Recently, I interviewed Divya Gupta, and we talked her health struggles, why we need a holistic approach to health, symptoms of gallbladder problems, the impact of bile metabolism on thyroid function, the connection between the thyroid and the gallbladder, what you need to know about testing, how you can support liver function and bile metabolism, and more. If you would prefer to listen to the interview you can access it by Clicking Here.
Dr. Eric Osansky:
I am very excited to be speaking with Divya Gupta, who is a board-certified nutritionist and restorative wellness practitioner, specializing in gut health. Departed from her 15 years in corporate America to establish Divya Nutrition and Wellness. Faced with personal challenges such as gallbladder removal and a Hashimoto’s diagnosis, she became a wellness advocate, guiding ambitious professionals on a personalized journey to reclaim their health and live life on their terms. Her expertise reflects a departure from conventional approaches, emphasizing a holistic approach to wellbeing.
Thank you so much for joining us, Divya. I am very excited to chat about the gallbladder and bile metabolism.
Divya Gupta:
Thank you so much, Dr. Eric, for having me. I am looking forward to our conversation and collaboration.
Dr. Eric:
Same here. I gave a little sneak preview about your background in that you had your gallbladder removed. I am guessing that’s how your journey started. Maybe you can go into some more detail. Not everybody who gets their gallbladder removed decides to help people with gallbladder issues. What made you undergo that transition?
Divya:
I think a lot of us in the health space either have dealt with our own health issues or have seen someone really close to us, someone we love, go through those challenges. In my case, it was both.
If I take a step back, I am an Indian immigrant. This year will mark my 20th year in the United States. Gosh, I have been here for two decades. I came here on a very stereotypical path. I did my computer science engineering back home and came here for my master’s. I went to an Ivy League school. Subsequently, the American Dream, I got into corporate America. I was living in NYC for over eight years, working for a top consulting firm.
My health challenges started while I was still in India. I was in my final year of engineering when I started getting gallbladder attacks, which I didn’t know at that point they were gallbladder attacks.
Dr. Eric, I don’t remember a lot of things about when I was 20. It was two decades ago, or more. I don’t remember a lot, but I can still close my eyes and picture myself back in my bedroom, up at night, with pain, like 2am-3am, pacing the room. It kept happening every night. I would just chalk it up to, “Oh, I ate something funny earlier. Maybe it’s gas.” It was the abdomen area in general.
It kept on happening for a few nights. The intensity of the pain would go up until I finally told my parents. They said, “Wake us up next time you’re in pain.” It happened again. I woke them up. This went on for a few weeks. Doctor visits, trying different medication, but nothing really worked.
Until one fine day, I was in excruciating pain. It was horrendous. Let’s go to the hospital at night. We had the radiologist there, who finally did an ultrasound and said, “You have gallstones.” In one sense, I was relieved. At least I knew what it was. On the other hand, I had no idea what the gallbladder did at that point. I had no clue what its function was.
The next step was seeing an endocrinologist. The option given to me was “We don’t need our gallbladder; we can take it out.” Perhaps that was the best decision for me at that point and for my life. We decided to schedule that surgery although I was knee deep into my exams and preparing for my GREs to come to the U.S. I had it scheduled, but life had other plans.
One night, the pain was so intense. I was throwing up. I have been through childbirth now. I would still take childbirth over that pain any day. I don’t wish that upon anybody. It was horrendous. Nothing would help. You just have to keep pacing the room. The stomach would spasm as if there was some muscle twisting inside. My gallbladder was taken out. It helped with the pain. Everything was good. I felt good. Life went on as planned.
Now, I came to the U.S, as I said. I was put into a new environment. Mores stress, living away from my parents for the first time in a new country. Food, I was a vegetarian back then, eating a lot of higher carbs, eating out a lot. The portion sizes were huge, too. I slowly got used to accommodating them.
