Download Liver, Gallbladder and Bile Quick Notes

Liver, Gallbladder and Bile Quick Notes
LIVER AND GALLBLADDER
In an average adult, the liver weighs about 3 lb and is the second largest organ in the body. (Skin
is the largest.) The liver contains small ducts (bile canaliculi) that collect bile and from there
moves into the bile ducts. These bile ducts merge and form right and left larger hepatic ducts
which merge into a common hepatic duct which joins the gallbladder.
Functions:
• Liver
o Making bile is one of the liver’s main way of eliminating toxins
o Important in maintaining a normal blood glucose level
o Synthesizes cholesterol and uses it to make bile salts
o Detoxify substances such as alcohol and secrete drugs such as penicillin into bile.
o Inactivate thyroid hormones
o Stores vitamins A, D, E, and K, iron and copper
o Involved in the synthesizing the active form of vitamin D
• Gallbladder
o The gallbladder is a hollow muscular organ which stores and concentrates bile
(40-50 ml (1.5-2 oz). Adults produce 400-800 ml (14-27 oz) of bile per day.
o Bile is released from the gallbladder in response to hormones when fat enters the
small intestine.
• Bile
o When a meal is eaten, bile’s job is to emulsify fatty nutrients for proper
absorption, and to allow poisonous wastes which the liver has removed from the
body to be eliminated through the intestines.
o Bile contains bile acids and fats. The bile acids make cholesterol that is insoluble
in aqueous solutions soluble. Approximately 500mg of cholesterol are converted
to bile acids and eliminated in the bile every day.
o Bile acids and salts are absorbed in the lower section of the small intestine,
transported back to the liver recirculating 2-3 times through the liver with each
meal.
Karen Dvornich, NTP, CGP
Liver, Gallbladder and Bile Quick Notes
Deficiencies:
• Low-fat diet or bad fats will not signal the gallbladder to release bile, causing the bile to
become viscous within the gallbladder or throughout the bile duct.
• The body begins to suffer the effects of poor assimilation of fat-soluble nutrients, that
may play a role in:
o Eczema, psoriasis, dry skin, falling hair, tendonitis, night blindness, accumulation
of calcium in tissues, and sometimes prostate enlargement in men.
o Hemorrhoids due to blockage of the portal vein draining the liver are often the
result of this congestion.
• Viscous bile caused by eating refined or processed foods alter the chemistry of the bile
causing the formation of solid particles, most of which are composed of cholesterol.
They remain in the gallbladder or the base of the liver for years becoming progressively
harder and calcifying into gallstones.
o Free cholesterol is insoluble and is made soluble by bile acids. Approximately
500mg of cholesterol are converted to bile acids and eliminated in the bile every
day.
o When gallstones accumulate, the flow backs up into the liver causing congestion,
pain, and usually a trip to the hospital.
What happens when your gallbladder is removed?
• Bile acids and salts leak into the small intestine throughout the day.
o There is no coordination to release bile when fat is present in the stomach.
• A pseudo-gallbladder may form, but there has to be enough fat in the diet to signal the
release of bile.
• Patients are recommended to eat a low fat diet. However,
o Fats are the building blocks for every cell in our body.
o Fat-soluble nutrients such as vitamins A, D, E, K, lecithin, and essential fatty
acids need bile at the time they are digested to be assimilated into our body.
o Long-chain fatty acids need bile to be absorbed into the lymphatic system to
enhance our immune responses.
Therefore, eating healthy fats and taking bile salts as a supplement with your meals is
recommended for healthy digestion and overall health.
Turmeric – stimulates the secretion of digestive juices and improves gallbladder function.
Butterfat stimulates the secretion of bile needed to convert carotenes from vegetables into
vitamin A and at the same time supplies very easily absorbed true vitamin A.
Karen Dvornich, NTP, CGP