Bile flow is an important but often neglected aspect of digestion.
Many times it is ignored up until the doctor is recommending surgery to remove your gallbladder.
Thankfully herbal medicine has an answer for improving bile flow and as a knock on effect improving digestion.
Read on to learn how herbal medicine and bile flow go can work together to improve the flow of bile, decrease bloating and indigestion and improve your digestion.
Herbal Medicine and Bile Flow – Improve Digestion and Eliminate Bloating
Today there seems to be an epidemic of people struggling with digestive issues. The only reason I know that is because I am one of them.
It all started with chronic parasite infections and dysbiosis (bacterial imbalances in my intestinal tract) and moved on to food sensitivities and bizzare symptoms like persistent headaches and chronic sinusitis.
Getting your digestive function back online and firing on all cylinders should be the main focus and will help with many different health complaints even if they seem unrelated. Our ability to break down, absorb and transport the nutrients in the food we eat is essential for optimal health and wellbeing.
So today we will be talking about bile, what it is, what it does and how herbal medicine can help to get it flowing properly so that you can digest your food, feel great and live your life symptom free.
Bile Production Starts In The Liver
Bile starts it’s life in the liver.
Each day the liver produces between 800-1000 ml of bile made up of water, bile salts, cholesterol and bile pigments.
You read right that is up to a litre of bile each and every day!
Herbal medicines that can help with bile production are called choleretics. They work with the liver to increase the production of bile.
Herbal medicine and bile flow production:
- Barberry
- Greater celandine
- Globe artichoke
- Peppermint
- Andrographis
- Wormwood
Bile Is Stored In The Gallbladder
Ah, the infamous gallbladder.
Having your gallbladder removed, called a cholecystectomy, is a common surgical intervention that is frequently recommended when people experience digestive pain, gallstones and bile stasis. I’m still a bit unclear why we jump to removing such a key digestive organ so quickly.
It baffles me.
Liver cells produce bile which then travels through a series of ducts to the gallbladder for storage. Without the gallbladder there is no place to store all the essential bile that facilitates digestion. This is why so many people that have had their gallbladder removed struggle to digest different foods, mainly fats.
A Surge Of Bile
From the gallbladder bile travels along the bile duct, meets up with the pancreatic duct and winds up in the small intestine. Here is where all the magic happens. Bile, along with pancreatic enzymes, works away on the fat molecules, breaking them down in a process known as emulsification.
From here they be absorbed across the gut wall and into the body for use by the different cells.
Now what we just covered is a perfect sequence.
This is what should be happening.
What we want to happen.
Unfortunately, for many of us, it doesn’t quite go this way. Many times bile can become sluggish and fail to flow properly.
Thankfully herbal medicine has an answer to this problem. The herbs that come to our rescue here are called cholagogues. A funny word that means they assist gallbladder contraction, and help to push the bile out of the gallbladder into the bile duct, sending it on it’s way to the small intestine.
I think of the gallbladder like a squeeze pump. You squeeze it and off the bile goes.
Herbal Medicine And Bile Flow
Ok now onto the different herbs that can help with bile flow.
Herbal medicine and bile flow secretion aka cholagogues:
- Globe artichoke
- Greater celandine
- Gentian
- Dandelion Root
- Oregon Grape Root
- Wormwood
You can see that many of the same herbs that help to make bile also help to stimulate it’s release into the small intestine.
Now there are some contraindications with cholagogues, meaning times when they shouldn’t be taken. That’s why it is important to work with a trained herbalist.
One of the biggest ones is gallstones. If you think you may have a gallstone then it is wise to avoid these gallbladder stimulating herbs. Contraction of the gallbladder when it has a gallstone in it would be incredibly painful and might lead to an emergency room visit and most likely a gallbladder removal surgery.
Something you want to avoid.
Ok now onto some different foods to help with bile flow.
Foods That Help With Bile Flow
Food is medicine as much as herbs are medicine.
Anyone who thinks otherwise needs to look a bit deeper and report back.
In cases with serious digestive issues we need to look to our herbal medicine to really get things moving in the right direction. We can use food to help support and maintain the physiological effects that herbs make.
In this way we can transition from a herbal formula with targeted food and then taper off on the herbs when digestion is functioning properly.