A few years down the road, when I was 24/25, I got a Hashimoto’s diagnosis. Knowing what we know now, that it’s connected, but back then, nobody looked into making that connection. I was given Synthroid by the doctor. I think she spent 10 minutes with me and gave me two pamphlets. “This is Graves’ and Hashimoto’s. You have Hashimoto’s. Here’s some Synthroid.” I got my dosage and was on my way.
For a lot of people, I know medication takes a while. For me, it really worked. It actually helped me feel better. I didn’t realize I was tired at the time. At 25, I needed a nap in the middle of the day if I could get it, or a pick-me-up for sure, and a lot of muscle aches. It really helped with a lot of those symptoms.
You trust your doctors. That is the best decision. That is what I need to do. For me, what connected the dots that I needed to look into more and lit the fire was my mom was going through a similar journey. She had her gallbladder removed a few years before mine, but she never had any pain. That’s why we didn’t make the connection when I was having such active pain. Then she had a Hashimoto’s diagnosis. Around my diagnosis of Hashimoto’s, she got rheumatoid arthritis.
As if I was watching a movie, if I don’t make any changes, I’m following her path. That’s something I don’t want to follow her path on. I could see her life quality degrade. Her being in so much pain and the steroids she had to take to manage. That is when I decided I need to take things into my own hands. I was dismissed by a few doctors when I would go in there for muscle aches. They said, “You’re too young. It’s in your head.”
At that point, when you’re so young and naïve and don’t know how to advocate for yourself, I thought maybe it was in my head. My muscles would hurt. What can I do? What can I take in control? That is when I started looking into nutrition, diet, and lifestyle.
This is now 15-16 years ago. There wasn’t as much information available until you went looking for it. I started looking. I picked up a few health books. I changed my diet. I took out gluten and dairy for a week. That is when I realized I had bloating. We normalize feeling a certain way in our body. Until I took those food groups out, I felt lighter and had more energy. That is how I knew this thing worked.
I started making changes to my diet and lifestyle. I learned everything I could. That is where my love and passion for health and wellness started. I would have never thought in a million years that I would do a 180-degree and switch careers. I worked in a top consulting firm. I moved to Silicon Valley. I was working in tech start-ups. I knew there was more. I wanted to help people not go through the journey I did of decades of trying to figure it out on my own. Nobody was talking about it.
That’s when I decided to go back to school and get my nutrition degree, get board-certified, get into restorative wellness, get certified in gut health as well. It’s been a few years where I decided to focus on my practice full-time and help as many people as I can, so they don’t have to go through their parents’ journeys or go through what I did and spend decades figuring out what’s going on. They can start really living life on their terms because that’s my goal. No matter how long I live, I want to be able to do the things I love and not be reliant on medications for the rest of my life.
Dr. Eric:
Thank you so much for sharing that story. Essentially, you had your gallbladder removed. Years later, you developed Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. You also suggested that the problem with the gallbladder might have been a potential cause for Hashimoto’s and also potentially others as well. Can you talk a little bit about the connection? Most listening to this definitely have that question since most people listening to this have a thyroid or autoimmune thyroid condition but maybe didn’t think about that connection.
Divya:
Great question. Let’s take a step back. When we talk about a thyroid, for it to function properly, we need at least five of these organs to work properly and synergistically: your brain, thyroid, liver, gut, and adrenals.
To answer your question, we will take a deeper dive into the liver, gallbladder, and thyroid connection. Liver, as we know, is one of our most important organs. It does so much for us. It produces cholesterol. It produces bile, which is made of cholesterol and a lot of other raw materials. It processes Vitamin D. It detoxifies our blood. It gets nutrients to where they need to go. And so much more.
All these organs, the thyroid sits in the base of the neck. Your liver, gallbladder, and abdomen, how are these connected? When the bile, which is produced by the liver, is stored in the gallbladder. Now your gallbladder is a pear-shaped organ right below your liver. The bile plays a huge role in breaking down the fat in your fatty meal to be able to digest the nutrients from those meals. It has a few more functions as well.
