Bile is a digestive fluid that your liver produces from cholesterol and the byproducts of broken down red blood cells. Bile helps you digest the fats in your diet. When bile production is low fats are not digested properly, fat-soluble vitamins may not be absorbed and other health problems may ensue. A variety of foods may help promote bile production.
Radish
Add daikon radish to your diet to increase bile production says Elizabeth Lipski, author of "Digestive Wellness for Children: How to Strengthen the Immune System." The sprouts of this Asian radish, which is larger and milder in flavor than most radishes, may also be useful at increasing bile flow, according to researchers in a study published in the December 2006 issue of the "Journal of Food Chemistry." Researchers reported that daikon radish sprouts eaten for four consecutive days increased bile flow in laboratory animals.
Steamed Greens
Steaming may improve the ability of some vegetables to bind bile acids and remove them from your body, thereby making way for fresh bile production, according to a study by the Western Regional Research Center in California. Collard greens, kale and mustard greens showed the highest bile-acid binding ability, followed by broccoli, brussel sprouts, spinach, green bell pepper and cabbage. Steam cooking significantly improved the bile-acid binding ability of the vegetables by comparison to their raw forms. Researchers concluded that regular consumption of these steamed vegetables may reduce risk conditions such as cardiovascular disease and cancer, which are linked to bile acids that stay in circulation too long.
Garlic and Onions
Garlic and onions may preventing bile from crystallizing into gallstones, according to a tissue culture study conducted by scientists at the department of biochemistry and nutrition of the Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore, India. Preventing gallstones can promote bile production by improving the flow of bile. The study was published in the March 2010 issue of the journal "Steroids." An earlier study conducted at the same institution and published in the June 2009 "British Journal of Nutrition" reported that garlic and onions increased bile acid output and that heat-processing of onions resulted in the greatest gallstone-preventing effects.
Artichokes
Artichokes stimulated bile secretion and also promoted it after it was inhibited by a substance that stops the function of the gallbladder in a laboratory animal study conducted at the Institut für Biochemie, Universitätsklinikum Leipzig, Germany. Researchers attribute flavonoid antioxidant compounds with the bile-stimulating effects. The study was published in the May 2001 issue of the journal "Medical Science Monitor."
References
- "Digestive Wellness for Children: How to Strengthen the Immune System"; Elizabeth Lipski; 2009
- "Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry"; Antioxidant and Choleretic Properties of Raphanus Sativus L. Sprout (Kaiware Daikon) Extract; J.Barillari, et al.; December 2006
- "Nutrition Research"; Steam Cooking Significantly Improves in Vitro Bile Acid Binding of Collard Greens, Kale, Mustard Greens, Broccoli, Green Bell Pepper, and Cabbage; T.Kahlon, et al.; June 2008
- "British Journal of Nutrition"; Dietary Garlic and Onion Reduce the Incidence of Atherogenic Diet-induced Cholesterol Gallstones in Experimental Mice; S. Vidyashankar, et al.; June 2009
- "Medical Science Monitor"; Anticholestatic Activity of Flavonoids from Artichoke (Cynara Scolymus L.) and of Their Metabolites; R.Gebhardt; May 2001
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Bile - Overview
