Question: I have Gall Bladder disease. How would you support healing with food? Most people are told never to eat fat again, especially after surgery. - Natalia
Answer: You can and should eat the right kind of fats, even if you have your gall bladder out–you still need the benefits of saturated fat and the vitamins that these fats contain. A lowfat diet will cause the gall bladder to atrophy and a diet of the wrong fats (trans and commerical vegetable oils) will cause the gall bladder to be inflamed. Remember that the gall bladder is only a storage place. Even if you have had your gall bladder taken out, your liver will still make bile. It may be helpful to eat your meals at very regular intervals so the liver gets used to releasing bile at these times. You can also take an ox bile tablet with meals to aid in fat digestion.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine patients with disorders of any organ are told to eat that organ. Since it’s difficult to find gall bladders in your local butcher, try organic lambs fry, which is the liver. The B Vitamins, Vitamin A, Protein and minerals will aid in healing. Also very bitter vegetables and herbs like rocket are good for healing the liver/gallbladder. - Ed
About the Author...
Sally Fallon is founding president of the Weston A Price Foundation, a non-profit nutrition education foundation with over 400 local chapters and 9000 members. She is also the founder of A Campaign for Real Milk, which has as its goal universal access to clean raw milk from pasture-fed animals. Author of the best-selling cookbook Nourishing Traditions and also of Eat Fat Lose Fat (Penguin), both with Mary G. Enig, Phd, Sally has a encyclopedic knowledge of modern nutritional science as well as ancient food ways. Her grasp on the work of Weston Price is breath taking and her passion for health freedom, inspiring. In each edition of Nourished Magazine Sally answers your questions about nutrition, health, food and medical politics. Send us an email with your question and we'll put it to her.
Apr 26th, 2007 at 10:23 am
My mom has gall bladder disease and she can’t have fatty foods,spicy foods,caffeine,chocolate,peppermint,or alcahol and she needs a list of food that she can eat
Apr 26th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
Sure avoid foods cooked in vegetable oils. Spicy foods are not necessary for health but animal fats are. I would agree that caffeine including chocolate are a no go as is alcohol. I don’t know about peppermint. I would add refined sugar to the list of don’ts too.
What she can eat is outlined in the Weston Price Foundations recommended Characteristics of traditional foods.
Jul 17th, 2007 at 10:55 am
My Quack, sorry, Doctor told me to have my gall bladder taken out, but I instead did some internet research and my intuition told me to go on a low fat diet, no cream, no cheese, no SATURATED fats and only whole meal bread, pasta and whole grain rice.
One year now without pain.
Jul 21st, 2007 at 12:37 am
I’ve had my gallbladder out, there has been some reserach that people having intestinal surgery (including gall bladder removal) can show signs of vitamin A deficiency years later. So try to avoid having it removed if you can. Actually my gallbladder problems started after I went on an allergy elmination diet where the only fat I could eat was sunflower or safflower oil!
Anyway you can still get stones in your liver after your gallbladder has been removed. I recommend lots of beetroot including beet kvass daily to remove gallstones. I passed several stones (and that’s years after having my gallbladder out) after having beetroot juice daily for a few weeks..
Jul 25th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
The problem with this solution is that you could end up losing something else. . . like part of your small intestine. This kind of diet is really deficient in nutrients and very difficult to digest. As an alternative, I’d suggest that you introduce fats slowly and supplement with ox bile at meals and also consume lacto-fermented foods, which help the body digest fats.
Jul 30th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
Can anyone tell me where I can obtain ox bile in Australia? I had my gallbladder out years ago and would like to eat more of the good fats. Thanks.
Aug 3rd, 2007 at 12:07 am
Hi, As a nutritionist, I prescribe oxbile in a fomulation with pancreatic enzymes and hydrochloric acid. Unfortunately, this is a ‘practitioner only’ product so must be prescribed by a therapist. Have a chat to yours and see if they can obtain it.
Jul 28th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
I had my gall bladder removed when I was 20 years of age. Now at the age of 53 I am having digestion problems and intestinal cramps. Does anyone know if these symptoms are related to not having a gall bladder? I was never told to go on any special diet or eliminate certain foods. I am taking Lecithen at the moment, I am not overweight and have a fairly balanced diet.
Jul 29th, 2008 at 9:04 am
I think it’s the other way around, cut out the saturated fat now, and maybe like me, you can evade surgery. Two years now without an attack and the only thing I do differently is not have saturated fats. Especially my double helpings of cream on cakes etc. That’s it, just cut out the saturated fat, maybe it will work for you as well. Of course my orthodox doctor scoffed at the idea and put it down to coincidence. He wanted to book me in for surgery on the first visit, without even asking anything about my diet.