The liver produces that and stores it in the gallbladder. That really helps for it to get concentrated. When we do eat a fatty meal, we have the adequate amount of bile present and the right quantity, so when we are eating a fatty meal, it can squeeze out the bile to break it down.
One of the important functions of the liver I forgot to mention is when our inactive thyroid hormone is converted to the active form. T4 gets converted to T3. All your listeners know that thyroid plays such a critical role in every function of our body, from digestion to immune system to our energy to our metabolism, etc.
Now, we have around 50 trillion cells, at least. Each of these cells have a receptor for our thyroid hormone. Our gallbladder as well has a receptor for the thyroid hormone. Since thyroid really influences energy, people with Hashimoto’s may feel fatigue and tired. That was definitely one of my symptoms, feeling tired.
When we eat a fatty meal, our gallbladder has to contract to squeeze out the bile. If you are low on thyroid hormone, and again, you could be clinical. It doesn’t have to be outside of the range; you could be on either end, higher or lower. You don’t have enough of the active hormone, or the conversion isn’t taking place. Your gallbladder gets a little lazy or not efficiently squeezing it out. What that does is it backs up the bile, so it accumulates and stagnates. Then it could form gallstones as well.
There is such a symbiotic relationship between these organs. You could have a thyroid issue, which causes a liver issue and gallbladder issue. And vice versa. When your thyroid hormone is low, it can also have an impact on your cholesterol production, which is a raw material for bile. Your bile is made up of bile salt, bile acid, bilirubin, phospholipid, and water. It can have an impact on that.
A lot of Hashimoto’s and autoimmune condition patients also have low motility as an issue. You could have constipation as well. That could back up your system. The toxins go up, and it could be signaling to your liver, “Hey, we have too much bile.” Bile needs to get excreted out, and it gets reabsorbed into our liver. That could cause a miscommunication dysfunction as well.
In my case, having the gallbladder was just the tip of the iceberg. There was so much more underneath it that needed to be uncovered of why the dysfunction happened. Yes, we can function without a gallbladder. I am still alive. But it does provide a function of concentrating the bile, so it’s present when we need it, so we can absorb the nutrients. I think that’s the question to ask. When the gallbladder is dysregulated, what else is going on underneath the hood?
Dr. Eric:
I think it’s important what you said. It’s not a gallbladder problem; it’s what’s underlying. Similar to when someone has an autoimmune thyroid condition, and they remove the thyroid, which there is a time and place for that, just as there is a time and place for gallbladder surgery, which we can talk about later.
Again, if someone has Graves’ or Hashimoto’s, and they remove the thyroid, which is more common in Graves’ but sometimes happens in Hashimoto’s, too, they are not addressing the immune system problem.
The problem with the gallbladder is you have a problem with the bile metabolism. It’s not the gallbladder itself.
I also like what you said that it could affect the thyroid, and thyroid could affect gallbladder. You’re right. Thyroid hormone affects every cell/tissue in the body. If you don’t have adequate thyroid hormone levels, that could affect the bile and lead to bile that is more sluggish. If you have issues with liver and bile metabolism, that in turn could affect gallbladder.
I don’t know if you would have the answer to this. When you had your Hashimoto’s diagnosis, was it five years after the gallbladder removal?
Divya:
Yeah, 4-5 years between that period.
Dr. Eric:
Maybe the underlying bile metabolism issue was a factor in the development of Hashimoto’s. But also with Hashimoto’s, it is underlying for many years. For all you know, you might have had the Hashimoto’s prior to the gallbladder problem, but it wasn’t diagnosed until five years later. You don’t know what exactly causes what.
Either way, it’s all about addressing the root causes. If anybody has Hashimoto’s, you want to find and remove the triggers and heal the gut. If someone has a gallbladder problem, you want to try to address any underlying imbalances in the liver, the bile metabolism. I appreciate you sharing that.
