What are the best foods to eat when you have gallstones? Well, before digging into a gallbladder-friendly diet, let's find how gallbladder stones are formed.
Typically, constipation contributes to gallbladder stone formation. If you often remain constipated, then that is a potential cause of gallstone formation as the bile juice hardens and is converted into stones. In that case, you want to switch to a high-fiber diet that includes complex carbohydrates to avoid the risk of stones in your gallbladder.
What should I avoid eating with gallstones?
The primary culprit of gallstones is refined ingredients. Avoid maida or refined flour in your diet. Additionally, a high-fat diet can also contribute to stone formation in the gallbladder. In normal conditions, the job of your gallbladder is to store bile juice and release it into the small intestine for digestion.
However, you are at risk of stone formation in the gallbladder if there is a lot of cholesterol in the bile juice. Gallstones may also form if the bile has too much bilirubin.
Avoid dairy products, white flour, processed foods, meat, egg, protein, and cola drinks
What food dissolves gallbladder stones?
A high fiber diet might help lower the risk of gallstones. Try to include more insoluble fiber in your gallbladder-friendly diet to reduce the risk of gallbladder surgery. A study found that women who started a diet rich in insoluble fiber reduced their need for a stone removal surgery.
Research further reveals that women who consume the most fiber are 6% at less risk of undergoing gallbladder removal surgery.
Fiber plays a vital role in the metabolism of bile juice. If your diet lacks fiber, you could be at a risk.
What are other risk factors of gallstones?
Females are at a higher risk. Some hereditary factors might expose you to a higher risk of gallstones. Rapid weight loss poses a risk too and a very low-calorie diet is an equal culprit.
Your increasing age and body mass index might make you vulnerable too.
A diabetic woman may suffer from gallstones.
What foods cause gallbladder attacks?
Bilirubin, cholesterol, and calcium salts are the main components of gallstones, with some amount of protein. Gallstones may be 90% cholesterol or 90% bilirubin. In some cases, gallstones may be a mixed breed of cholesterol and bilirubin along with calcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, and calcium palmitate.
Cholesterol gallstones are the result of high cholesterol concentration in bile. The concentration of cholesterol exceeds the bile's ability to hold it, resulting in crystal formation.
How to add more fiber to your gallbladder-friendly diet?
- eliminate white starches and replace them with whole-grain alternatives
- add a rainbow of colors to your platter (vegetables)
- add nuts or seeds to your diet
- beans or lentils
- oatmeal, whole grains
- fresh fruit
- wheat bran
- Psyllium husk (or Isabagol)
When you want to increase the amount of fiber in your diet, you must not ignore the importance of water intake.
Eating more fiber but not drinking a lot of water can make your stool dry. This could result in constipation.
What is bile juice?
The bile juice is made in the liver and stored in the gallbladder. It aids in digestion by breaking down fats into fatty acids.
How does that work?
Well, bile juice acts as an emulsifier and breaks down large fat globules into smaller droplets. This is done to facilitate the process of digestion. Emulsified fats are easy to digest. Bile acts as a good solvent. When you eat food, the gallbladder contracts and secretes bile juice, which reaches the duodenum, where fats are broken down.
Bile carries excess cholesterol out of the body into the gastrointestinal tract for excretion along with feces. Even bile salts help with bowel movement. Besides, bile salts perform the task of "nutrient signaling hormones. In doing so, bile salts are known to activate certain receptors.
Not only this, they help in the regulation of nutrient metabolism in the liver along with insulin.
Wonderful Article!!! very informative!
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