February 17, 2025
Bile: Turning Fats into Fabulous Since Forever
Oooh, bile.
You woke up today wanting to learn all about this greenish-yellow elixir of the body, right?
Okay, maybe not.
But you should know that bile is incredibly vital to your overall health, breaking down fats so you can absorb nutrients from food and help your body eliminate waste.
Made in the liver and stored in the gallbladder, bile is actually one of the most important fluids in your body. It holds the key to better digestion and detoxification.
But Things Don’t Always Go Exactly Right
Sometimes, bile doesn’t flow as freely as it should. Signs and symptoms of bile imbalance include:
- Constipation
- Indigestion
- Abdominal pain
- Greasy stools
- Changes in stool color
If that happens to you sometimes, it’s important to learn more about how your body makes and uses bile – and how to optimize your body’s bile flow. This info can help you better address troublesome digestive issues and avoid more serious health concerns associated with sluggish bile flow (like gallstones – nobody wants those).
The Deets About Bile
Bile is not the same thing as stomach acid, yet folks often confuse the two fluids. In fact, bile is alkaline.
Bile is a mix of water, bile salts (the main ingredient for breaking down fats), excess cholesterol, and waste products from the liver like environmental toxins or microbial debris from dysbiosis. Fun fact: Bile gets its greenish-yellow color from the old blood cells that your liver filters from your bloodstream – similar to how an old bruise looks. Your liver makes roughly 3-4 cups of bile daily, enough to fill a good-sized water bottle.
Although your liver is constantly producing bile, healthy fat digestion depends on good timing! When you eat, you need a bunch of bile all at once, and that’s where your gallbladder comes in.
Your trusty gallbladder stores the bile for your liver until it’s needed – releasing it into your small intestine to help you digest the fats you just ate. More than a convenient storage pouch, your gallbladder also concentrates bile by removing some of the water it contains – making bile up to 10 times stronger. (Read “Do You Know What Your Gallbladder Does?” to learn more about this digestive dynamo.)
Bile Has Some Digestive Superpowers
Breaking down fats is one of bile’s most important jobs, but bile also has some key side hustles:
- Helps your body absorb nutrients (especially fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K)
- Eliminates toxins and waste products
- Helps lubricate the colon to keep you pooping
But what happens when your liver doesn’t make enough bile?
Or when the flow of bile from your liver to your gallbladder and small intestine slows down or gets disrupted?
The short answer is digestive upset – and potentially more serious trouble down the road.
How to Prevent Gallstones
Gallstones are a common condition. Ten to 15% of the U.S. population have them, but only one in five knows it. They are often asymptomatic. Gallstones happen when the ingredients in bile (like excess cholesterol) thicken and harden into pellets, which can cause pain and inflammation and even block bile ducts.
Untreated gallstones and other bile-related issues lead to over 500,000 people in the U.S. every year have their gallbladders removed. If you’re one of those people, you know that your liver still makes bile, which drips continuously into your digestive tract.
That’s why it’s a good idea to learn how to maintain healthy bile flow, whether you have a gallbladder or not. Exposure to toxins, microbial dysbiosis, poor diet, and stress place greater demands on the liver, which can, in turn, affect bile production and flow.
Tips to support optimal bile health
- Load up on bile-friendly foods: Beets and beet greens, cruciferous vegetables, and citrus fruits.
- Choose healthy fats like olive oil and avocados, nuts, and seeds that stimulate bile production.
- Drink plenty of water throughout the day — staying hydrated helps thin bile and keep it flowing smoothly.
- Avoid processed foods and excess sugar.
- Exercise regularly to encourage healthy digestion, sleep, and stress reduction.
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Supplement with bile-supporting nutrients and botanicals:
- Bile salts: TUDCA, a bile acid derivative your body makes naturally, plays a role in supporting liver health and aiding bile flow. Supplementing with bioidentical TUDCA can help stimulate bile production, thin bile, aid digestion, and protect liver cells.
- Milk thistle: is a liver-health hero, both protecting liver cells and increasing bile production.
- Ginger root: Stimulates bile flow and aids in detoxification.
- Artichoke extract: Promotes liver function and reduces bile stagnation.
- Turmeric: Known for anti-inflammatory and bile-stimulating properties.
Keep those digestive juices flowing!
Bile is a true digestive powerhouse that keeps your system running smoothly. Diet and lifestyle play a big role in how efficiently your body makes and uses bile, which is why you’ll want to keep this important digestive fluid on your radar.
Prioritizing your body’s bile production starts with taking good care of your liver. Read “How to Take Care of Your Liver (Because You Probably Should)” for some easy lifestyle tips you can implement today and improve liver health.
Ready to learn more?
- Take our 2-minute quiz to test your knowledge about liver and gallbladder function, and check out our newest formula, Liver GB+™, to see if some targeted supplementation might be just the thing to help you optimize your flow.