The Tummy Whisperer
Welcome to the Tummy Whisperer Podcast. I'm your host, Renee Barasch, a certified digestive health specialist. In this podcast, I'll be discussing how to rehabilitate your tummy so you can sleep better, turn off cravings, increase energy, and feel great. I'm here to provide real answers and practical solutions for those dealing with typical digestive discomforts to more severe issues such as chronic gas, painful bloating, constipation, diarrhea, acid reflux, and ridiculous heartburn. Additionally, I'll explore the connections between seemingly unrelated issues such as allergies, fatigue, and skin conditions through various diagnostic tools and testing. I'll help identify nutritional deficiencies in the digestive tract and develop a plan that is sustainable and effective so you can have better digestion, absorption, and detoxification for optimal health and well-being.Join me each week on the Tummy Whisperer Podcast as we take a deep dive into digestive wellness, a place of understanding, knowledge, and empowerment for finding lasting balance for a lifetime of better health. Follow us now on Apple or Spotify or wherever you stream your favorite shows. I look so forward to talking with you soon!
The Tummy Whisperer
Ep. 5 - The Gallbladder-Diet Connection Unveiled
Ready to unlock the mysteries of your gallbladder? Your Tummy Whisperer, Renee Barasch, is back with another thought-provoking episode, this time with the incredible Janine! We're unearthing the secrets of your gallbladder, from its vital role in your body to why stones or sludge may form. But it's not just about the gallbladder; you might be surprised to learn that cravings for fatty and salty foods, dry skin, and even thirst for cold liquids might all be signs your gallbladder is waving a red flag. Ladies, we're especially talking to you, as you're more likely to have your gallbladders removed - ever wondered why?
As we dig deeper, Janine and I turn our attention to the often-underestimated relationship between your gallbladder, digestion, and diet. It's time to face the bitter truth - processed food and preservatives are a burden on your body, and guess who's taking the brunt? Yes, your gallbladder! But don't worry, we're not just here to scare you. We'll guide you on the right path, emphasizing the importance of balanced meals and lightly cooked veggies. But beware, even digestive enzymes, often considered the good guys, can pose risks for those with an irritated digestive lining. So, buckle up, listeners! This is one episode you wouldn't want to miss!
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Contact Renee:
Email: Nhsolutions@sbcglobal.net
Website: www.thetummywhisperer.com
Hello everybody and welcome to the Tummy Whisperer podcast. I am here, live with you. I'm Renee Barrish, your Tummy Whisperer for the day, and I'm here with the lovely Janine, and today we are going to talk about something very near and dear to my heart. We're going to be talking about the gallbladders function, how it works, what it does, what can be happening to you if your gallbladder is not functioning perfectly or wonderfully, why stones form, why sludge may form, why you may be feeling tired, why you may not be sleeping well, why you may be having cravings for fatty foods and salty foods, and I think we can start with that. What do you think, janine?
Speaker 2:This is a fascinating topic to me. Yes, I'm on board.
Speaker 1:So it's interesting too, because when you look at the gallbladder and what it does let's just talk about what, if everyone knows the gallbladder is located on your right side. It's right under the stand up here, it's right under the rib cage there. So here is your rib cage And then it's right under here on the right hand side. Now a lot of people may feel a little tenderness in that region, in that area, and it could be one of a million things. But it also could be that the gallbladder is having a little contraction around poor digestion of fats and proteins. So again back to my treating. We're looking at muscle contraction related to what's not being broken down properly and how the body is expressing some kind of symptom or some kind of tightness or some kind of stress right.
Speaker 2:So what happens with that? How do you know that you're having gallbladder issues?
Speaker 1:So there are a lot of symptoms related to gallbladder issues. First thing, it's really easy to look at Dry skin. Dry skin is a number one thing to look at, and it's not just wintertime when it's colder out, if your skin is dry in your legs and dry in your neck. Dry skin thirst for very cold, craving for very cold liquids is one. So if there's you guys are ice chewers out there who is ever chewing ice? you're probably thinking how does she know this? That's also assigned to a poor gallbladder function. Another thing that can be related to poor gallbladder function is craving for fatty foods. You crave what you don't digest. So back to that previous episode we talked about the air traffic control center. Hypo-thound is kicking off cravings from your tongue and your brain to your tongue. When you crave fats, your body needs them because you're not digesting. So the brain is sending that message to the tongue hey, go get some fats. Water dysregulation, hormonal imbalance and also low stomach acid is another reason why the gallbladder doesn't function properly. So to tie in tandem with stomach acid, which I'll go back to in a minute, i wanted to actually I got interrupted with myself, which I do all the time.