Who are the real quacks and charlatans?
Jul 30th, 2008 at 9:35 am
Avoiding fats will momentarily stop your symptoms but the nutrients you miss out on are the very ones you need to heal the inflammation and rebuild the body in the long run. Gail, might I suggest you contact one of the practitioners on the Nourished MarketPlace.
Jul 30th, 2008 at 10:04 am
I said cut out or at least down on saturated fats, not all fats. I also said that I’ve been attack free for two years having gone ,ore vegan than eating dairy fats.
Aug 3rd, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Hello
I’ve just had my 2nd attack now. I’m 48. Just been diagnosed that some blood readings probably suggest I have an inflamed gall bladder. Dogray I’m interested in the way you have suggested to go forward. What food have you specifically cut out? What have you taken up?
I’m a big lover of chocolates, mocha coffee and biscuits. Any particular substitutions or what levels each day have you reduced to? Thanks.
Aug 4th, 2008 at 9:14 am
Hi Peter,
I’d try to see if full cream milk chocolate is carrying too much saturated fat for a start, which I’m fairly sure it will.
Don’t worry, you’ll stop missing these treats after a very short time, I used to love Tira Mi Su, and I’d even have second helpings of cream with it, I think that was the main cause of my attacks, also cream sauces on pasta etc. Try cutting out all dairy for awhile and see if you still get the attacks. I have been veg for 22 years and my diet consists mostly of soy products as replacements for dairy.
I had a little search for you and found this interesting article. I think everyone on this post should read it http://gallbladder-attack.blogspot.com/
Don’t believe doctors who want to rush into the first spot in the operating theatre, as I said before, my doctor didn’t even ask me about my diet, he just said go and get your gall bladder removed, as a 1st option, rather than the last, just as well I didn’t listen to this quack. Medical doctors are rubbish, go and see an alternative therapist like a naturopath if the low fat diet doesn’t work. An MD should be your last resort as far as I’m concerned. Get on the internet and educate yourself about the gall bladder before visiting a doctor, you will probably know more than they do by the time you do your research, because you can sure they won’t bother, they are so smug in their orthodoxy that they act as if they are the last word in health, which is totally untrue. How many doctors do you think would suggest a totally meat free diet, I’ve been veg for 22 years and I’m in peak health, I live a life that is more like someone 25 year my junior.
If they look like a quack, sound like a quack and speak like a quack, then guess what, they probably are a quack.
A chiropractor saved me from a back operation and becoming dependent on the pain relieving pills that a quack was prescribing. The internet saved me from having my gall bladder removed that a quack advised. A naturopath saved me from becoming addicted to anti-depression medication handed out like candy by an MD, whereas the naturopath rightly saw that I had a vit B deficiency which was effecting my nervous system. Sure, if you must, get an opinion from an MD, but don’t stop there, as there are other sciences outside or the orthodox approaches, that aren’t stuck in the mud.
Thank god I listened to my intuition and not these quacks. Good luck. Let me know how you get on. Also have a look at http://www.thereleaseeffect.com for relaxation, as stress is a factor as well.
Aug 15th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
My first of hundreds of gallbladder attacks was when I was 17 and weighed 43 kilo (am now 50 and weigh 60 kilo), it was suggested I have an op but I hated hospitals so did not, did not eat fatty or spicy food so diet did not help. At 25 I collapsed in pain and had my Gall bladder removed, now have a scar about 7 inches long but have never regretted having it out. It did take time after the op to work out what I could eat and not eat and the only thing I could not tolerate is sugar and mushrooms, But now I have an stomach Ulcer so back to working out what I can not eat.
I know several people that had key hole surgery to remove stones and all have had trouble later for a long time, glad key hole was not around when I had mine done.
Aug 18th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Thank you for all your comments, it’s seems fats and sugars are a problem without a gall bladder. Like you Julie, I had the operation the old way and also have a 7 inch scar. I’ve started to cut back on all saturated fats and I’ve also cut down on my fruit intake. I’m a big fruit eater and read in the local Sunday paper that certain fruits have to much fructose and can be very difficult to digest. Out goes the apples. I eat lots of green vegetables and also found out that green beans and asparugas have heaps of fructose. So far so good.
Aug 18th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Hi Julie,
Saturated fats can come in the form of sweets as well, chocolate, sugary things that turn to fat if not used up quickly like an athlete.
