Diet for Gallstones???

Not sure if this is the right place for this thread????

Anyway, Just been diagnosed with gallstones after paying for a scan - not moneysaving ,but the GP has been faffing about for the last 5 years while I've been in agony, so £90 well spent!!

Just had a look on google at the sort of food I should be eating - bleeeeh!!!! Low fat, low protein and very bland boring stuff - explains why I got the gallstones - lol!!!

Are there any recipes anyone can suggest so I can enjoy my food until I eventually get sorted out.

And I just learned how to make butter - Waaaahh!!!
Noli nothis permittere te terere
Bad Mothers Club Member No.665
[STRIKE]Student MoneySaving Club member 026![/STRIKE] Teacher now and still Moneysaving:D

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  • Oh dear - poor you.... i suggest you try the BBC webpage - they have a fantastic health section NOW STEP AWAY FROM THE CHEESE AND CRACKERS M'AM!!!!!! ;)
    But I'm going to say this once, and once only, Gene. Stay out of Camberwick Green :D
  • jaybee
    jaybee Posts: 1,554
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    Poor you! I had gallstones about 17 years ago and can remember the pain and suffering they cause. The only way I could be sure to stay clear of 'attacks' was to go on a fat free diet which was pretty difficult - I seem to remember living on marmite and dry toast for months while waiting for an operation. You could try the Rosemary Connolly book (sorry, can't remember the title, but it was very popular a few years ago). She had gallstones and reckons to have them under control by sticking to her diet (and making a lot on money in the process!) One big plus is that I lost loads of weight by going fat free! After the op, though, I put it back on again as I resumed a more normal diet. At least these days you can have them dealt with by keyhole surgery which is a lot quicker to get over than the old fashioned way! Good luck!
  • Help Prevent Gallstones
    Twenty years of dietary data collected on 80,718 women from the Nurses' Health Study shows that women who eat least 1 ounce of nuts, peanuts or peanut butter each week have a 25% lower risk of developing gallstones. Since 1 ounce is only 28.6 nuts or about 2 tablespoons of nut butter, preventing gallbladder disease may be as easy as packing one peanut butter and jelly sandwich (be sure to use whole wheat bread for its fiber, vitamins and minerals) for lunch each week, having a handful of almonds as an afternoon pick me up, or tossing some walnuts on your oatmeal or salad.


    Eating foods high in insoluble fiber, such as rye, can help women avoid gallstones, shows a study published in the July 2004 issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

    Studying the overall fiber intake and types of fiber consumed over a 16 year period by 69,778 women in the Nurses Health Study, researchers found that those consuming the most fiber overall (both soluble and insoluble) had a 13% lower risk of developing gallstones compared to women consuming the fewest fiber-rich foods.

    Those eating the most foods rich in insoluble fiber gained even more protection against gallstones: a 17% lower risk compared to women eating the least. And the protection was dose-related; a 5-gram increase in insoluble fiber intake dropped risk dropped 10%.

    How do foods rich in insoluble fiber help prevent gallstones? Researchers think insoluble fiber not only speeds intestinal transit time (how quickly food moves through the intestines), but reduces the secretion of bile acids (excessive amounts contribute to gallstone formation), increases insulin sensitivity and lowers triglycerides (blood fats). Abundant in all whole grains, insoluble fiber is also found in nuts and the edible skin of fruits and vegetables including tomatoes, cucumbers, many squash, apples, berries, and pears. In addition, beans provide insoluble as well as soluble fiber.

