Signs You Are NOT digesting Fats

Do you find yourself experiencing constipation or sluggish bowel movements?  Do you feel nauseated on a regular basis?  Do you have dry skin?  Do you have stools that are greasy, shiny or frequently float?  These are just a few signs that you might not be digesting your fats well.

Healthy fats are essential to the body, and we need to be eating them daily.  It's also critical that we are properly digesting and absorbing them.  Digestion is a complicated process that involves many organs.  To improve fat absorption and digestion, you must have good bile production in the liver, and proper bile flow from the gallbladder, along with the secretion of the lipase enzyme from the pancreas.

Lipase is an enzyme secreted by the pancreas to help with digesting fats after bile has first emulsified the fats into smaller molecules. The lipase enzyme improves fat absorption by breaking fats down into fatty acids that are small enough to be absorbed through the walls of the small intestines. 

Bile acts as an emulsifying soap to break down fat into smaller fat particles in which lipase enzymes have more surface area to further break down fats. 

Bile is also needed to breakdown and absorb the essential fatty acids, which are omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.  Dietary intake of these fats is crucial as the body cannot make these essential fatty acids.  Good fat digestion is needed to absorb fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K.  It is also needed to correct mineral deficiencies, because fats are the co-factor in mineral absorption.

Bile is also a lubricant for your stool, so in some cases of constipation, this is a really big key to resolving it.  And, healthy fats are also crucial for making all of our hormones, cell membranes, and for keeping our skin soft and wrinkle-free.

Bile is made out of fat, and it also breaks fats down. So it can be a bit of a chicken and egg dilemma when it comes to boosting your bile production. You’ve got to get the good fats in and digested to make healthy new bile, but you’ve got to have good bile to break down these healthy fats you’re eating.

Maybe you’ve had your gallbladder surgically removed, or you’ve got gallstones, or frequent pain under your right rib cage.  Or, maybe you might be the type that doesn’t have dramatic symptoms, but you just feel like your digestion works better on a low-fat diet.  Many of us naturally avoid fats because we know that they make us feel a bit sluggish or sick, and you might not have realized this until you began eating a lot more healthy fats.

A history of following a low-fat diet, or eating more hydrogenated oils and other highly processed vegetable oils like canola oil and margarine, can wreak havoc on your digestion.  These trans fats don’t stimulate your gallbladder to release enough bile. Your gallbladder is a “use it or lose it” organ and if you’re eating low-fat or poor quality fat, your gallbladder doesn't get exercised.  When the gallbladder goes dormant, it may start showing signs of disease. 

Gallbladder removal is one of the most common surgeries performed in the United States every year, with over 600,000 people undergoing it.  I know this all too well because I am one of them.

Do you know why you NEED your gallbladder?  Most people don’t, and I didn't know until my nutritional therapy training many years after my gallbladder removal.  It was from this training, that I was finally able to put the pieces together.  The health issues I was experiencing years after my surgery were related to missing this important organ.  

Since gallbladder issues can be prevented, it is important that you support healthy bile production and gallbladder function.  Once your gallbladder is gone, your pancreas has to work harder to pick up the slack by secreting more fat digesting enzymes. Since bile is still made by your liver, but doesn't have the gallbladder for storage, bile will continually drip into your small intestine and can irritate the lining, leading to other digestive complaints and poor nutrient absorption.

Unless there is an emergency need for removal, I would encourage everyone to look at the alternatives, especially dietary intervention, in order to naturally preserve a vitally important organ.  If you had gallbladder removal surgery, it is very important that you practice the best digestive health strategies to support your overall health.  It is also important to remember that your liver is still producing bile, although it may be sluggish due to inflamed and clogged bile ducts.

One of the best digestive health strategies for those without a gallbladder is to eat an anti-inflammatory diet.  Eating an anti-inflammatory diet is a critical first step to healthy digestion and supporting your body if you don’t have a gallbladder.  Remove all refined sugar and carbs, refined and highly processed oils and hydrogenated oils, and all highly processed foods.  You can also add in bile-healthy herbs and foods to your diet, such as apple cider vinegar, artichokes, lemon, lime, milk thistle, dandelion greens, turmeric, and ginger for bile flow support.  Bile salts and digestive enzymes can also be necessary to provide the needed fat digestion support after gallbladder removal.

If you are experiencing fat digestion problems, and are ready for more support from me, please reach out.  Let’s discuss how we can work together with one of my programs to get your digestion on track. It's a path I know all too well and I want to help you nourish, heal and thrive.  
 

Healthy Blessings,
Karri, FNTP

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