Anyone reading Julie’s post, my advice would be to at least experiment with your diet before going under the quack’s knife.
Let me give you an example of how these imbeciles running around with their trusty scalpels think.
A committed vegetarian friend of mine went to a doctor and he did some tests and found she was lacking in Iron, so he told her straight away to start eating meat. This is the level of these charlatans imagination, and they have conned us into believing everything they say is gospel. How? by having a huge association of members paying their dues, most of whiuch is used to scare the hell out of us into visiting them every time we sneeze. They bleed us dry through the high cost of medical bills and insurance that comes from these high costs. They are usually quite smug and set in their ways (orthodox ways that is) and have no ability of thinking outside the squares.
OK, so here is what he could have done, he could have helped my friend find a balanced diet that was still veg but one that would increase her iron intake.
Could he bothered, of course not, but I bet if she went to a naturopath, they would have had a lengthy chat about her diet and advised her on how to experiment and try to find more iron without having to go against her beliefs about cruelty and torture of animals, but like me and you, she too was brainwashed by constant media hype propagated by a sea of lobbyists hired by the AMA to convince us that these quacks are demi-gods and that we are lucky to have them.
My grandmother’s remedies were much more accurate than the hit-rate I’ve had with quacks over the years.
Things like, rub salt into mouth sores and also into mosquito bites, simple.
Go veg and go alternative.
For gall-bladder problems, experiment with spicy, sugary and saturated fat food groups, or any other foods that are hard to break down, like white carbs, try to stick to wholegrain everything. It’s your life, so take some responsibility for it. If I hear one more person say, “Oh, but I love the taste of cream and cheese, and chocolates, and white bread and fatty sausages, Big Mucks and dead rotting animal corpses” I think I will scream. Take your life back, and look outside of orthodoxy, we now have the internet, use it. Get back to real foods.
Aug 19th, 2008 at 8:56 am
Hi Dogray, sorry if you thought I meant go under the knife at first suggestion, that I believe is a last resort (as it was with me, 8 years after they told me to have the op). I shuffled foods around and found what was causing attacks and avoided them, that worked pretty good for a long time also found what one person could not eat another could eat it without the problems. But once the problem became to much and I collapsed I was not impressed having to go under the knife (back then key hole was not an option). Going on friends and family that have had the keyhole op to remove the stones, I am glad I have the huge scar as I have had less problems later, although it did take a couple of years to find what foods were best for me after the op and they were sugary things as in sweets, chocolate and sugar in tea or coffee. I now only have a sugar burst if my blood sugar levels drop, red meat is another I can not tollerate very well (no loss as I did not eat it much before) .
I am not vegetarian, just don’t like meat, and feel every one should eat what is right for them and in moderation, I do still prefer my food as we had it as kids back in Tas, fresh picked from the garden or orchards and the meat we did have was from our own farm.
100% agree ..experiment first before taking to the knife or believing a quack first up …I did for 8 years, and am again experimenting with alternative remidies for other wealth issues …the knife is last resort.
Sep 19th, 2008 at 4:08 am
hello every one, i have been reading this page. I am 21 and i have gall blader disease. I get very strong chest pains, to the point where i cant breathe and i feel faint. These symptoms went away when i got pregnant with my son. but after i had him they started again. Every one keeps telling me including the doctor to get it removed. I seen that some people wrote they have problems with it years after its been taken out. Im not really sure if i should go on with the laparoscopy. SOME one please help!!
Sep 19th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Hi Mimi,
All I can say from my point of view is to experiment with your food intake, cut down on saturated fats, like, dairy, cream, cheese, milk, also fatty meat and fish, and especially coconut milk, it’s full of it.
I think Julie’s advice to not cut it out atogether is good, as you need some saturated fat, not much, but try to give it all the flick for a week or so to give the gall bladder a rest.
Oh, also cut out butter, white flour and sugar. It’s worth it, beleive me, you’ll feel a lot better for it.
That’s the best I can offer, since I cut these things out and added them back in very small quantities, I’ve had no more attacks for over two years.
I wish you good luck Mimi.
Sep 19th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Hi Mimi,
I know it is hard to not think “just cut it out of me ” while having an attack but you will be better to try the food experiment first. I found dropping all the bad food (the normal ones know to cause attack) for a couple of weeks then introducing one at a time slowly and in small amounts, you will soon find if it will affect you. My mother found a simple veg like cabbage was a trigger for her, I was fine with it she also could not eat peas after she had the op.
