Re: gallstones and diet

Posted By   on July 10, 1998 at 16:07:39:

In Reply to: Re: gallstones and diet posted by HFHSM.D.-rf on June 28, 1998 at 08:22:38:







Tammy my experience was very similar to yours.  I had no advise other than "avoid fatty foods".  At first I ate what I thought to be "not fatty", "low fat" but the pain persisted.  I was then afraid to eat anything!  One thing I did find helpful was apple juice.  My mother, being a product of days gone by, cans everything that grows in dirt.  I had easy access to %100 pure apple juice.  Apparently the pectin in apples aids digestion in a way that is gall bladder friendly.  I did also live on hot cereals such as cream of wheat, malt-to-meal--no butter or margarine of course.  As my surgery date got near I became brave and used %2 milk.  I would eat jello.  And again near my surgery date, I started to eat very, very lean meats.  Needless to say, I dropped over 15 pounds by the time my condition was resolved.
I have recently been diagnosed with symptomatic gallstones.  I
am going to be treated surgically, however, the surgeon cannot see
me for 3 weeks.  In the meantime, are there any dietary precaution
I should take to avoid pain?  I am especially curious because of
the correlation between dieting causing gallstone.  What should
I and what shouldn't I eat?
Thanks,
Tamara
  ___
Dear tamara,
There is no diet that will guarantee that you will not have another attack of gall bladder pain.  We know, however, that gall bladder contractions are related to ingested fat.  Avoiding fatty and greasy foods may help you reduce your attacks until the surgery.
The saturation of bile can be thought of as being the same as disolving sugar in a glass of water.  Initially, all the sugar is in solution but after a certain amount has been added the sugas precipitates to the bottom of the glass. The development of gall stones with dieting may be related to the fact that dieters tend to eat less frequently.  The bile sits in the gall bladder which allows some of the constituents to be absorbed,  What is left is a solution that is overloaded with cholesterol.  Eventually some of the cholesterol is no longer soluble and starts to precipitate, beginning the process of stone formation.
This information is provided for educational purposes only.  Always consult your personal physician for specific medical issues.
HFHSM.D.-rf
*keywords; gall stones
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