I jumped the gun a little bit. I probably should have asked first: What are some of the more common symptoms? You did mention some of your symptoms, like nausea, vomiting, and pain. What should someone look for when they are having a gallbladder problem or again a bile metabolism problem?
Divya:
Before I answer that, I was looking into some stats. In the U.S., there are 600,000 gallbladder removal surgeries performed every year. 20-25 million people have a gallbladder issue or will have one. I went down the rabbit hole. I was curious about what happens in India. 6% of India’s populations, which is 85 million. It’s a problem that is happening a lot more. People are not figuring out; they find out later.
When I was having nausea and pain, while I was still having the attacks. I don’t remember. Maybe I was having symptoms that I never paid attention to. If people are having gallbladder issues, some symptoms to look out for are the physical symptoms of pain in your right abdomen, right under your liver. If you are feeling the right side of your rib. Sometimes, the pain could also go to your right shoulder. A lot of people feel pain in their right shoulder because they are connected.
If you are getting bloated, especially after eating a fatty meal. Bloating can happen for a lot of reasons. You can have food sensitivities, especially if there is an underlying autoimmune condition, like a leaky gut or potentially SIBO. Especially after eating a fatty meal, you feel bloated.
You could have stomach distension, or you’re burping a lot more.
Bile contributes to the dark brown color of stool. If you start noticing clay-colored stool or darker urine, those are some signs to pay attention that could indicate that there is some gallbladder or liver dysfunction going on.
Dr. Eric:
When it comes to foods, is it just unhealthy, greasy foods? Do people with gallbladder issues also have issues with coconut oil, avocadoes, other healthier types of fats?
Divya:
In terms of what are causing these gallbladder issues, there could be several. One is our SAD, Standard American Diet, which is higher in processed foods and trans fats, and low in fiber. What we have seen arise in our metabolic diseases: obesity and diabetes can have an impact on cholesterol production. So much more also could be causing gallbladder issues.
Genetics definitely play a role. You and I both know that we have the genes, but what triggers it is our environment and lifestyle.
We also talked about how thyroid could be one of the reasons as well.
In terms of the food perspective, it’s not the fat that is causing the issue. It’s the bile. It’s more of the trans fats. People should still consume high quality fats from avocadoes and olive oil. But focus on high fiber diet.
Bile also helps to get rid of hormones like estrogen by binding to fibers. Focusing on a high fiber diet with more fruits and vegetables, lean protein, and essential fats.
Coconut oil. MCT could be easier for your body to break down because they are medium chain and not harder to break down. Also making sure you stay hydrated as well. With anything, you want to focus on quality.
When we talk about bile’s role, one thing we are talking about is it helps in digestion and breaking down fats so that the lipids can really do their magic.
The other role that the bile plays is getting rid of toxins and extra estrogen. Helping us uptake fat soluble vitamins: A, D, E, and K. How many of us are on Vitamin D supplements? The value isn’t going up because if you don’t have the bile to help synthesize and absorb these minerals, you can take all the supplements, but they don’t work.
A lot of people will chalk it up to old age. When Vitamin A is going down, and your eyesight is getting weak, or your Vitamin K is low, which helps with blood clotting, or Vitamin E, which is one of our powerful antioxidants in our body, bile’s role is not just to digest fat but also with uptake of these fat soluble vitamins and excrete the estrogen and hormones that we don’t need.
One of the analogies I like to use is a soap dispenser. When we are trying to get grease out of our dishes, we want soap, and we want it in the right quantity and thickness, so it can actually take the grease out. Well, that is why bile is so critical because it really concentrates, so when we do eat a fatty food, it’s able to break it down and absorb it.
The soap dispenser, we need to push it to get the right amount out. If your gallbladder is not able to squeeze it out, your bile is there, but it’s not squeezed out. It could also impact things, causing gallstones. I know I covered a lot in there.
