12/19/2025
I'm a firm believer that we should work hard to help our bodies function appropriately and keep our organs!
Why in the U.S are doctors so quick to schedule surgeries to remove body parts rather than to help their patients understand how to take care of themselves and KEEP them?
Japan, much of Europe, India, Korea, China, and parts of Latin America typically use functional and conservative methods first, reserving surgery for severe or emergency cases.
In the US, standard training is surgical, not functional. Insurance rarely covers supplements, diet support, or monitoring. If doctors do recommend supplements, they are usually synthetic. Many doctors have no training in bile chemistry or functional gastroenterology, so they "anticipate a gall bladder emergency" and rush to surgery.
The numbers vary, but range from 600,000 - around a million gall bladder removals annually in the US......MOST OF THESE COULD BE AVOIDED!! Many surgeries could be avoided if we took a more conservative approach, give the body the nutrients needed to function efficiently and avoid those things that CAUSE/CONTRIBUTE to the problems.
Outside the U.S., clinicians look at why stones formed, and address those issues (makes sense to me). Some examples include: low stomach acid, low bile acid, estrogen dominance, rapid weight loss, insulin resistance, high oxalates, MINERAL DEFICIENCIES and dehydration.
In other countries that don't rush to surgery, instead they look at liver congestion, food intolerances, SIBO/dysbiosis, and low stomach acid. They help their patients make dietary changes to improve their gall bladder function.
*****Ladies - high estrogen conditions are strongly associated with gallstones: pregnancy, postpartum, birth control pills, hormone replacement therapy, estrogen dominance, and obesity (fat tissue raises estrogen).******
Because gall bladder removal is quick, low-risk, minimally invasive, and well reimbursed, hospital systems and surgeons are incentivized to offer procedures rather than long-term conservative management.
The SAD diet/lifestyle creates gall bladder problems: high in refined fats (fats and oils that have been highly processed, stripped of their natural nutrients, and often chemically altered. These are most associated with inflammation, gallbladder problems, sluggish bile, insulin resistance, and weight gain), overeating, and sedentary lifestyle.
How we live, our daily, consistent habits make or break our health. If you are dealing with issues of the gall bladder......you know I'm going to say CAN GEST (not only supports the gall bladder, but the pancreas, liver, and entire digestive tract).....but it's very important to create better habits, and I'm happy to help!