Where is your gall bladder?
Follow your ribs out to the right from the soft cartilage at the centre of the sternum. The cartilage is called the xiphisternum. Now tighten your abdominal muscles (if you can find them!). The gall bladder is buried in the folds of your liver just to the edge of the rectus abdominus muscles. Press in slowly as you massage under your ribs.
What does your gall bladder do?
It stores and concentrates bile salts (they are green). They help you to digest fats, oils and the fat soluble vitamins A, E, D, and K.
What do bile salts contain?
They contain fatty acids, electrolytes, cholesterol and minerals including calcium.
What are gallstones and why do they form?
Cholesterol is not particularly soluble in water, neither is calcium. Secretion of both could lead to stone formation. From autopsy studies 20% of the bodies that were examined had gallstones, most did not cause symptoms.
How can I keep my gall bladder healthy?
- Avoid overloading it
- Increase secretions
- Help it to function normally
- Take stimulants to flush and cleanse it
Soluble fibre in your diet is an important way to flush out the gall bladder. Fibre in grains like wheat is largely insoluble. It increases the bulk of stools but is not absorbed into your bloodstream. Soluble fibre is found in pectin (the flesh of citrus fruits for example), in linseeds and in oatbran. Oatbran is a more gentle fibre than wheat bran. the soluble elements helps to gently flush out your liver and bile duct. Ideally take a dessert spoonful a day. Linseeds should be crushed before eating or crush them in your teeth. They contain lignins which are also good for hormonal balance. Nuts are a good source of fibre. Peanuts for instance contain (weight for weight) more fibre than prunes. Avoid eating peanuts raw. Try peanut butter spread into a stick of celery as a snack.
If you have acute or continued pain the area under your ribs ask someone competent to check it out. It might not be the gall bladder at all. Other causes might be wind in the colon, a peptic or duodenal ulcer, hiatus hernia (to the left of the xiphisternum), old adhesions from a previous operation or car accident or referred pain from elsewhere.