The Analyst™  Comprehensive diagnosis of your symptoms     Bile
Salts   Search treatments and conditions   The gall bladder
stores and concentrates bile during the fasting state. The
gallbladder has the capacity to hold 40-50ml of bile. Adult
humans produce 400 to 800ml of bile daily. Typically, bile is
concentrated five-fold in the gall bladder by absorption of
water and small electrolytes - virtually all of the organic
molecules are retained. Secretion into bile is a major route for
eliminating cholesterol. Free cholesterol is virtually insoluble
in aqueous solutions, but in bile, it is made soluble by bile
acids and lipids like lethicin. In humans, roughly 500mg of
cholesterol are converted to bile acids and eliminated in bile
every day. Gallstones, most of which are composed predominantly
of cholesterol, result from processes that allow cholesterol to
precipitate from solution in bile.  Bile contains bile acids,
which are critical for digestion and absorption of fats and fat-
soluble vitamins in the small