Designed This Way – Part 2
Cholecystectomies are one of the most common surgeries performed in the United States with a reported 600,000 done each year. What’s a cholecystectomy? It’s surgical removal of the gallbladder. Surgeries doubled in the 90s when laparoscopic cholecystectomy was introduced—a minimally invasive procedure with less than half-inch incision that takes 60 to 90 minutes to perform. The procedure almost quadrupled between 1998 and 2010 in 18 to 24-year-olds.
Go in. Get the gall bladder outta there. Go home the same day. Boom.
These surgeries are done for a reason. There’s no blame and no shame if you’ve had one. However, it might be well to ponder more of the topic we started last month. The gallbladder is God-designed and in us for a reason. Thankfully, organs adapt in the absence of the gallbladder, so we can live without one. However, it may not be as smooth sailing as anticipated, at least for some.
Bile is a greenish-yellow fluid produced by the liver that undergoes modification as it is transported to the gallbladder, where it is stored. That’s why the gallbladder is often thought of as a holding tank that releases bile into the small intestine when fatty food is eaten.
A poorly-functioning gallbladder can increase the risk of developing liver disease, including non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFLD). “There is convincing evidence based on retrospective epidemiological studies showing that cholecystectomy can be an independent risk factor in the progression of NAFLD.”[1] Other serious health concerns such as pancreatitis, inflammatory bowel disease, leaky gut, inflammation, chronic diarrhea, constipation, and gut microbiome dysbiosis can all stem from a dysfunctional gallbladder.
It’s beginning to sound pretty important, isn’t it?
Becoming more acquainted with bile will heighten our respect for it, as well. Yes, bile plays a vital role in digesting the fat we eat and helping us benefit from the wonderful omega-3 fats I hope you’re working on consuming more of. Fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K are dependent on bile to be absorbed. In fact, bile acid deficiency can lead to low Vitamin D levels. Researchers speculate that cholecystectomy disturbs the absorption of Vitamin D and K, but while very important, this is not bile’s only responsibility.
Bile is an integral player in daily detoxification. This is more relevant, perhaps, than it has ever been with the deluge of toxicants we are exposed to. In addition to the environmental contribution we take into our bodies from the foods we eat and what we breathe in and absorb, our bodies produce substances that can become toxic to us and need to be excreted. Bile plays a crucial role in removing all kinds of substances, from mold mycotoxins and heavy metals, to excess estrogen. Bile carries these to the digestive tract where toxins switch hands and are transferred to stool while the bile acids are reabsorbed and recirculated. Removal of the gall bladder can potentially affect our ability to detoxify well.
Next month we will continue learning about this underappreciated part of who we are.
[1] Rodríguez-Antonio, I., López-Sánchez, G. N., Garrido-Camacho, V. Y., Uribe, M., Chávez-Tapia, N. C., & Nuño-Lámbarri, N. (2020). Cholecystectomy as a risk factor for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease development. HPB, 22(11), 1513–1520.
(https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hpb.2020.07.011)