Speaker 1:Women have their gallbladder removed more than met. And I want to tell you guys, why. The first reason is women don't breathe properly. We all breathe up here, we're all go, we're all taking care of everybody but ourselves, right? So we don't take time to take a breath in, allow good expansion from the rib cage to allow good bile flow from the gallbladder to help degrease and break down those fats. So when we're stuck in a pattern of chest breathing and that opening up that rib cage, that's the first place to look. You want to start having good bile function, good gallbladder function. Start doing a little bit of deep breathing, even if you just do it for one minute after a meal every day breakfast, lunch and dinner. Open up that rib cage and even allow a little bit of movement in the arms to put some expansion into that rib cage.
Speaker 1:But men typically they do get their gallbladders out, but not as often as women. So I just wanted to say that ladies, get breathing, get a little bit of movement in if you can. And then the hydrochloric acid production is another thing that actually works with helping the gallbladder function properly. So if we don't make enough hydrochloric acid, we start to lose the ability to make enough HDL from age 45 on up. That's how we can start to have a lower functioning gallbladder. Now there's people out there that are listening saying I put in hydrochloric acid supplements before and it burned me and I had a real hard issue with that.
Speaker 1:Or I felt a lot better doing it. So it's one or the other. So somebody who already has a very compromised digestive lining. Your lining starts from the back of your throat lines all the way down in your esophageal tube, in your stomach, small intestine, large intestine, out your back side. If there's any kind of either damage or it's compromised on any level and it's sensitive and it's too thin, hydrochloric acid is going to over, stimulate that and cause a little bit of a burn. So you have to be careful with that and you have to have the right diet, a good anti-inflammatory diet in the body so it's not completely still hurting the mucosal lining and you have to also have enough stomach acid to be able to handle it.
Speaker 1:So people who have a compromised mucosal lining, where are they compromised? How thin is their lining? Are there infections? Are there bacterias? Are there inflammatory foods? Do they have all of the involved causing a little bit of thinning of the lining which the cells do turn over. But if you keep on barting it it's not going to have the chance to do that. So again, for some people adding some hydrochloric acid as a game changer, you definitely want to add it with pepsin, pepsinogen in it. I like using Dr Lou, mrs Formu's, that have the digested enzymes in there, because just putting in hydrochloric acid without digestive enzymes is not enough. So when the hydrochloric acid is stimulated, and if somebody has enough, that's what liberates the enzymes. So if you don't have enough HCl, you're definitely not going to have enough digestive enzymes.
Speaker 2:So a lot of times it's good to take them together Just how do you Just how do you Can you increase your digestive enzymes? Do you mean naturally?
Speaker 1:Yeah, you can. So enzymes. So there's three different kinds of enzymes. There's digestive enzymes found in your digestive tract. There's food enzymes found in raw food and there's your metabolic enzymes that run out your processes in the body. So how do we increase our digestive enzymes? We have to eat food that have enzymes in there.
Speaker 1:So that's everything raw, which I don't recommend. I don't recommend a raw diet, especially like eating raw chicken, because that would be gross. So I recommend cooking your proteins and even steaming your vegetables and softening the fibers. So people get horrible belly aches from raw vegetables and fruit. But the way to really make enough stomach acid and to liberate those enzymes is by having enough chloride, which is your salt, enough hydration, which is your water, and enough to the right chemistry on board to stimulate hydrochloric acid. So there's vitamins and minerals in the body that form this liquid that makes the hydrochloric acid. So if we have deficiencies then we're looking at deficiencies elsewhere. So the whole trick is getting in the good stuff and not overdoing the good stuff, but getting in enough of the good stuff so the body can handle what's going in. So quick examples I had a client this morning tell me that she does counts for macros and she's worried about getting enough protein.