Dr. John Douillard from LifeSpa has written a great article on the different foods that can help mobalise bile. Instead of rehashing a great article I would recommend heading over and having a read.
Focusing On Bile Flow To Improve Digestion
As a quick recap. We have covered some important points often neglected with digestive health.
- Bile production, starting in the liver, can be improved with herbal medicines known as choleretics. These, often bitter, herbs stimulate liver cells into manufacturing more bile.
- Bile then travels to the gallbladder to be stored for future use. Herbs known as cholagogues improve bile flow from the gallbladder to the small intestines where it is used to digest fatty foods.
- Different foods can be used to improve bile flow, increasing your digestive function and reducing symptoms like bloating and indigestion. They can be found here.
Are you struggling with digestion? Leave a comment below on things that have helped!
21 comments
Hi, Mr.Mansfield, I enjoyed reading your article, my 6yr old son has been having stomach issues Such as a lot of stomach pain and was diagnosed with Gastritis after an endoscopy was done and was prescribed Protonix but it did not help at all, (he had a lot of acid reflux and heart burn all day every day)so after doing a lot of research I thought he might possibly have issues with his gallbladder and decided to give him some pills (Guisazo De Caballo and Chancapiedra by the company Sunshine Naturals)Of course I broke open the capsule and mixed only a small portion with water since it was meant for adults and he is only 6yrs old; well to my astonishment it helped him out a lot he told me that he no longer felt pain in his chest but still felt a little pain around his belly area, which I am really hoping, I can some how figure out, how to solve.
Hi Michelle,
Great work on the bile moving herbs! They can really help.
In any patient experiencing gastritis I immediately want to rule out helicobacter pylori – more here – https://www.byronherbalist.com.au/parasite-infections/helicobacter-pylori-notoriously-popular-bacteria/
If that isn’t present then there could be other issues at play which may need some more investigations.
The h. pylori stool antigen test is the go-to test to determine whether this is an issue. It should be covered by medicare if you are in Australia or insurance elsewhere.
Best,
Todd
I have al gallstone. Was wondering are there any herbs I can take to help stimulate bile please
Very educative and informative.I will give it a try .No harm in trying .Expect a feedback .Thanks
Hi Todd, I was looking at the biofilm disrupters you recommended. I’ve just got some from the US- quite expensive all up but the name is Biofase. It’s got 9different enzymes. I haven’t started them yet but will when I start taking Metagenics Parex for Blastocystis and Dientameoba fragilis. Hopefully it’s a good product. Also taking Metagenics Alergenics and ultra flora immune enhance and SB along with mucosal foods. Can these parasites cause weight loss as I’ve lost a fair bit of weight over the last 3years and my thyroid is ok. Cheers Lesley
Hi there,
A friend of mine lives in Sydney and has an aggressive form of cancer with a tumor in his liver. We are from France and our herbalist here recommended that he take local chologogue herbs that are choleretic. In France, we take “fumeterre”. Which of the herbs you list are appropriate to purchase in australia when one has cancer with a tumor in the liver? And where can we purchase such herbs in sydney? Thank you so much- and good luck with the heavy rains, take care
Hi Todd, thank you. I learnt so much. Have you any thoughts on bio films, and it’s implications on re infection..?
Excellent article. Thank you.
Thanks :-)
Hi Todd, I had my gallbladder removed 6 months ago and I still experience pain and nausea. I am wondering if you could recommend a herbal supplement I could try to alleviate these problems. The nausea usually starts as soon as I get up in the morning and it doesn’t seem to matter what I eat. The pain is in the area where the gallbladder was removed. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thank you Todd.
What go you take increase bike if you have no gallbladder
It is the most nasty rottenness smell that can come out of a human body. My mother had it when she was 40 years old. She had a gallbladder attack when I took her gallbladder out the smell went away and her health improved but she did contract cancer and I lived another 20 years, but there’s nothing to do with the gallbladder the bile duct get clogged up she ate a bad diet. She was full blood Italian growing up. They didn’t have the quality of food available back in the depression days so there is a lot of grease and sugars involved, but for me, being a natural herbalist, I found out That foods that cleans your body like garlic and ginger and greens and do not eat and lumpy quantities of meat or any kind of food simplest breakdown of food is your key everything will pass through so take it with your grain assault smart eating is the best and treat your liver like a sponge. Do not clog it up with grease and alcohol and over and those and I’ll treat you back, right
great input! Thanks for the comment Brian :-)
Hi, I was just diagnosed with ulcers in the duodenum, what should I do to cure this.
