The Dr. Berg Show LIVE - August 13, 2026

Gallbladder congestion is associated with heart palpitations, and TUDCA can help alleviate this symptom.

"there's definitely this cross over where people get palpitations with having problems with the gallbladder in which case you want to take TUDCA. That's a good remedy and that just may open up the bile ducts to allow you to um not have that irritation on the heart." (said at 0:16:27)

The host's statement bundles two assertions: (1) gallbladder disease can cause heart symptoms like palpitations, and (2) TUDCA treats gallbladder-induced heart palpitations by opening bile ducts to relieve cardiac irritation. While published case reports recognize the 'cardio-biliary reflex' (Cope's sign), wherein gallbladder disease triggers vagal signals that cause cardiac rhythm disturbances or arrhythmias (PMID: 41216055, PMID: 35165631), there is no published clinical evidence demonstrating that TUDCA (tauroursodeoxycholic acid) relieves cardiac palpitations or treats heart symptoms secondary to gallbladder congestion. Studies on TUDCA show it modifies bile acid composition and gallbladder volume (PMID: 8782006, PMID: 36353477), but no published record matching its use to alleviate cardiac palpitations was located.

• context: Acute Calculous Cholecystitis With Sinus Bradycardia: Cope's Sign Encountered. (Cureus 2022) · cited 4x in the literature

  "Nonspecific electrocardiographic changes and arrhythmias can occur in acute cholecystitis and gallbladder disease that can confuse the treating physician leading to extensive cardiac workup." (abstract, passage verified)

  pubmedfull study (doi)
• context: Effects of oral tauroursodeoxycholic acid and/or intestinal probiotics on serum biochemica… (Frontiers in pharmacology 2022) · cited 5x in the literature

  "The use of intestinal probiotics alone can maximise the reverse development of bile composition in patients with cholecystolithiasis compared with TUDCA alone and a combination of TUDCA and intestinal probiotics, thereby reducing gallstone formation." (abstract, conclusion, passage verified)

  pubmedfull study (doi)
• context: The Cardio-Biliary Reflex in Gallbladder Disease: A Case Report and Literature Review. (Cureus 2025)

  "This reflex is a well-recognized physiological response in which gallbladder pathology triggers vagal nerve signals, potentially causing significant alterations in cardiac rhythm and often mimicking primary heart conditions." (abstract, passage verified)

  pubmedfull study (doi)
• context: Tauroursodeoxycholic acid, ursodeoxycholic acid and gallbladder motility in gallstone pati… (The Italian journal of gastroenterology 1996) · cited 13x in the literature

  "Therapeutic doses of tauroursodeoxycholic acid or ursodeoxycholic acid do not acutely modify postprandial gallbladder emptying in either healthy subjects or gallstone patients. Chronic treatment with either bile salts results in an increase in fasting gallbladder volume without interfering with the extent of postprandial gallbladder emptying." (abstract, passage verified)

  pubmed

Bears produce 50% to 70% TUDCA in their bile, whereas humans produce only 1% to 4%.

"A bear produces like 50 to 70% TUDCA, which is a type of bile salt which is different than other bile salts, because we only produce like 1 to 4% if you're lucky." (said at 0:39:20)

No published record matching the specific claim that bears produce 50% to 70% TUDCA in their bile whereas humans produce only 1% to 4% was located; this does not prove the claim false. Published literature establishes that tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA) is a prominent bile acid in bear bile and is also produced in humans via conjugation of taurine to ursodeoxycholic acid, but records confirming the exact percentage ranges cited were not located.

The average person consumes 200 pounds of industrial starch per year.

"an average person consumes 200 lb of industrial starch in the form of the bread, pasta, cereal, crackers, biscuits, waffles, pancakes, muffins, things like that." (said at 0:50:54)

No published record matching the claim that an average person consumes 200 pounds of industrial starch per year was located; this does not prove the claim false. While per capita availability of total wheat flour and refined grain products in the United States is tracked in agricultural and economic balance sheets (typically around 130–140 pounds of wheat flour per person annually, with total dietary carbohydrate and starch intake measured differently), the specific figure of '200 lb of industrial starch' from grain foods does not match standard dietary surveillance metrics or published biomedical literature.

The difference in total blood sugar between a normal person and a diabetic is only one teaspoon.

"the difference between normal sugar and a diabetic is only one teaspoon. So, we're not talking about if you have like 102, we're dealing with probably a teaspoon and an eighth of sugar." (said at 0:56:25)

No published record matching the claim that the difference in total blood sugar between a normal person and a diabetic is only one teaspoon was located; this does not prove the claim false.