like meditation, aerobic exercise and time management can be helpful in taming
negative stress.
Aerobic Exercise: Regular aerobic exercise has multiple effects. It will not only improve your gallbladder
health. As previously mentioned it
reduces stress. Other benefits include
weight loss, less depression, and improved cardiovascular health. At least 30-45 minutes of aerobic exercise
four times a week is essential to good health.
Nutritional Supplements: A variety of supplements and food concentrates have been found helpful
in promoting gallbladder health. It
depends on your individual needs and whether you are working to heal an unhappy
gallbladder or want to prevent gallbladder problems from occurring in the first
place. Some of the more common
nutrients to be considered are:
AF Betafood: This is a source of betaine from beets. It also contains other liver and gallbladder
support. It helps thin bile and improve
its flow. It also aids in the
conversion of blood fats to blood sugar and thus helps to balance blood
sugar. This is a great supplement for
those with sluggish gallbladders or difficulty maintaining blood sugar levels.
Digestive Support (Zypan): This supplement is a source of digestive
enzymes, hydrochloric acid and pepsin.
This can be indicated if you are suffering from poor digestion, gas,
bloating, etc. Resolving or reducing
these problems takes stress off of the gallbladder.
Lecithin: This is naturally found in bile where it helps keep
cholesterol dissolved rather than crystallizing to form stones. Some studies have shown it to be helpful in
dissolving cholesterol stones.
Essential Fatty Acids (Flax Oil or Cod Liver Oil): These oils are the
kinds the body needs to create hormones, prostaglandins and for many other
functions. Diets deficient in EFAs have
been shown to be gallstone producing.
Vitamin E should also be used when supplementing with lecithin or EFAs
as it is an antioxidant and helps to prevent the formation of free radicals.
Vitamin C has also been found to reduce gallstone formation.
Recipes:
Lemon Juice & Water:
This is good for relieving mild digestive upset and promoting better digestion.
Juice of 1/2 lemon added to 2 oz. of water
Drink just prior to each meal to stimulate digestive juices.
You can also drink this if you are having digestive distress.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil:
This is good for stimulating a sluggish gallbladder. It is important to use very good quality oil as this can
otherwise just contribute to gallbladder problems.
1 T of oil
Take just before bedtime for 3 days in a row.
Beet Recipe: This is good
for thinning and moving the bile. It
can help relieve discomfort due to gallbladder problems. Beets in any form are
an excellent food for both the liver and the gallbladder.
1 large organic beet washed and finely grated
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 T flax oil
Take one teaspoon of mixture every hour throughout the day.
On day two and three make a fresh batch using ¼ of a beet.
Take one teaspoon of mixture 3 to 4 times a day or more.
Make this mixture to add to your salads frequently or eat alone as above 2 or 3
times a week. This will keep the bile thin and moving. Note: If you cannot get
organic beets, be sure to peel them. Otherwise, use the peel as well.
Eat your regular meals throughout this
period, striving to eat lots of fresh vegetables and good fats. Avoid refined sugars and processed foods.
A Gallbladder Flush:
If your gallbladder is sluggish and the bile is thick, a gallbladder flush may
be recommended. I need to warn you however
that there are possible complications from this procedure. It is a good idea to have an ultrasound of the
gallbladder done prior to doing a flush.
That can determine if stones are present and whether there is any risk
of getting a stone stuck in the bile duct.
If the
stones are too large and unable to pass through the bile ducts, not only could
that cause excruciating pain, you could end up having your gallbladder removed
in the emergency room. If the stones are larger and calcified, there is more
chance for complications. If you want
more information on gallbladder flushes, let me know.
The above contents may be forwarded, copied,
reproduced or freely distributed as long as my contact information is included.
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______________________________________________________________________
Dr. Mark B. Sanders, Chiropractor / Coach
drmarks@austin.rr.com
Chiropractic Office: (512) 347-8033
Coaching Office: (512) 327-6420