Gallbladder

The gallbladder - what's it there for?

The gallbladder is a small pouch which stores and concentrates bile.    Produced by the liver from cholesterol,  the liver's intra-hepatic bile ducts deliver bile to one large tube called the common bile duct, flowing into into the gallbladder, where it is concentrated up to 5-fold. The liver makes 1 - 1½ quarts of bile in a day.

Bile is used to:

•  Break down fats for digestion.   About 20 minutes after eating fat, the gallbladder is triggered to squeeze itself empty, delivering bile through a series of ducts into the small intestines, where it is used to emulsify fats into smaller pieces with more surface area, making it easier for the pancreatic enzyme lipase to break it down for absorption.  90-95% of bile is reabsorbed from the colon and returned to the liver, where it is recycled as many as 20 times.

•   Aid absorption of fat-soluble vitamins - A, D, E and K

To efficiently achieve these functions requires a good bile flow

How to improve bile flow