Speaker 1:And I said don't worry about getting enough protein, don't worry about eating enough protein, you have to worry about digesting what your body can handle. People are very much of the mindset that this 25 grams of protein and they think that they're actually getting 25 grams of protein when they eat a shake. That's 25 grams of protein. But the realities of puppy literally only getting maybe six to 10, maybe at best with proper protein digestion. Eating it is not the same as digesting it. Remember comfort ingestion requires it to be an anti-inflammatory product for your body, whatever that is different from person to person And the body having enough of the chemistry on board in order to liberate those enzymes to digest it, carry it into the cell wall to use and then convert it to whatever it needs to convert it to and get rid of the waste on the cellular level.
Speaker 2:Sounds easy. That's so interesting because you're absolutely right. There's such a craze with getting my macros in. I need to get my macros in. People have all these apps that are calculating this and they're trying to get a certain amount of protein and fats, and it's more of a science than anything.
Speaker 1:And it's not a bad way to go. The key they're missing is the key. What's the key? digestion. Digestion is the key to everything health. In my professional opinion, You've got to digest what's going in. If you don't break it down, there's no way the body's going to have good absorption and good detoxification. It just can't happen. And you can put in all the good stuff lost by monks. It could be the most perfect food ever, But if your body hasn't had the ability to break it down, you're still at square one. And then you're still counting carbs, macros, proteins, grams, counting all that stuff which-.
Speaker 2:And it's so true That is insanely. I always learn so much from you, brinnell. And then, what makes the gallbladder? what's the pain? What kind of pain do people get before they're like I need to go to the ER and get this. I need to get well People who know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, people who are having a gallbladder attack know they're doubled over in pain And it can be on the right side it could be their whole abdomen. I've heard things like sharp stabbing pain in the GI tract. A lot of diarrhea could be for, even before the gallbladder attack, pain in the shoulders. So this is called the universal stress point. It's your tight traps, right. So everybody who's watching or listening take a squeeze up in your shoulder blades, or your friend would come up behind you and give you a massage, see if it's tight there. I'm pretty tight here, but this is an area, that's if it's contracted or tight, that could also be a fatty acid deficiency, it could be a stat deficiency. So where the body doesn't have enough adequate fat on board and it's causing a muscle contraction And fat is hard to digest for a lot of people.
Speaker 1:But again, adequate hydrofluoric acid, enough lipase on board, which is your fat digesting enzyme. It's not the fat that goes into proper, proper fat digestion, for sure, and increasing the flow of bile. So for somebody who has some of those cravings for fatty foods, sugary foods, for sure, carbohydrate cravings and severe carbohydrate cravings can come from poor fat digestion, not fat cravings, fat cravings too, but more carbs. If somebody's not digesting their carbs very well, they're going to crave fat, because fat also is fuel right.
Speaker 1:Sugar and carbs are your quick fuel, but fat is a longer term fuel and the body's going to crave it. And if the body can't digest it, it's going to make the bile sludgy and it's going to stick in it and then you're going to have more cravings and you're going to have other issues And you work from the dry skin that I mentioned to hormonal issues, to sleep issues, to all kinds of stuff related to skin issues We talked about in one episode rashes, eczema, high psoriasis, gallbladder largely responsible for that as well. So the bile is made in the liver and the gallbladder is the regulator, And when the gallbladder can't regulate that bile and the liver is overwhelmed, then we can for sure start to get our skin issues, which we talked about, I believe, episode before last.
Speaker 2:That's fascinating. I've always heard stories of different diets actually exacerbating gallbladder issues, like I heard. for example, like there was a and there's some validity to this because I know someone but there was like a whole class action lawsuit in the 80s from NutrSystem because all these people were eating the food and there was some kind of issue with losing their gallbladders. I don't know what was in the food or what preservatives or I don't know.
Speaker 1:I remember NutrSystem God, that was a while back. I'd have to look that up and I may, just for fun and I can throw in the comments. But if NutrSystem it was, i think it was prepackaged food. Right, Might have been their prepackaged stuff And, depending, what's in it, if it's all dead food and doesn't have any enzymes in it.
Speaker 1:so what's in food? protein, carbohydrate, vitamin, mineral, enzymes, enzymes, being your most heat sensitive nutrient found in food, and food gets processed and heated and cooked. Your enzymes get destroyed. So in NutrSystem, my assumption is that there's it's dead food, zero enzymes. So when you're eating a lot of refined stuff, you're placing an incredible burden on the body, an incredible demand on the body, when the body may already be running at a deficit. So possibly why people are losing their gallbladders? Maybe there's a lot of fat in there, a lot of protein, too much that the body could handle, and then it wasn't bioavailable or predigested or available for the body to actually use it. And then, depending on the person eating it, if they were already operating in a little bit of a deficit, then they're putting in this dead food and asking the body to perform bodies. Whoa, no, sorry, no, mos can't do it.
