Liver and Gallbladder Health Crucial for Digestion and Hormonal Balance

Key Quotes

"Pain in your shoulder blades or outer thighs could be referral signs of gallbladder or liver issues."

Dr. Jockers explains that pain in specific areas like the shoulder blades or outer thighs can indicate underlying problems with the gallbladder or liver. This concept of "referral pain" suggests that issues in one organ can manifest as discomfort in seemingly unrelated parts of the body. Dr. Jockers uses this to highlight how seemingly minor pains might be important diagnostic clues.

"The liver does the most of the conversion 60% of the conversion from t4 into active t3 is done in the liver and so if your liver is not functioning well then you're not able to get that right conversion and therefore you're more prone to dealing with hypothyroid type symptoms like dry skin trouble losing weight those can all be signs you might have itchy skin right or redness red skin itchy skin that can be a sign of a liver gallbladder problem."

Dr. Jockers connects liver function to thyroid health, stating that the liver is responsible for a significant portion of converting inactive thyroid hormone (T4) into its active form (T3). He elaborates that impaired liver function can lead to insufficient T3 production, resulting in hypothyroid symptoms such as dry skin and weight gain. Dr. Jockers also notes that itchy or red skin can be another indicator of liver and gallbladder issues.

"When we don't have good bile flow we can end up with small intestinal bacterial overgrowth yeast overgrowth parasites different things like that it's really important to have good bile flow when we don't have good bile flow and good bile metabolism we can end up with extra bile in the blood which can cause a condition of pruritus where we have extra itching and redness in our skin so that can be a warning sign that there's gallbladder liver gallbladder issues."

Dr. Jockers emphasizes the critical role of bile flow, explaining that insufficient bile can lead to an overgrowth of bacteria, yeast, or parasites in the small intestine. He further details that when bile is not properly metabolized, it can accumulate in the bloodstream, causing a condition called pruritus, characterized by itching and skin redness. Dr. Jockers presents this as a direct warning sign of liver and gallbladder dysfunction.

"The most important things is focusing on a real food based nutrient dense diet that's anti inflammatory some of the worst things for your liver are going to be ultra processed foods all your artificial flavorings and sweeteners pesticides herbicides that we might be getting in from you know from produce that we're eating from processed foods from non conventionally grown you know conventionally raised animal products all of that stuff the toxins just bombard our system high glycemic foods or high insulogenic foods all of your processed carbohydrates your snacks your chips your cookies all of that kind of stuff on levels and it ends up causing damage to the liver gallbladder region."

Dr. Jockers advocates for an anti-inflammatory, nutrient-dense diet based on real foods as a primary strategy for liver and gallbladder health. He identifies ultra-processed foods, artificial ingredients, pesticides, herbicides, and high glycemic/insulinogenic foods as particularly harmful to the liver. Dr. Jockers explains that these substances overload the body with toxins and can directly damage the liver and gallbladder.

"Milk thistle i found to be the most powerful herb for liver gallbladder health taking milk thistle roughly 250 to 500 milligrams twice a day can be really helpful with milk thistle i also recommend taking n acetylcysteine taking roughly 500 to 1000 milligrams twice a day can be really helpful and then also taking tudca right taking tudca which is actually a bile salt is really good for helping thin the bile and get the bile moving really well."

Dr. Jockers highlights specific supplements for supporting liver and gallbladder function, identifying milk thistle as a particularly potent herb. He recommends a dosage of 250-500 milligrams of milk thistle twice daily. Dr. Jockers also suggests N-acetylcysteine (NAC) at 500-1000 milligrams twice a day and TUDCA, a bile salt, for its effectiveness in thinning bile and improving its flow.

"If somebody has high alkaline phosphatase like up over 100 okay that's typically an indication that there's something going on with their gallbladder possibly gallstones and in some cases it can be really high 150 -- and that's an indication that there's a very acute issue going on with the gallbladder but anytime i see alkaline phosphatase up over 100 i'm thinking this person probably has gallstones that are in their liver gallbladder kind of in the biliary tree in their liver gallbladder region."

Dr. Jockers discusses alkaline phosphatase as a key lab marker for gallbladder issues. He states that levels above 100 typically indicate a problem with the gallbladder, potentially including gallstones lodged within the liver or biliary tree. Dr. Jockers notes that significantly elevated levels, around 150, can suggest a more acute gallbladder issue.