no one told you this after your gallbladder surgery... but they should have.
Why bile salts may be the missing piece of the puzzle and what your doctor didn't mention.
You had your gallbladder removed.
Maybe it was urgent. Maybe it was something you’d struggled with for years. Either way, no one told you what to do next besides “you’ll be fine, it’s a useless organ.”
But here’s the truth:
If you’ve had your gallbladder removed and no one mentioned the importance of bile salts, your digestion and overall health could be silently suffering.
What Does the Gallbladder Actually Do?
The gallbladder stores and concentrates bile- a fluid made by your liver that helps you digest fats and absorb fat-soluble nutrients (A, D, E, and K). When you eat a meal containing fat, the gallbladder releases a surge of bile into the small intestine to emulsify those fats for digestion.
Without your gallbladder, bile trickles constantly but weakly into your gut- never giving you that strong, timely release you actually need when you eat fat.
The result?
Poor fat digestion, nutrient malabsorption, sluggish detox pathways, hormonal imbalances and digestive symptoms no one warns you about
Signs Your Digestion Isn’t Optimal (Post-Gallbladder)
Floating or greasy stools
Bloating or nausea after meals (especially after fats)
Fatigue (especially after eating)
Burping or acid reflux
Hormone imbalances or PMS that worsens post-surgery
Skin issues, like acne or eczema
Low levels of vitamins A, D, E, or K on labs
Poor blood sugar regulation
The Bile-Hormone-Detox Connection
But let’s zoom out.
Bile isn’t just for fat digestion. It’s also a MAJOR detox tool.
Your liver packages up toxins- including excess estrogen and waste from hormone metabolism and uses bile as the trash truck to take it all out through your stool.
So when bile isn’t flowing well (or enough), you might start reabsorbing those hormones and toxins, leading to hormone dysregulation, estrogen dominance, skin flare-ups, sluggish metabolism, or feeling puffy, irritable, and stuck.