Speaker 2:That's a little scary in that you're eating. I'm going back to the whole pre-packaged food thing, right That there's no enzymes, it's dead food.
Speaker 1:It literally is dead food.
Speaker 2:There's nothing nutritious in it, it's just calories. at that point.
Speaker 1:Calories, maybe a little bit of fiber and some chemistry. They're putting synthetics in there. Remember, in cereal boxes added riboslav and vitamin B. Because they strip all the vitamins to process the cereal, they have to put something back in, otherwise you're just eating, yeah, chemical Molotov cocktail at that point It is definitely. That's why they strip them. That's why they do put this up, the vitamins, the synthetic vitamins, back in.
Speaker 2:They put synthetic vitamins in there.
Speaker 1:Sure it's cheaper. I'm not going to put whole from back in the cereal You put in synthetics in.
Speaker 2:That's a whole. that's funny, that's bad. Yeah, that's American culture at its finest. Thanks.
Speaker 1:FDA. I can't tell you how many clients I've had moved here from Europe and get sick within two weeks to two months to two years because there are food is not as good as it is elsewhere, and I think I mentioned that a few hundred times on baby is podcast. We just don't care for our food here the way other countries do, and it's sad.
Speaker 2:All about the money. So eating a balanced if you're trying to eat a balanced diet, should someone especially? we're talking about the gallbladder specifically you want it and you mentioned steamed food, so you don't want to cook them to the point where there's it's dead food, right, right, is there a certain temperature that you cook vegetables at that?
Speaker 1:I like lightly steamed with a little bit of crunch to it. Some people don't like that texture, so you still want to boil it to death. The Chinese really have a steamed cooked lightly cooked, not overcooked, not over processed. In Chinese medicine it's really about balance. So some people do better with a colder diet, with cold, wet vegetables. Some people do better with more of a steamed, and even even if you are steaming your vegetables, you can also put them in the refrigerator.
Speaker 1:So what I like to do many times is I cook to the dog and I'll make asparagus and broccoli and all kinds of stuff and carrots and I'll make a bunch of them, i'll put them in the refrigerator and then I can use them for salad toppers or snacks or whatever I like. And that way it's, you've cooked it already. So counts is cooked, it's soft, fiber softened, and then you have something that may be a little bit easier to digest. And I know I sound like I'm contra indicating myself or counter countering myself by saying all enzymes are found in raw food. What happens when you cook it? Yes, you do destroy the enzymes, but you soften the fiber when it comes to vegetables, and you can also change the chemistry of it a little bit For people who have digestive issues, where you're really taking out an element that can make it a little bit easier to digest and break down. But that's why also adding in the enzymes at meal time is also critical, for sure.
Speaker 2:Can you buy digestive enzymes and sprinkle it on your food?
Speaker 1:You can And I don't really recommend that because there's so many kinds out there And, as I mentioned earlier, somebody has a very irritated lining. If they take an enzyme that has some protease in it. It may not bother them, but it may bother them, it may really bother them And they're like yep, i can take enzymes. I can't tell you how many times I had clients have come to me like take an enzyme to four and they bother me, they hurt my stomach. So my teacher, dr Loomis, at enzyme formulations, makes all the supplements, all the enzymes that I use, primarily enzymes. When I do use them, i use his formulas because not only are they quality, controlled, tested, free coal-lives, salmonella, heavy metals, viruses, bacteria, they're super clean, but they're formulated for you.
Speaker 1:But what's going on with you? Not just hey, i've got this symptom, let's take this for that. So you have to know what's going on with somebody and their digestion before you start adding supplements. And I would recommend that for anybody. Start taking supplements willy-nilly. It could hurt yourself. It's dangerous. If you don't have, i would say for anybody listening if you don't have a severe acid reflux, it's probably okay to take a general broad spectrum digestive enzyme and see how it does And it's not doing enough for you. It's just not strong enough for you, and then you need something more specific. That's a great point.
