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Healthy Diet Plans >>  Health Articles >>  Foods for Gall Bladder

Dissolving Gallstones and Gallstones Remedy

What foods affect Gallbladder disease?


Gall bladder is a pear shaped organ under the liver which stores bile which is essential for digestion. Swelling of the gall bladder causes gall bladder disease. Gall bladder disease occurs when the gallstones formed can block the duct that leads from the gall bladder. Gallstones develop when the bile contains excess cholesterol. High content of cholesterol can form crystals leading to the formation of stones.

The symptoms for gall bladder diseases include physical discomfort, severe pain, nausea, fever and in extreme cases jaundice.

Food plays an important role for gall bladder disease. There are certain foods that can help in relieving from this disease whereas there are certain foods that should be avoided.

A list of foods that are helpful and that needs to be avoided for gall bladder diseases are as follows:


 HELPFUL FOODS FOODS TO BE AVOIDED
 Beets Egg, pork, onions, milk, beans, nuts, coffee
 Cucumbers Hydrogenated fats
 Vegetable juices of beets and cucumber as well as celery, carrots, beet greens
 Saturated fats like Clarified butter, red meat
 Fresh garlic for cleansing of the liver. Margarine
 Sweet potatoes Fried foods
 Ripe tomatoes  Black tea
 Cold water fish Chocolate, ice-cream and milk products
 Lemon. Drink lemon juice mixed with warm Water in the morning
 Cabbage, cauliflower, radish and turnips
 Grapes and fresh juice of organic grapes Wheat, rye and barley
 Apples, apricots, berries, figs and guava Legumes and beans
 Omega 3 rich oils like flax and hemp. Add these Oils in the salads preferably in the raw form.
 
 Lots of water 
 Low fat cottage cheese 
 Coconut (Coconut in oil form is rich in Medium chain Triglycerides)
 



There are certain points that need to be considered:

  • Do not avoid fats totally. Fat free and low fat diets can also be a root cause of the problem. Your body requires fats. Certain oils like coconut oil or butter are rich in Medium Chain triglycerides that can be absorbed without the presence of bile. Hence though there is fat restriction for gall bladder disease, whatever little oil is consumed it should be the ones that are rich in Medium Chain Triglycerides.
  • Eliminate egg as it is considered as a primary food allergen that can aggravate gall bladder diseases.
  • Prefer foods low in fat, cholesterol, sugar and high in fiber. High fiber intake in the diet can prevent the slowing down of intestinal transit time. Have more of fresh vegetables and fruits.

Gallbladder Foods

The gallbladder is a small organ under the liver that is used to store the bile secreted by the liver. The bile is released from the gallbladder into the intestine via bile ducts. The bile is used to emulsify the fats in the food to be digested. When the gallbladder is diseased, the bile in the organ becomes thicker and more concentrated. Gallstones form from the thick bile sludge made up of bile salts and cholesterol. A gallbladder attack occurs when one or more of the stones move into the bile duct and block the passage of bile. Shoulder and neck pain, nausea, sever pain in top right side of the abdomen are all symptoms of a gallbladder attack. A healthy well-planned diet with special gallbladder foods to avoid gallstones can help those who have gallbladder attacks lead a normal life. In fact, when it comes to problems related to the gallbladder, deciding the foods that you can eat and those that you need to stay away from is half the battle won. Gallstones can occur in anyone, though women over forty are more susceptible to them. People may have gallstones for years and not be aware of them until they experience the first gallbladder attack. Modern medicine deals with the problem by removing the diseased gall bladder surgically, but it would be better if we alter our dietary habits and lifestyle to prevent the formation of gallstones in the first place.


In order to avoid the stones in the gallbladder, foods that are low in fat and rich in fiber are recommended.  There are also foods that you should not eat. Obesity is one of the main causes of gallstones, and people with stones in the gallbladder should avoid animal fats in their food. They should also try to avoid refined carbohydrates like white bread, fries, and pastries. Foods that aggravate gallbladder disease include hydrogenated fats that are found in margarine and mayonnaise. Chocolates, candies, and preserves rich in sugar should also be avoided to maintain one’s ideal weight. It must be remembered that crash dieting leading to a rapid loss of pounds can also precipitate gallstones. Eating eggs, poultry, pork, beans, and nuts is also known to cause gallbladder attacks in people who have gallstones. Additionally, caffeine from carbonated drinks and coffee can stimulate a contraction of the gallbladder, triggering an attack.


