Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Kidney Health Part 1 Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND No conversation about the liver would be complete without talking about the kidneys since one of the functions of the kidneys is to help remove waste from our body. Now I understand that kidney health can be …
Prozyme Digest Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND As a Naturopathic doctor I find myself often recommending that people use a probiotic and a digestive enzyme. These each have many benefits for our health. That is why I have chosen to highlight a product that contains …
Gallbladder: What is it? And what does it do?
Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND
In this current series we have mostly focused on liver and kidney health. In this blog we will be taking a left turn and focusing on the gallbladder since the overall health of the gallbladder can and does impact the health of the liver. But just what is the gallbladder and what does it even do for us? Let us get into it shall we?
Well, the gallbladder is a small organ that is located under the liver. It is like a pear-shaped balloon. Its job in the body is to store bile and release it when needed. The bile gets is made in the liver and is only stored in the gallbladder.
So how exactly does this process work? Well to put it simply the gallbladder connects to the various parts of your digestive system via the biliary tract (also called bile ducts). You can think of this pathway as a highway for bile to travel. Our liver produces bile and then it goes into the gallbladder for use later. When you eat the gallbladder gets a message to release the bile. Bile travels via the biliary tract to eventually end up in the duodenum where it helps to digest any fats you may have consumed. (1)
I bet I know what you are thinking, this process seems like such a simple system. What could go wrong? I am glad you asked! The first thing is you may form gallstones. Gallstones are like little rocks of bile that form either in the gallbladder or in the bile tract (bile duct).
Depending on the number of stones and how large they are they may or may not cause symptoms. A large stone can block the biliary tract causing a problem because of the regurgitation of the bile. For example, you may have cholecystitis (gallbladder inflammation), pancreatitis (inflamed pancreases) and cholangitis (bile duct inflammation). Gallstones also increase the risk of hepatitis (inflamed liver). For more information, please see my blog on this topic. Gallstones can also increase the risk of both jaundice and septicemia. (1)
Now what are the signs of gallbladder concerns? Well, you may have upper abdominal pain and nausea. You may have sweating, fever, and a rapid heart rate. Your abdomen may even swell and feel tender. You may have jaundice and even change the color of your urine/stool. (2) The abdominal muscles on the right side of the body may be stiff. Older individuals may have overall weakness and even increased fatigue. (3) Other signs can include pain after eating a fatty meal. The upper right abdominal pain may radiate to the right shoulder/ back. In addition to the fever, you may have chills. (1) If these sound like the signs and symptoms of hepatitis that is because they are. Remember as I said in my blog on hepatitis it is inflammation in the liver and when you have any inflammation in the gallbladder it increases the risk of inflammation in the liver.
Now what are the most common risk factors for gallbladder concerns? Well, these include being female, being over 40 y/o and being of Hispanic or Native American descent. Pregnancy is also a risk factor. Having high cholesterol, diabetes or obesity are all risk factors. Interestingly losing weight rapidly is also a risk factor. (3)
Gallbladder dysfunction may require surgery. Talk to your doctor about the different options. As for supplements, let us review our options, shall we?
Our product highlight will be Prozyme Digest!
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Hepatitis Part 2 Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND In our last blog on this topic, we began with some background information such as just what is hepatitis? What causes hepatitis? And what are the symptoms you might experience with hepatitis? If you haven’t read the first …
Hepatitis Part 1
Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND
When I first began to even just think about a series on our liver and kidney health, I knew it was important to to write about hepatitis. Viral hepatitis is a huge problem worldwide. In fact, according to the World health organization viral hepatitis is the second leading infectious cause of death globally. (1) But just what is hepatitis? What causes it? What are the long-term complications? And just what if anything can we do to reduce our risk factors? As you can guess there is an awful lot to cover so to keep it from becoming overwhelming, I will be splitting this topic into two parts. So, let us get into it, shall we?
Let us start with the simple question of just what is hepatitis? Hepatitis is when there is inflammation in your liver. Just like with cirrhosis anything that can cause injury to your liver can trigger inflammation or hepatitis. Depending on what is triggering the hepatitis it can be short term (acute) or long term (chronic). (2) Please look at the attached picture so you can compare an inflamed liver to a healthy liver. (3)
While there is more than one type of hepatitis I will be focusing on viral hepatitis and alcohol induced hepatitis because these are the types that I get the most questions about. Just so your familiar with the other types I will list them here. These include toxic hepatitis, metabolic dysfunction associated steatohepatitis and autoimmune hepatitis.
One of the differences between viral hepatitis and alcoholic induced hepatitis is that viral hepatitis is contagious, and alcohol induce hepatitis is not. Let us look at the types of viral hepatitis? Well, there is hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E. Other viral infections linked to viral help include Epstein Barr virus and cytomegalovirus. Regarding alcohol use and hepatitis everyone has a different tolerance, and this tolerance changes what levels will trigger inflammation and thus lead to alcohol induced hepatitis. (2) One of the concerns in those that have alcohol induced hepatitis or inflammation is that it can leave them at a higher risk of contracting viral hepatitis. So, to answer the question of can you get more than just one type of hepatitis a time the answer is that in a roundabout way yes you can. To put this in simple terms – Alcohol induced hepatitis or even just overall excessive alcohol intake can and does increase the risk of viral hepatitis. (4)
What are the signs and symptoms of hepatitis? In the initial stages of hepatitis, you may notice few if any symptoms. As the disease progresses you will start to see more severe symptoms. This is because the liver is less able to do all its jobs correctly. In general, you may notice nausea, loss of appetite and even fatigue. You may have upper abdominal pain and even a fever. Eventually you may notice jaundice and even changes to the color of your urine and stool. You may notice pruritus, or itchy skin. Over time you may develop something called hepatic encephalopathy, which presents as confusion, disorientation or even drowsiness. (2)
Our next blog on this topic will talk about how viral and alcohol induced hepatitis present. I will also be talking about important risk factors for hepatitis as well as any complications that can occur. Finally, I will be reviewing supplements that that can help to reduce risk factors for hepatitis as well as things to help our overall liver health. As a preview I will just say that this will include classics such as NAC, Milk Thistle and even Glutathione!
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