The Celiac and Gallbladder Connection

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder where the body makes antibodies to gluten, gliadin, and gluten breakdown enzymes. This causes chronic inflammation in the intestinal lining and throughout the body. However, gallbladder disease is not what generally comes to mind when discussing celiac disease. When we think of celiac, we think of issues with absorption, diarrhea etc, but there is a side effect rarely talked about: low gut motility. What is low gut motility? Almost every part of the GI system is surrounded by smooth muscles. These muscles help to move the food along the track and contract in waves called peristalsis. Low gut motility means that food is not moving and is usually due to a lack of peristalsis or an irregularity in the waves of contraction. It is well established that celiac disease can result in low motility throughout the gut, which brings us to gallbladder health.

The gallbladder is one of many digestive organs that uses smooth muscles to function. Muscles contract around the bile inside to send it through the bile duct and into the small intestine to digest fats. If these muscles are not contracting well, then less bile can be released and fat is not well absorbed leading to more gastrointestinal discomfort, diarrhea etc. There are also some links between celiac disease and autoimmune hepatitis. The liver makes the bile before sending it to the gallbladder for storage. If the liver is damaged, then less bile is made leading to similar gastrointestinal discomfort.

So many clients come into my office with a gallbladder giving them discomfort without their gastroenterologist looking into what could be possibly causing it. A good percentage of those clients followed a GI specialists’ recommendation to have it removed without symptom relief following the surgery because their gallbladder inflammation was only a small part of a bigger inflammatory process that was not addressed. So many inflammatory disorders effect the gut and gallbladder, Celiac Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, Chrohn’s Disease, Autoimmune Hepatitis, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, SIBO, just to name a few. I’ve certainly recommended gallbladder removal in the past, but only after a thorough work up and addressing the root cause were not successful in restoring quality of life. Gallbladder pain and the GI discomfort that come with it can be severe and certainly not easy to live with. So even though it is not ideal, removal should always be on the table. In the meantime, I continue to hope that more providers will try to address the root cause as the first line of treatment so that more patients can keep their gallbladders and return to normal fat digestion, whether it’s delicious healthy salmon or indulgent chocolate ice cream.

Sources:

Anderson J. Celiac disease can increase your risk of gallbladder issues. Verywell Health. https://www.verywellhealth.com/how-celiac-disease-can-affect-your-gallbladder-4148347. Published August 24, 2020. Accessed November 22, 2021.