Dr. Eric:
Like you said, you covered a lot of different things. The fat soluble vitamins was interesting. If someone is running a Vitamin D test, and maybe they are taking 10,000 IUs of Vitamin D, because they had a deficiency, and then they retest, expecting the levels to be healthy, and it’s still on the lower side. Maybe it’s within range but less than optimal. A lot of people would overlook that maybe you’re just not breaking down the fats. Maybe you do have something underlying.
With Vitamin D, you could easily test. It’s not as easy to test some of the other fat soluble vitamins. You might have deficiencies in the others and not know. I appreciate you bringing that up.
Divya:
In terms of tests, there aren’t that many exact tests correlating to bile. We can take a look at our liver tests. Everyone has easy access through their primary doctor or annual physical, your AST, your ALT. Your bilirubin could be a big indicator. Also, GGD and alkaline phosphate. Those are some tests that are available and can really indicate if your liver is being dysfunctional because they are interconnected. Does your liver need help?
A lot of people with Hashimoto’s will have suddenly higher cholesterol. “I am not eating high cholesterol foods. Why are my LDL going up and overall cholesterol going up?” Your thyroid has a direct impact on your liver and the production of cholesterol. That could be raising your cholesterol levels.
Dr. Eric:
Yeah, that is a common finding. We see total cholesterol and LDL elevated. Estrogen metabolism, you also said that’s important. Having healthy bile metabolism is important for clearing out estrogen.
I don’t know if you do any dried urine testing/Dutch testing, but Dutch testing looks at the estrogen metabolites. I guess what I’m asking you is if someone has a problem with estrogen metabolism, clearing out the estrogens, then if I’m understanding you correctly, it could be related to bile as well?
Divya:
In a few months, I will have the capability and training to do the Dutch test in my practice. I’m always learning in this space. There is always so much to learn.
As we have a gallbladder, if I have my anatomy, has a receptor for thyroid, it also has a receptor for your estrogen and progesterone and other sex hormones. With estrogen, there are all of the metabolites, which our body needs to get rid of. If you are recycling that, if bile is not able to clear it, we could see that being an issue as well.
I think that’s why women are more prone to gallbladder issues than men comparatively. With the recent estrogen dominance, a lot of men are seeing issues with clearing bile and gallbladder issues as well. There is a correlation with your sex hormones and bile. It’s all interconnected.
Our body is so beautiful. Everything is interconnected as we were talking about: your thyroid, liver, gallbladder, and gut. They are also multifaceted. They don’t just perform one function; they perform so many functions. That is the beauty of the body. That is what fascinates me. There is so much more to understand of what’s going on and to uncover when you are having an issue.
I think that’s why working with the right practitioner who can actually help you uncover the root cause and not just look at the tip of the iceberg. For example, we have a gallbladder, let’s just get rid of it. Instead, what’s going on underneath it? Let’s figure out because everything is interconnected. Nothing works in isolation.
Dr. Eric:
Well said. I definitely agree.
Also, I should bring up fish oil. A lot of people have issues with fish oils, too. They will get the burping. Sometimes taking an enteric-coated fish oil might help. In most cases, would you say that is also related to problems breaking down fat and potentially bile metabolism issues?
Divya:
Absolutely. Omega-3s are also fats that need bile’s help to absorb. That’s why we go back to the symptom. If you’re getting burping, if you have gallbladder issues, you might be experiencing burping as well. It helps with getting rid of hormones. I think a lot of people don’t realize that hormones are made of fat. That’s why bile is so crucial for even binding to those hormones, so they can be excreted out through the fecal matter.
Dr. Eric:
Getting back to testing. Bilirubin, you don’t hear people talking too much about bilirubin. If it’s elevated, that also can mean a problem with bile metabolism?
