Abnormal conditions associated with bile

The cholesterol contained in bile will occasionally accrete into lumps in the gall bladder, forming gallstones.

On an empty stomach � after repeated vomiting, for example � a person�s vomit may be green or dark yellow, and very bitter. The bitter and greenish component is bile.[citation needed] (The color of bile is often likened to �fresh-cut grass�, but in a vomit it may be mixed with other components in the stomach to look greenish yellow or dark yellow.)

In the absence of bile, fats become indigestible and are instead excreted in feces, a condition called steatorrhea. Feces lack their characteristic brown colour and instead are white or grey, and greasy.[3] Steatorrhea can lead to deficiencies in essential fatty acids and fat-soluble vitamins. In addition, past the small intestine (which is normally responsible for absorbing fat from food) the gastrointestinal tract and gut flora are not adapted to processing fats, leading to problems in the distal parts of the intestine