The Overlooked Keys to a Healthy Gallbladder

Keep your bile thin and free-flowing by focusing on supportive foods, supplements, and physical activity.

- By Melissa Diane Smith. Photographs by Melissa Diane Smith and Getty Images

Q:A few weeks ago, I overate a fatty meal and experienced horrible pain. I went to the emergency room and found out I had a small gallstone. It passed on its own, but it left me wondering: Is there anything that I can do to help prevent the development of more gallstones?

A Gallstones are the most common form of gallbladder disease, a significant and costly health problem in our society. In fact, 10–20 percent of Americans will develop gallstones at some point in their lives, although the majority never develop symptoms.

For those who do experience pain, it’s likely that the gallbladder is sending out a major SOS. The conventional medical approach is gallbladder removal, which is necessary in certain cases, especially in cases of life-threatening infection. But “there’s no thought as to what got you there,” says George Papanicolaou, DO, a functional medicine physician at The Ultra Wellness Center in Lenox, Mass.

In contrast, functional medicine seeks to uncover the root cause that led to the formation of gallstones and approaches treatment from there— usually nutritional therapy to support optimal, healthy, free-flowing bile. “If you’re not getting what you need to make good bile, then you’re going to put your gallbladder under pressure,” explains Papanicolaou.

The Basics of Gallbladder Health