You've got acne, bloating, PMS, brain fog, mood swings, and mystery inflammation.
You've tried cutting dairy, going gluten-free, seed cycling, even bioidentical hormones and nothing sticks?
But there's one system almost no one checks: bile flow.
Not digestion. Not "gut health."
Bile. From your liver. Through your gallbladder. Out of your body.
When bile isn't moving, hormones don't clear — they recirculate, build up, and choke your system from the inside out.
What is bile and why does it matter?
Bile is a detergent-like fluid made by your liver and stored in your gallbladder. Its job:
- Break down and absorb fats
- Carry out fat-soluble toxins and used-up hormones (like estrogen)
- Trigger peristalsis and gut movement
- Protect against bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine
When bile moves, everything flows.
When bile is stagnant, you're recycling garbage — including your own hormones.
Signs your bile is stagnant — even if your labs are "fine":
- You get bloated after meals, especially with fat
- You feel heavy, puffy, or toxic before your period
- Your acne flares on the jawline or right before bleeding
- Your stools float, smell foul, or are clay-colored
- You feel more irritable or anxious after eating
- You react poorly to supplements or herbs that "support detox"
This is hormone congestion — not hormone deficiency.
How it wrecks your hormone system
When bile is sluggish, estrogen (and other steroid hormones) can't exit the body properly.
They get reabsorbed in the colon, pushed back into circulation, and cause:
- Estrogen dominance
- Progesterone suppression
- Thyroid hormone conversion issues
- Increased histamine and cortisol sensitivity
- Liver congestion and mood instability
You don't need to "balance your hormones." You need to excrete them.
What slows bile down?
Let's list the usual suspects:
- Estrogen itself — it thickens bile and weakens gallbladder contractions
- Hypothyroidism — slows bile production and gut motility
- PUFA-rich diets (seed oils, highly processed chicken and pork) — damage bile flow and liver enzymes
- Chronic dieting, fasting, skipping breakfast — no food = no bile release
- Stress and cortisol — constrict bile ducts
- Raw vegetables and cold smoothies — overload your sluggish digestion
What to do instead — 5 ways to get bile moving again:
1. Eat warm, real meals — especially breakfast
First meal of the day triggers gallbladder contractions. Skipping it? You're bottling up toxins.
2. Use bitter tonics before meals
Dandelion root, gentian, artichoke, or orange peel — bitter taste = vagus nerve stimulation = bile release.
3. Eat cooked carrots or carrot salad daily
Not for "fiber" — for binding up recirculated estrogens and sweeping them out.
4. Add taurine and glycine (from collagen, bone broth, or direct supplement)
These amino acids are needed to conjugate bile acids and support phase II liver detox.
5. Support thyroid
No thyroid = no bile = hormonal traffic jam. Even subclinical hypothyroidism can screw this up.
If you're trying to "balance hormones" but ignoring bile, you're wasting time.
Estrogen doesn't leave the body on good intentions — it needs a working liver, gallbladder, and gut.