Thank you
Hi Todd,
My name is Ed Rezewski. About 2 years ago my gall bladder was removed, unfortunately, I am still experiencing abdomonial discomfort caused by dilated common bile duct. In August, 2023 my gastrospecialist inserted a stent into the common bile duct only to remove it about a month later. A recent ultrasound of my liver and abdomin indicated that the common bile duct is still dilated, about 1.2 cm. Are there any herbal remedies to heal the common bile duct? An ERCP was recommended.
Is it safe to take chanca piedra if you have had your gallbladder removed? The gallbladder was removed about 15 years ago. Thank you.
I appreciate the insights shared in this article, particularly the emphasis on seeking professional advice for mardana kamzori ka nusksha. It’s reassuring to know that there are various treatment options available and that it’s not something anyone has to face alone.
Thank you for providing such an informative and well-organized blog post. The content was easy to follow, and I appreciated the additional resources you shared. To gain further insights, click here.
Hi Todd,
The question as to how to deal with sluggish bile flow when having gallstones isn’t answered. If one is to avoid stimulating bile flow because stones may be dislodged and block the ducts, then what is a non-surgical way of emptying gallbladder, please? Thank you, Elena
Hi Tod my mother is 83 she suffers from bitter sour taste in the mouth that comes from the stomach everything she tastes is bitter or sour is there any herbal remedies recipes herbs to help her with the acid and taste to help her to restore her taste and stomach issues and yes she suffers from herb idb that you I await your response thank you
Todd, You say, “there are some contraindications with cholagogues…One of the biggest ones is gallstones. If you think you may have a gallstone then it is wise to avoid these gallbladder stimulating herbs. Contraction of the gallbladder when it has a gallstone in it would be incredibly painful and might lead to an emergency room visit and most likely a gallbladder removal surgery.”
Ok, but bummer. I definitely have gallstones and large ones to boot. I can’t find any alternative sources that leave me feeling hopeful that I can actually do anything to help myself besides surgery. I’ve been dealing with gallbladder issues for 25 years and it’s basically taken this long to get them diagnosed. I’ve been told before that I needed surgery but when I saw the gallbladder surgeon 10 years ago he said “well I’ll take out your gallbladder if you really want me to, but if it were mine, I’d keep it.” He said I had some gallstone but they weren’t that big and he didn’t see it as a problem and that he wasn’t so sure that my problems was from the gallstones. I have ended up in the hospital about 6 times from intense pain in my solar plexes chest area which only morphine will help. Over the years I’ve take 1 pill of oxy to stop the pain, it goes away until it comes back (maybe a month, or six months, depending. More recently the pain has been sharp just to the right of my heart and/or like a tight band around my chest (my heart is in great condition) and aoot of pain in my middle back. The new surgeon says it’s definitely my gallbladder, the stones are large, and I need surgery. He has told me the risks of not doing surgery. He’s a kind man, not an alarmist, and supports me waiting and trying to heal myself otherwise although he doesn’t thing what I am doing it will. He thinks what I’m doing is fine, but won’t help the gallstones. Currently I’m using dandelion, milk thistle, artichoke and something called HepatoPro which is polyunsaturated phosphatidylcholine. I’ve cut out all dairy and I’m also a vegetarian, eating way less healthy fats along with a diet of natural foods high in fiber etc.
I don’t want surgery. Currently, the pain has stopped for about a week now thank goodness, but if and when it comes back, I don’t know how long I can bare the pain, or how long it is safe to bare the pain. Darn it! I don’t want surgery but I will do it if I have too. I am taking another whole list of supplements…
You mention not to take the cholagogues but I am, some of them. The surgeon did say they were find but you say it’s contraindicated and maybe he just doesn’t know. But if I’m not supposed to take them, then is the ANYTHING I can do besides surgery? Even if it’s not necessarult recommended? I’m not going for the olive oil cleanse as that just seems dangerous., but what the heck do I know? Not much.