Speaker 2:And also, when someone's gallbladder is removed, what happens to the body?
Speaker 1:So while the organ is out, the liver is still making bile, but it really has nowhere to be regulated, so it forms its own little pouch. It forms like a little clutch purse and it drips into this little pouch and then this little pouch becomes the folder in the tank. But there's no waitful regulation. So the bottle's there, but without it being regulated, a lot of bowel issues.
Speaker 1:People that have had their doctor will tell them we need to take your gallbladder out, either their stones or sludge or whatever. Gallbladder comes out and you should be feeling better. And some people do feel way better temporarily, because, remember, the reason that gallbladder came out to begin up is because they weren't digesting their food to begin with. So you hear, is in years of undigested foods and fats and proteins, lachopydrochoric acids starting to form sludge in stones? all of a sudden, boom, there's too many stones, too much sludge. There's nothing else to do but remove the gallbladder. So take me out. The gallbladder does not fix your digestive issues, guys, it's just a side effect of poor digestion and after effective for digestion.
Speaker 2:This is fascinating and gallstones comes. Arises with all of that the lack of the correct digestive enzymes.
Speaker 1:An acid balance correct? Wow, definitely. Yeah, it's tricky. There's a lot to know. It's not. It's not a one-size-fits-all approach, which is why somebody who's taken a little bit of hydrochloric acid ended up getting a little feeling not great from it because it was burning your lining where somebody else took a little bit of hydrochloric acid and it took away their massive belching. So if you're out there near belching a lot, you have a couple things going on and one of them probably is a lack of hydrochloric acid. Again, don't start taking it without being supervised by either your doctor or somebody who knows how to work with the right hydrochloric acid balance for your stomach.
Speaker 2:What if you're having it from the other end and you're passing gas Lower?
Speaker 1:ball gas could be also part of that as well. But for sure upper GI is gallbladder related. But lower, too lower, for sure definitely. And that could also be herb hydrates and fats, it depends. I'm able to see a lot of that on that. You're intestine, so that's all I would know for sure.
Speaker 2:So interesting. Okay, that just blew my mind. You just blow my mind continually.
Speaker 1:I saw the wheels turning and it's. I love what I do because I love being able to help people connect the dots. It's so important for your health and for your longevity and for everything You know. You don't want to have your health. I always say this you don't want to have your health.
Speaker 1:Being a full-time job, we all have enough stress on our plate. We have to deal with our day-to-day every day. You don't want to have to do extra because your health is giving you your check-ins and light right. You want to be able to at least thrive and feel good and have put in the good stuff, digest the good stuff, absorb the good stuff, get rid of the waste and the good stuff could be also some cheats from time to time. It just really just depends, like this morning seeing Kvina was mentioning earlier she was like going on vacation and I'm gonna be limited with my diet and what can I do?
Speaker 1:and you know if they're gonna be at the grocery store and get all the snacks that you would get at home and bring them with you. I did that. Mark and I went away. We were in Wisconsin over the weekend and I went to my friend's house and they are in a gluten-free home, so it made a lot easier. But we came with bunches of stocks and we came back with bunches of stuff. I brought more than I needed to, but definitely, as a foodie, don't want to do without something to munch on. So true, and if you're prepared right and you get enough stuff at the store, you got to just grab it on your closet, throw it in the car and go. It's really easy.
Speaker 2:Such great tips. Renee, Like I can't even say enough about how brilliant you are and how much I've learned from you. Your audience is learning so much.
Speaker 1:It is my joy to be able to give this information to those of you who are listening, those of you who are struggling, those of you who have questions. I invite you to reach out anytime. You can find me at the tummywhisperercom digestivehealthsolutionscom. You can email me at nhsolutions at sbcglobalnet and, of course, my cell phone right there, 847-207-2034. You can send me a text message, happy to get your questions answered for you. I do offer a free 15-minute consultation for anybody who wants to tell me what's happening and see if I can help get them closer to the finish line, if not cross the finish line.
Speaker 2:Love it.
Speaker 1:So yes And follow.
Speaker 2:Renee on Apple iHeart, spotify, wherever you enjoy your shows on the podcast ecosystem and leave her a five-star rating. It goes a long way.
Speaker 1:Yeah, thanks everybody for joining me today and we'll see you again in a couple weeks. Thanks, janane. Thank you Bye for now.