Divya:
Bilirubin is breakdown of your red blood cells. If in the liver it’s elevated, that could indicate dysfunction in the liver. You do need to look at it across all the other liver tests. Our bile also consists of bilirubin. That can be one indicator or sign to look out for to dig into it a bit deeper as to what could be happening.
Dr. Eric:
It’s also important to mention that for those who are listening to this who have hyperthyroidism, sometimes you get strange findings. You might get elevated bilirubin, and you might think that’s a problem with bilirubin, but it could be related to hyperthyroidism, not bile metabolism.
There is also Gilbert’s syndrome, too, which I’m sure you’re familiar with. I am not sure how much experience you have with it. If someone has elevated bilirubin with Gilbert’s, I imagine you can’t get it normal permanently. You might have to offer support continuously in that case.
Divya:
I don’t have too much experience with that. I’ll let your expertise speak to it.
Dr. Eric:
Let me ask you a different question, which leads into treatments for gallbladder. The question I have, which will be after you talk about treatments, is what you do. You don’t have a gallbladder.
Before we dive into that, what would you recommend for someone who I guess does have a gallbladder but wants to save their gallbladder? They don’t want to get gallbladder surgery, but they might have some of the symptoms you mentioned earlier. What are some things they can do if they have an existing gallbladder problem or bile metabolism problem? Or maybe they don’t, but they want to prevent one.
Divya:
I love this. It’s never one approach or one thing that’s going to solve it all. You really want to look at it from your diet, your lifestyle, and some targeted supplements that could help.
When it comes to diet, really focusing on high quality, high fiber, fruits and vegetables. Getting processed foods out of the diet. We haven’t talked about the gut, but we want the good microbiome, and it loves fiber.
Also, focusing on healthy fats.
Third, I would say supporting your liver. Incorporating liver-loving foods, like liver loves bitter. Adding arugula, endive. There is an Indian vegetable called bitter gourd. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it. It’s available in a lot of Asian markets. It’s really bitter. We love it in my house. Adding some bitter vegetables. Even grapefruit, artichokes, cruciferous vegetables. The allium family, onion and garlic. All those vegetables are really supportive for liver, so adding those to your diet.
Along with that, I love herbs and spices. Turmeric, cinnamon, ginger are also very supportive. Incorporating those.
One of the practices I have incorporated over the years that has become habit is starting your day with hot water and lemon, or apple cider vinegar (ACV). It really helps to support liver health for detoxification. Those are from the nutrition end.
If you have a gallbladder and liver and want to keep them, how can we decrease the toxic load that our liver has to process? We know one of the functions of the liver is to detoxify as well. Reduce your alcohol intake or eliminate it for some time. Our liver cells regenerate every six weeks. Give it a break to help.
A good supplement is dandelion tea, milk thistle tea. They are really supportive for your liver as well. Incorporating these into your diet.
From a lifestyle perspective, reducing your toxic load. We are surrounded by toxins in our current 21st century, modern life. It’s hard not to get exposed to it. Let’s control what we can within your house.
Starting with your water. Having a good filtration system is important. Do not drink tap water please. That’s one tip.
Your personal care products and cleaning supplies. Cleaning those out slowly. We know they have a ton of chemicals that can be endocrine disruptors. Knowing your liver has to work through those as well.
If you are taking over the counter medication, watch how much. Your liver has to process those as well.
Putting in an air purifier.
Taking out plastic. Slowly reducing your use of plastics can help your liver indirectly.
Exercise is super important. Sweating. Skin is the largest organ. It helps us detoxify. Getting exercise, 15-20 minutes of high intensity, just to sweat.
If for whatever reason, if someone is injured or in later stage pregnancy, when it’s not good to get high intensity in, leveraging saunas is a great way to sweat.
Dry brushing is a simple practice right before you shower.
One of the latest ways for me to support my own liver health since I don’t have a gallbladder is using castor oil packs on your liver overnight, or for 20 minutes a day. This can be supportive for your liver health.
