When some people do prolonged fasting, they might end up with various symptoms related to the gallbladder.
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These symptoms could include:
- Right shoulder pain or tightness
- Right upper abdominal pain, tightness, or fullness
- Headaches on the right side
- Jaw problems on the right side
- Nausea
- High cholesterol
- Bloating
What’s happening is that the bile is becoming a sludge. It’s vital to have the right ratio of bile and cholesterol. When bile becomes deficient, cholesterol and other things in the bile become more concentrated, creating a sludge. This can lead to the bile backing up and causing the above symptoms.
The person may even find that their cholesterol goes up because one of the purposes of bile is the elimination of cholesterol.
This issue shouldn’t usually happen when someone does a prolonged fast unless they have a pre-existing problem with bile.
Top causes of a bile deficiency
- A problem with the liver
- Statins
- Low-fat diets
- Low-cholesterol diets
- High insulin
- High estrogen
- High cortisol
- Gastric bypass
- A lack of friendly bacteria
- Parenteral nutrition
Best thing you can do
Dr.Berg believes the best thing you can do in this situation is to take TUDCA. TUDCA is a type of bile salt that thins the bile and can potentially give you a lot of relief.
You may want to start with taking two on an empty stomach. If your symptoms are severe, you could try taking two twice a day on an empty stomach.
