Let's learn about bile in simple terms: How important is it to your body?

Have you ever eaten a dish that was cooked in a lot of oil, like a kottu or fried rice? After eating, there are times when you think, "Oh my, how am I going to digest all this?" Isn't there? There is actually a superhero inside our body that helps with this task. But not many people talk about him. That hero is the secretion of bile, or as we say in English, bile. Today, let's talk about what bile is, what service it provides to our body, and the problems that can arise related to it.

Okay, so what is this bile secretion?

Simply put, bile is a greenish-yellow, thick, sticky fluid produced by your liver. It is also called 'gall'. That's why we call the small organ that stores it the gallbladder.

Imagine you are going to wash a plate that is stained with oil. Water alone doesn't get rid of the oil, right? We use some kind of washing-up liquid for that. The same thing that soap does, this liquid called bile does to dissolve the fats in the food we eat.

The gallbladder is a small pear-shaped sac-like organ located under your liver. The bile produced by the liver is temporarily stored in this gallbladder, like a water tank.

What service does this bile provide to the body?

This mainly accomplishes two things.

1. Helps digest oil (fat)

When you eat a fatty meal, when it goes into your intestines, certain hormones send a signal to your gallbladder, saying, "Okay, now I need your help, send some bile." Then the gallbladder contracts and releases the bile into the first part of your small intestine.

The most important thing in bile is a compound called bile salts . These break up the large oil droplets in food and turn them into tiny oil droplets. It's like putting large pieces in a blender and grinding them. We call this emulsification .

When the oil is broken down into small pieces like this, our body's digestive enzymes can more easily digest the oil and absorb the nutrients (fatty acids) into the blood. The body can then use those nutrients as energy.

2. Removing waste from the body

In addition to digesting fat, bile performs another important function. That is to remove some of the waste products that build up in our bodies. For example , bilirubin .

Bilirubin is a yellow byproduct that is formed when red blood cells in our body die over time and break down. It is not good for this bilirubin to accumulate in the body. So, bile acts like a vehicle to carry this bilirubin from the liver to the intestines. Then it is excreted from the body with feces. In fact, this process is what gives your feces their brown color.

Where is bile produced and stored?

This is very simple.

• Produced by: Your liver . The liver produces between 800 and 1000 milliliters of bile per day, which is about the amount of two bottles of water.
• Storage: Once produced by the liver, bile travels through the bile ducts and is stored in the gallbladder . The gallbladder can hold about 30-80 milliliters of fluid at a time, which is about the size of a small cup.

What does bile contain?

Bile is not just one thing, it's a mixture of many compounds.

• Cholesterol
• Bile salts or bile acids
• Water
• Phospholipids (also a type of fat)
• Bilirubin
• Body salts like potassium and sodium
• Other metals like copper

Of all of these, as we mentioned before, the most important part is the bile salts. They do the main job of breaking down the fat.

Common diseases related to bile secretion

Sometimes, if there is an obstruction in the production or flow of bile, various diseases can occur. Here are a few of them.

How do you know if you have this problem? (Symptoms)

A problem with bile can cause a variety of symptoms, but these are the most common.

Doctor, what kind of tests can you give?

Depending on your symptoms, your doctor may order tests like these.

• Liver function tests: This is a blood test. It checks the levels of liver enzymes, proteins, and bilirubin in your blood. If these levels are abnormal, it may indicate a problem with your liver, gallbladder, or bile ducts.
• Bilirubin test: This also measures the level of bilirubin in the blood. Elevated bilirubin levels are a major sign of bile duct obstruction.
• Ultrasound Scan: An abdominal scan can easily detect gallstones or swelling.

What are the treatments for this?

Treatment depends on your specific condition. Here are some of the most commonly used treatments.

• Antibiotics: If the gallbladder is swollen due to an infection, the doctor will prescribe antibiotics to clear up the infection.
• Cholecystectomy: This is the most common and successful treatment for gallstones and cholecystitis. It is often done without a large incision, using a camera through several small incisions in the abdomen (a laparoscopic procedure).
• ERCP (Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography): This is not surgery. It is a procedure in which a tube with a camera is inserted through the mouth and stones are removed from the bile ducts. This procedure is used for diagnosis and treatment.
• Open Surgery: In some severe cases, major surgery may be necessary to remove the cause of the blockage or control the swelling.

Things we can do to keep the gallbladder healthy

There are a few simple things we can follow to prevent or minimize these problems.

• Maintain a healthy weight: Obesity is a major cause of gallstones. If you are losing weight, do it gradually, not in a big lump. Losing weight too quickly can also be a cause of gallstones.
• Low-fat diet: Reducing your intake of fat, especially unhealthy fats, can help prevent stone formation.
• Fiber-rich foods: Fiber-rich foods like vegetables, fruits, and legumes help keep the digestive system healthy and control cholesterol levels.

Now you probably understand how valuable this fluid called bile is to our bodies, even though we don't think about it much in our daily lives. The questions that come up regarding this can be a bit painful and uncomfortable. Therefore, if you have the symptoms we talked about earlier, especially pain on the right side of the stomach, nausea, etc., do not ignore it and seek medical advice as soon as possible. Then you can maintain the health of your digestive system and gallbladder.