When we get into supplements, since I don’t have a gallbladder, I support and depend on getting the bile salts, ox bile, and hydrochloric acid. I know this is something we can touch on as well. This thoroughly supports our digestion. Those three.
Also, adding ACV. If you still have your gallbladder and liver, have ACV and water before meals to kickstart the production of the right enzymes to help break down food.
With any supplement, my rule of thumb is start slow, and see how it works. Everyone’s body is very different. I am very sensitive. If I take a bunch, it doesn’t really suit me. I have to go slow, wait for a day to see how you feel before you add on.
That’s similar with leveraging fats in your diet. Some people may do okay. When I was going through the flare, the doctor said, “You have to be watchful about high fats. You don’t want to add more fuel to the fire.” Taking a break at that point. Your body might be okay with some healthy fat or not, but you have to be in tune with your body and aware of how it’s working.
Those are how we can support our liver and gallbladder health. If you have a gallbladder, to save it. If you don’t have one, you really do have to- That’s why I take bile salts, especially with my high fatty meals and digestive enzymes to help support my health.
I work on the gut a lot. Gut has been so crucial. It’s work. It didn’t happen overnight, but over the years. Working on my gut and reducing my toxic load and cleaning up everything that’s around me that I can control has helped. Our body always wants to work for us. It’s never against us. It’s our friend. Give it the right support. Figure out the dance. It’s a new dance without the gallbladder, but it figures it out.
Dr. Eric:
Since you don’t have a gallbladder, you mentioned how you take bile salts regularly. If someone doesn’t have an underlying gallbladder or bile metabolism issue, is it at all harmful to take bile salts? Let’s say if they’re not sure, and they just on their own- I know you can’t give advice and say to generally take bile salts. Do you know any harm in taking ox bile if someone doesn’t have an underlying problem?
Divya:
First, start with food and herbs. Those are very safe to start with. Adding ginger into your meals and apple cider vinegar, everyone can benefit from that. If you don’t have a bile metabolism, start there first, and see how your body does. If you do want to start with an ox bile salt, start slow. Work with a practitioner. Talk to your doctor about any outward risk of taking it.
Take a small quantity with a high fatty meal to see how you do. If it’s not working, you may get diarrhea, loose stool, if it’s excessive bile salts. That could be an indication that it was a little too much, and you need to back down and stop. That could be one way to try it out.
Dr. Eric:
Good to know. If they are taking bile salts, and they don’t need it, they might develop some loose stools or digestive issues. Pretty much listen to your body. If you are taking anything and notice any type of side effects, it might be a good idea to take a break from that. I wanted to know what to look out for, so I’m glad you brought that up.
Neither one of us can tell people to get surgery or avoid it. Obviously, we both would prefer for people to avoid it whenever possible. It’s a little bit tricky. There might be people who have similar symptoms, and they’re wondering if it’s too late. Can they avoid surgery?
I don’t know what your thoughts are. I have never given birth. I have never had my gallbladder removed. You mentioned earlier how the gallbladder pain was worse than giving birth. I imagine if you’re in that much pain, it probably is a sign that you don’t want to just take apple cider vinegar or ox bile. You should probably go to the ER at least.
Assuming it’s not that extreme, what would you recommend? Would you recommend still getting checked by a doctor, getting a CT scan, seeing if there are gallstones?
Divya:
As Dr. Eric mentioned, work with a medical professional when/if you’re dealing with gallbladder attacks or issues. Yes, I believe we need that organ. It was there for a reason. I don’t think God or whichever faith you believed in designed us in such a way- It was very thoughtful in how everything has its place. Even the appendix is needed, and it shouldn’t be taken out.
There is a time and place. If there is extreme pain, where you are throwing up and having fever and chills, that could be the only option that could save your life. You don’t want your gallbladder bursting inside as well. Maybe in that scenario, if it’s filled up with stones, there is no going back at that point.
