What does the gall bladder do?

For some people, the first real awareness of the gall bladder comes when they’re told that they have gall bladder stones. Some even end up having the bladder removed without fully knowing what it does for the body. You should understand what the gall bladder does for so, you can start protecting it.

Gall Bladder and Bile

The gall bladder is a pear-shaped located at the back of the liver, which is in turn found behind the right rib cage. The organ is part of the digestive system, is green in color, and contains yellow bile. The gall bladder is actually connected both to the liver and to the small intestine through ducts.

Normally, when we eat food, it enters the stomach and intestines to be broken down into particles, with some to be absorbed by the body and others to be eliminated. The liver and the gall bladder play an important role in this digestive function. The liver produces bile, some of which goes directly to the intestine while the remaining amount is stored in the gall bladder.

The organ can hold about 50 ml of bile. In the gall bladder, the bile is kept for future use, and in the meantime is made even more potent through water removal. When a person eats, a hormone is produced which tells the muscle valve that keeps the bile from flowing to relax. It also signals the gall bladder to contract. Once bile gets out, it goes into the small intestine, where it breaks down the fats. The bile also makes the acids neutral.

The gall bladder, therefore, is very important for fat to be efficiently metabolized. This means that the organ also has an indirect role in the body’s use of fat soluble vitamins. Moreover, the bile that is produced by this organ is crucial in the elimination of waste from the body.

Gall Bladder Problems

There are different kinds of gall bladder problems, but most of them arise due to the presence of gall bladder stones. These are formed when cholesterol crystallizes. Sometimes, gall stones may only cause a sensation of indigestion, but the pain can also be extreme, especially when blockage occurs in the ducts. If the stones are too large to go out on their own, the gall bladder may have to be removed entirely. It has been observed that gall stones are most common among women who are largely built and are over forty. These days, however, people at the age of 30 or even 20 may already have gall stones. It is possible that the popular modern fatty diet may be responsible for this.

Taking Care of Your Gall Bladder

The best way to prevent gall bladder disease is to reduce one’s intake of saturated fats. It is not a good idea though to avoid fats altogether, since the right kind of fats in the right amount also help maintain gall bladder health. Consume regulated amounts of fats contained in fish oil, olive oil and canola oil, among others.