Support Your Gallbladder, whether you have one or not

The Gallbladder is an important organ and we can support this organ and organ energy in many ways. This is true, perhaps especially if your gallbladder has been removed. Have you tried any of these tips?

About the Gallbladder

Sitting below the liver, the gallbladder is a small pear-shaped organ. It stores and releases bile that the liver produces. Bile, which consists primarily of water, bile salts, and cholesterol, is how our body breaks down fat. It is an essential part of our digestive system and overall health. The gallbladder acts as a reservoir for when the small intestine needs it. To digest fat, we have the gallbladder, liver, and small intestine to thank for.

The more fatty the diet is, the more bile is needed and so the gallbladder stores more. The gallbladder then can get inflammed. Spicy and deep-fried foods are also associated with inflammation and pain. It may get to the point where medical doctors recommend cholecystectomy, which is removing the gallbladder. This has become common.

According to a pre-print study that used surveys and Medicaid and Medicare databases, based on claims, in 2019, 893,000 gallbladder removal surgeries were performed in the U.S. The study concluded that gallbladder illness is increasing and that’s a lot of gallbladders removed.

The literature says that the surgery is uncomplicated and the body adjusts to not having a gallbladder. However, reading many people’s stories, post-cholecystectomy is not always so simple. While the liver continues to produce bile, without the gallbladder, there is no place to store it. Some people experience intolerance of fatty food, gas, heartburn, jaundice, and even abdominal pain.

The bile then continues straight into the small intestine. This places additional burden on both of these organs. It also can compromise the liver’s efficiency in performing its many other functions, including detoxification.

Support the GallBladder

As an organ energy, there are many associations with the Gallbladder. Spring, colour green, wood element, and the emotion of resentment.

In Chinese Medicine, gallstones are a sign of phlegm, dampness, and heat condensing over a period of time. Suppressed anger and resentment, eating fried foods, and stress are some ways this stagnation can occur.

The Gallbladder isn’t really talked about until there are gallstones. In English, we have the phrase, “have the gall” which means being bold and decisive. When this energy is out of balance, people can struggle with making decisions. They may also experience fear and timidity. We can look at our emotional states as signposts for imbalance.

Because of the the Gallbladder meridian pathway, exercise that impacts the side of the body helps the energy move. So, saddlebags may be showing a stagnation here. Check out Tai Chi or any side stretches.

In Jin Shin Jyutsu, we see different relationships with the gallbladder. For example, gallstones may be a sign of excessive acidity in the body. Droopy eyelids, puffiness around the eyes, quick to bruise, irritability, and extreme fatigue may be signs of gallbladder organ energy imbalance. The gallbladder is also connected with the coccyx and falls can imbalance this organ function energy.

Try this: hold your middle finger or place you left hand over the middle of the left side of your neck and your right hand or fingertips on the area above the right eyebrow.

Even if your gallbladder was removed, the energy is still there and you can support it energetically.

Support the Liver

We can support the liver in many ways. The liver is involved so many processes in the body.

For those with their gallbladder removed, the liver is burdened from having to make additional bile (since it’s not stored for use when needed).

For one, we can reduce other sources of burden. Look into non-toxic personal care and cleaning products. How clean are your cleaning products? Check out this cleaning product bundle for a healthy switch.

Have you tried a castor oil pack for your liver?

Consider adding herbal support. Dandelion, peppermint, and milk thistle are the most well-known. Others include hyssop, anise seeds, and thyme. Adding more herbs to our cooking not only enhances the flavour of our food; it has health benefits.

In eastern medicine, the Liver organ energy is paired with the Gall Bladder organ energy. So, it also has a relationship with anger, the element of Wood, the colour green, and Spring. This season can be a potent time to cleanse and support the Liver, as with the Gallbladder. If you are often irritated or angry or finding eyesight issues, Liver organ energy may be out of balance.

In Chinese Medicine, the Liver is known as the “silent organ” because of the few nerves and is responsible for the smooth movement of qi and for storing blood. There are many acupressure points that we can stimulate to support the liver and liver detox.

Some include:

• KD-9 located on the side of the calf; known as the “commander point” in liver detox and a primary elimination point for toxin elimination from fluids.
• LV-4 located in front of the ankle bone; clears heat from the Liver meridian and enhances fat metabolism (Heat can be created from accumulation of fat)
• LV-3 located on top of the foot, in the hollow between the big and second toe; helpful when qi is blocked from the Liver meridian

Find out their placements of these acupressure points and additional ones here.

In Jin Shin Jyutsu, we can support the Liver Organ Function Energy by holding our middle finger. Or you can place your left hand on the left occipital bone and your right hand on your right collarbone. Switch hands to balance the other side.

Dietary Adjustments

Diet is always on the table. What we eat, how we eat matters. From the Human Design lens, we can see how we can more vulnerable to conditioning, and eating is the the earliest and deepest form of conditioning.

Without a gallbladder, there may be an intolerance of fatty and other fats. Digestion may struggle. A food journal is helpful to observe these patterns to discover which foods need to be minimized. Adding digestive support such as enzymes can also be helpful. Take a look at Digest Ease and Digest Support. These are helpful for those who’ve had their gallbladder removed. Digest Support is taken about thirty minutes prior to meals.

Many people enjoy peppermint tea to support their digestion. Here’s a Peruvian tea called muna to check out that’s similar to peppermint tea.

Check in with your Stress Level

It can’t be overstated how stress impacts us on every level. It depletes our magnesium, which is involved in over 300 essential factors. It can keep us ruminating, looped into spirals of emotions and thoughts. Our genetic expression can be altered.

Stress can impact our digestion and emotions can affect our organs and imbalanced organ energy can affect our emotions.

Here are some resources about stress.

Examining our thoughts, understanding conditioning forces, observing our not-self strategies in play, moving our body, getting off the devices, getting into nature, spending time alone, spending time with your community… when we feel bothered by the world, it’s time for mediating within ourselves, reconnecting our left and right sides, our masculine and feminine sides, our past and present…

For myself, as a Human Design coach and Jin Shin Jyutsu practitioner trained in other modalities, I have my own go-to. I lean into energy medicine and I also take homeopathic remedies, flower essences, and herbal tinctures. The body is holistic so we can balance the relationships within. Dental health, for example, affects our overall health and vice versa. Teeth are connected to our meridians. So there are many “entry points” to supporting our gallbladder energy.

Do you need gallbladder support? Was your gallbladder removed? Book a session to release tension and learn tools to support yourself in your own authentic way.