Paying attention to your body. If you can catch it earlier on. If you are feeling right shoulder pain, indigestion, looking at your basic liver tests. If you pick it up early enough, maybe applying some of the supports we just talked about could help. Working with a practitioner could help with removing the inflammation that could be going on. Getting the bile metabolizing early. If it’s just one stone, there could be ways to dissolve that stone earlier on.
I would highly recommend and request if there is a gallbladder issue, to get your thyroid checked. As we talked about, there is a connection between your thyroid, liver, and gallbladder. If you are facing liver or gallbladder issues, get a full thyroid panel, not just your TSH. On previous episodes, you have talked about free T3, T4, reverse T3. Get all of those numbers checked. And vice versa. If you have Hashimoto’s or any thyroid condition, even hyper, take a look at your liver and gallbladder health.
Dr. Eric:
You work with people who have gallbladder issues. If someone is suspecting a gallbladder issue or bile metabolism issue, if they are not sure, or if they have been diagnosed, and they are trying to do everything they can to avoid surgery, they could always consult with you and get your opinion. If you think it’s something you could help with, you will.
Divya:
Depending on where they are. I can work collaboratively with their doctor. Adopt some of the right supplements, nutrition, diet, and lifestyle changes to see how well they implement. Also, my protocols will always have liver and biliary support because I think all of us can use some help in that department. I do help people with that.
Dr. Eric:
Divya, this has been wonderful. Is there anything else you wanted to cover? Any final thoughts?
Divya:
After going through my health journey, I don’t wish anyone else to go through what I did. With the rise in gallbladder issues that we are seeing. If people start paying attention to their liver and gallbladder health, even if they are dealing with diabetes, and you notice other issues- Our body is interconnected. It’s working really hard underneath to keep it in balance. By the time people start seeing abnormal blood reports, it’s been dysfunctional for a long time.
Start with the basics. Start changing your diet, lifestyle. Those have had a huge impact on my own health with just making changes there. It takes time. You have to be consistent. I wish there was a magic pill. I wish it was easier. It takes time and effort, but the results are worth it.
You want to live on your own terms. You want to live for as long, enjoy the things, travel. Whatever your goals and hobbies in life are. Paying attention to that. Getting more attuned to your body as well.
All of us are so disconnected with our body. We somewhere have lost our connection with ourselves, with what’s going on. We don’t pay attention to the little nudges our body gives us. It’s not until it says, “You’re not listening to me.”
Maybe that’s what happened to me, right? My gallbladder was yelling at me. Maybe there were signs it was giving me, and I didn’t know to pay attention to those at that point. Pay attention to your body. It’s your friend, not your enemy. I wish everyone well. Get the right support, ask the right questions, and be your own health advocate.
Dr. Eric:
Thank you. Where can people learn more about you? If you could share your website, any social media.
Divya:
Absolutely. People can find me on my website, DivyaGupta.net. It’s a very common name, so .com was taken. I have a very helpful guide there. It’s a comprehensive Hashimoto’s symptoms guide and comprehensive lab descriptions. With Hashimoto’s, or subclinical, it manifests differently for different people. My symptoms look different from yours. I have a good list of all the labs they would want to run. They can get that from my website.
I am on Instagram as well, @_DivGupta. It’s where I spend time. Those are the two places people can find me.
Dr. Eric:
Wonderful. Thank you so much. This was a wonderful conversation, as far as gallbladder health, liver health, bile metabolism. You covered a lot. I’m sure the listeners learned a lot of things. I learned some things, too. It was really a pleasure chatting with you.
Divya:
Same here, Dr. Eric. Thanks so much for what you do. You have amazing episodes. I am learning as well from you. Graves’ and hyperthyroidism is a space that I am interested in. I have been more on the Hashimoto’s side. Thank you for putting out such great interviews, bringing on great experts on your show that we can all learn and benefit from. Thanks so much for having me on the show.
Dr. Eric:
You’re welcome. Thanks for those kind words. I appreciate it.
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