    Other whole grain foods such as BROWN RICE. QUINOA PEANUTS MILLET CASHEWS BUCKWHEAT BARLEY ALMONDS

    I haven't yet mentioned the role of fruit and veg in providing fibre but I'm sure you have worked that out.
    My weight loss following Doktor Dahlqvist' Dietary Program
    Start 23rd Jan 2008 14st 9lbs Current 10st 12lbs
  • patchwork_cat
    patchwork_cat Posts: 5,874 Forumite
  • tootles_2
    tootles_2 Posts: 1,143 Forumite
    I had gallstones for 15 years before I got them seen to, I was advised to have a low fat diet but eventually even that did not work, I ended up waiting 6 months for the op (I had it done by the chap who pioneered the keyhole surgery) and had to carry pethadine in case I got an attack of colic, I was off sick from work for almost 8 months all told, boy was I glad to get the operation......

    Rosemary Connolly did have the operation because she was tryng to get her slimming club up and running she opted to wait and devised the low fat diet as a way of coping, it was called the hip and thigh diet, she found that by cutting down on the fat
    the stubborn fat that had settled on her thighs just disappeared........



    Living in the sunny? Midlands, where the pork pies come from:

    saving for a trip to Florida and NYC Spring 2008

    Total so far £14.00!!
  • elisebutt65
    elisebutt65 Posts: 3,854
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    Been back to see GP so I'm onthe waiting list now anyway. Got some Voltarol as well for when I get an attack.

    Supposed to be revising this week for my exams next week - haven't been doing a great job of it so far.
    Noli nothis permittere te terere
    Bad Mothers Club Member No.665
    [STRIKE]Student MoneySaving Club member 026![/STRIKE] Teacher now and still Moneysaving:D

  • If you have gallstones then the best thing you can do is go on a low fat diet, now this does not mean you have to lose weight, it means that you just avoid fatty foods simple as that. eat pretty much anything else you like.

    The real worry with gallstones is that it could in fact cause pancreatitis which is much worse believe me! so its worth sticking to the low fat and make sure you have the op.

    They will normally do it as keyhole these days unless there are specific reasons not to, the main one being the size of the person being operated on im afraid.

    Also, do yourself a favour and find out from your gp which waiting list your on, are you on the waiting list for the op, or the waiting list to see the consultant, theres a difference!!
  • elisebutt65
    elisebutt65 Posts: 3,854
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    The waiting list is to see a consultant first. He's addressed the request to a general surgeon so I get the first one going, rather than requesting a specific surgeon as that takes longer apparently.

    GP's advised to me to cut out as much dairy as possible as this is the main culprit but yes, I will be definitely be going low fat all round and also cutting down on the protein a bit as well.

    Serves me right for doing Atkins about 2 years ago, lost 4 stone but gained gallstones!! :rolleyes:
    Noli nothis permittere te terere
    Bad Mothers Club Member No.665
    [STRIKE]Student MoneySaving Club member 026![/STRIKE] Teacher now and still Moneysaving:D

  • Not sure you can really blame the atkins definitively to be fair, theres no specific research as far as i know that links diet to the CAUSE of gallstones, though there is for the aggravation of EXISTING gallstones if you see what i mean.

    http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/950732863.html Theres a paragraph here on the causes, dunno if any applies to you, ie contraceptives / pregnancy etc.
  • elisebutt65
    elisebutt65 Posts: 3,854
    I've been Money Tipped!
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    Well I'm not humungously obese or anything but I could do with losing a couple of stone anyway, think I'm classed as ovewrweight rather than obese - lol. In between a size 16 and 18, but I want to be a 14 now - don't tend to go by weight, just by my clothes and how they fir me.

    I'm now onto skimmed instead of semi milk and using flora (lo-cholesterol) instead of butter. Had a lo-fat bran muffin for breakfast(blehh). Think I'm going to cut down all dairy - no more cheese - sob!!!

    I'll just start off replacing fatty stuff with low fat alternatives and try to force more veggies down - It's a real struggle fitting in five portions every day sometimes though. Have to make more soup - does it count if I put in 5 different veggies in one batch?
    Noli nothis permittere te terere
    Bad Mothers Club Member No.665
    [STRIKE]Student MoneySaving Club member 026![/STRIKE] Teacher now and still Moneysaving:D

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