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What you need to know BEFORE you have your gallbladder out
The aftermath of cholecystectomy is not talked about much….. it should be, removing your gallbladder, profoundly changes body chemistry. And not in a good way.
Gallstones are NO PICNIC. They are a sign of some seriously bad BODY CHEMISTRY.
But……………. a snip snip here and a snip snip there, can bring relief.
The official name for the procedure that removes the gallbladder, is a cholecystectomy – it uses keyhole surgery, to remove it.
It’s the go to way, to deal with symptomatic gallstones…… it solves the problem and it’s SAFE.
Well that’s the current thinking.
Things still work
Despite not having a gallbladder, you still have a bile acid pool, in the normal range and dietary fat absorption, is more-or-less, unaffected.
But your body chemistry IS affected.
And not in a good way.
To summarize what happens – you’re more insulin resistant.
So what’s the story ?
Digestive power
The gallbladder’s job, is to concentrate and store bile.
This means, water and ions are removed and the concentration of bile salts, is amplified.
So when the BIG SQUEEZE happens……
Prompted by cholescystokinin, a digestive hormone, released in response to fat in a meal.
A big load of bile acids and FGF19, is released into the duodenum.
And fat digestion begins in earnest……
Whispers and screams
Now it actually doesn’t take a truck load of bile, to get fat digestion sorted.
But, it does take copious amounts of the stuff, to shift body chemistry.
The bile acids, let “everyone” know, there has been a grocery delivery…..
Upon receiving the message, the liver shift gears, ceasing to be a glucose producer, instead it becomes a glucose consumer. Shuttling the fresh supplies of sugar inside, to replenish it’s glycogen stores.
This helps minimize sugar spikes….
No reservoir, no spike
When the gallbladder is missing in action, there is no bile salt spike.
Instead, bile trickles into the duodenum……………….. CONTINUOUSLY.
The trouble with this arrangement, is the liver does not get the “heads up” about the grocery delivery, so it keeps churning out sugar.
It’s the “right” thing to do.
No glucose would constitute a potentially fatal, ENERGY CRISIS.
But a feeding frenzy, is also an ENERGY CRISIS, just NOT THAT KIND of an energy crisis !
Now at this point, insulin is meant to ride in, like a knight in shining armour, to save the day. Insulin should arrange for the glucose gates located in the liver, muscle and fat cells, to swing open……
The sugar should leave the circulation.
But, WE KNOW, this doesn’t always happen, according to script.
And the effects, can have disastrous consequences.
Insulin the usual fall guy
Now, when there is a sugar problem, we typically blame the pancreas. The beta cells, never came to the party, to produce ENOUGH insulin. BAD beta cells !
But in all fairness…………..
the beta cells are expecting, a little reminder, from GLP-1.
And, who helps to get GLP-1 out and about ?
You guessed it, the bile acids. Eish !
Processing nutrients is a TEAM sport….
A “man” down
Any time a team is missing a player, the team is clearly at a disadvantage. A body without a gallbladder, is metabolically disadvantaged.
The gallbladder is not just a great fat digestion aid, it is a metabolic orchestrator.
Without it…..the processing of dinner, doesn’t proceed as smoothly.
The consequences of a cholecystectomy
The aftermath of cholecystectomy is not talked about much….. but it typically includes weight gain, plus an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
Do what you can to keep yours !
And help your gallbladder, to do it’s job. Dine don’t graze , so you create bile spikes, not bile trickles.
Further reading
Gallstones are NOT a cholesterol problem
Since gallstones are made of cholesterol, logic says, to prevent gallstone disease, cholesterol levels should be as low as possible. WRONG ! Cholesterol is a red herring.
Lots of little meals in a day IS NOT the way to lose weight
When meal frequency shifts away from the magic number of 3 meals a day – weight changes. People eating lots of small meals per day, get bigger.
It might be time to try the TRF see food diet – it works
Human biology runs on a schedule. Modern living, disrupts this schedule. A TRF see food diet, puts metabolism back on schedule – so fat fails to accumulate.
Want to discover more ways to create BETTER BODY CHEMISTRY ?