It has been 25 years since I had the op and now am back at the doctors with the same pain, without the gallbladder bile will go straight to the stomach and cause the same pain all over again, so my love of curry and satay are out the window again.
Try the blander food and no dairy. Oh I also found that having very small meals or rather than the 3 meal a day system ….have smaller amounts spread out through the day helped.
It can be all trial and error for a while but hope you have success fast with diet. One other thing and this could be the almost impossible (was for me) stress less, hard to do with a young baby, please don’t swear at me for that one …young babies and stress seem to come hand in hand.
Good luck Mimi, hope all goes well
Sep 19th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Hi Mimi,
Yes, I agree with Julie that it’s best to have smaller meals, think how nice it will be to get back into that prom dress.
The diet of the United States is laughed at all over the world, start to turn iit around, revolutions are started with one person, look at Ghandi, he got the evil British out of India after hundreds of years, John Lennon stopped the VietNam war with his peace movement, Ralph Nader gave people consumer rights for the first time in the history of the US.
Keep away from Big Muks, Kentucky Fried Cruelty, Taco Billious, Starschmucks etc etc, get into some real food instead. No more white flour, no more white rice, no more white pasta, if you go to a restaurant that doesn’t have wholemeal pasta on the menu, take some with you and discretely ask the chef to use it for you instead. Grow some sprouts at home, mung beans are extremely cheap and tasty, you can grow them very easily and they are packed with goodness. Google “growing sprouts at home”.
Here’s a secret, like a bad haircut, which only takes a week to get used to and then it looks OK, it’s the same with food, after a week or two, you won’t miss all the other junk and gunk food, you will start to get a required taste for the healthier stuff and your palate taste buds will adjust to the new flavors.
Oh, also, go easy on the spices, no need to cut them out, but don’t over do it. Don’t worry, it’s not boring, I actually appreciate my food much more than when I used to eat junk food. I can really taste the subtleties now. In fact, I don’t even need rich sauces to disguise the blandness, as the food has so much natural flavor in it.
Don’t believe the US orthodox medical fraternity, they have all been trained to think “cut and dice and throw away”, rather than cure and prevention in the first place. Go to naturopaths for second opinions, not another doctor. Doctors have been brainwashed by drug companies, they have in many cases even been bought by them.
Remember, that everything you read in the mainstream media in the US is spin, don’t believe anything you read or hear until you have done your own research, the spin doctors are paid to brainwash you, and they get paid good money, because they spent years at Harvard learning how your mind ticks, so that they could better manipulate you. And it works, that’s why these people are paid huge amounts of money, because it works. One of the biggest employers of spin doctors is the meat and dairy industries, also the AMA, be very careful what you believe before getting, not just a second opinion, but an alternative opinion.
For example, if you wanted to get a different opinion on the Republican party platform, you wouldn’t ask a Republican and then go and ask another Republican, you would ask a Democrat and then weigh the two sides up. If you were really smart, you would get 4 or even 5 alternative opinions, very easy to do with the internet these days.
Let us know how you get on Mimi.
Sep 19th, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Thanks for the advice everyone, i will try cutting out on the foods that i know have caused the problem, which will be almost impossible, And yes Julie kids and stress do come hand in hand especially when you have a 2 year old and a 3 month old. So thanks again for all the advice.
Sep 21st, 2008 at 1:28 am
I was told to have my gall bladder out and that was over 12 years ago. Cutting out fat isn’t really the answer, well it wasn’t for me. I found that sugar was actually the trigger, I had the most painful attacks after parties, etc when I had a lot of sweets and soft drinks. I eat a lot of coconut oil and good saturated fats and it’s never caused me a problem. I found the explanation of why you get gall stones on the Weston Price Foundation website made a lot of sense to me. I got the gallstones after I lost a lot of weight quickly by using a very low fat diet. Try what Sally Fallon suggested at the beginning of this thread. It may just work for you.
Oct 24th, 2008 at 2:40 am
Hello, I’ve had numerous amounts of test done and after having a Hida scan done found out that my gallbladder was not functioning properly. The surgeon that I spoke with advised me that it was bad enough to where I had to get it removed if I didnt want too. But I have really bad nausea, not so much as pain. I didnt hear anyone talking about nausea? Will the diet help with that. Right now I been taking pheneragan as needed, and I do still have my gallbladder. Please help
Oct 24th, 2008 at 2:41 am
Correction, the surgeon advised me that my gallbladder was NOT bad enough to where I needed to have it removed. sorry