Health food enthusiasts recommend organic fruits and vegetables and fat-free foods for gallbladder stone problems. Pesticides and herbicides used in commercial produce place an additional burden on the liver and the gall bladder. Fresh vegetable juices, particularly juices of cucumber, beet, and aloe vera, are ideal for those with gallstones. Also, drinking plenty of water and exercising regularly leads to a healthier and leaner body and also helps to eliminate toxins from the body by flushing them out. Flax seeds, omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil, and lecithin are known to be helpful in blocking the formation of cholesterol in bile, thereby reducing the gallstone formation. Skim milk and low fat yoghurt can replace dairy products like cream and cheese for those who have gallstones. Moreover, there are several types of liver and gall bladder flushes that one can do to soften and eliminate gall stones. Indigenous medicine in Europe recommends an olive oil flush with lime juice or grapefruit juice. Indian medicine suggests a flush with coconut oil for gallstones. Chinese medicine uses gold coin grass tincture and Chinese bitters to treat the problem. 


Stones in the gallbladder appears to be a widespread problem today, caused largely due to sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy food that is high in fat and refined carbohydrates. Of the two types of gallstones, cholesterol gallstones are the most common, accounting for more than three-fourths of all gallstones. Pigment gallstones occur when the certain liver diseases increase the concentration of bilirubin in the bile. To prevent gallstone attacks and the accompanying pain and discomfort or biliary colic, people should be aware of what foods aggravate gallbladder disease and avoid them. Even as we try to avoid foods that affect gallbladder, we should include in our diets, foods that help us minimize the pain of a gallstone attack. As mentioned earlier, flax seeds and flax seed oil, which is high in omega-3 fatty acids, is useful when one has a gallbladder attack. Boil a tablespoon of flax seeds in two and a half cups of water for five minutes. Allow the mixture to stand for ten minutes before straining and drinking the liquid slowly. One large grated beet mixed with lemon juice and two tablespoons of flax seed oil can be consumed one spoonful at a time every hour or so through the day until the pain subsides. Including this salad with regular meals frequently helps to keep the bile moving and prevents it from getting concentrated, thereby reducing the chances for the formation of gallstones. Parsley is another natural remedy for gallbladder problems. Steam a bunch of parsley with two or three zucchinis, a couple of stalks of celery, and about twenty to thirty green beans for ten minutes. Make a puree of these steamed vegetables and serve as a green soup. The absence of salt, fats, and starch makes this dish easy to digest in the event of a gallstone attack, and yet it supplies the body with essential nutrients that give the strength needed.  


The gallstone diet food includes lot of water-soluble fiber and is low in saturated fats. Fruits and vegetables contain a lot of fiber that helps to flush out toxins from the body. Sometimes, food allergies can also lead to gallbladder attacks, and it is best to avoid what aggravates the gallbladder. Alcohol, in particular, seems to trigger liver and gallbladder problems in most people. Colas, sodas, spicy food, and ice cream should be eliminated or drastically cut down when one suspects the presence of stones in the gallbladder. People who have had gallbladder surgery should be particularly careful with their diets and continue to restrict the amount of saturated fat they consume. Once the gallbladder is removed, there is no place to store the bile produced by the liver and it flows directly into the intestine.  The food mixes with the bile to get digested and the nutrients and fat from the food is transferred. The movement of digested food through the intestine is connected to the delivery of bile. In the absence of a gallbladder, food passes more quickly through the intestine and this frequently results in diarrhea.  The constant dripping of bile into the intestine, even when there is no food to be digested, can irritate the lining of the intestine. In the long term, this irritation from the bile acids could lead to colon cancer. Eating smaller meals more frequently could help alleviate this irritation a little.

Submitted on January 16, 2014