The Right Gallstone Diet: Tips for Reducing Gallbladder Pain
Gallstones are stones or lumps that form in the bile duct or in the gallbladder. These stones can be tiny or large and are typically composed of varying amounts of calcium, cholesterol or bilirubin. They can be black, white, green, red or tan-coloured. The most common colour of gallstones is pea-green which consist mainly of cholesterol.
You know that you are experiencing gallstone symptoms when you have any of the following:
- Pain that is just below your ribs and on your body’s right-hand side
- Right shoulder pain
- Vomiting
- Restlessness
- Nausea
- Sweating
If you have frequent gallstone attacks, try to get on track and change your eating habits to include a healthy gallstone diet. Your new gallbladder diet will usually coincide with a wholesome “regular” one. In order to lesson your gallstone symptoms, try incorporating the following tips for reducing gallbladder pain. To try to prevent gallstones from forming or cutting down on gallstone attacks, try to avoid this list of foods:
- Certain vegetables such as onion, cauliflower, cabbage and corn Meats such as pork and poultry
- Refrain from or cut down on drinks such as alcohol, soda, black tea and coffee
- Avoidance of oranges and grapefruit
- Cut down on your intake of ice cream, eggs and high-fat milk
It may be a good idea to see a dietician or nutritionist so you can be helped to formulate a good gallstone diet. Here are just some of the foods you want to try to incorporate into a diet that will help to moderate gallstone symptoms:
- The more fresh foods are the better it will be for you.
- Try to reduce the burden on your liver as well as your gallbladder by eating foods that are organic and do not contain a lot of chemicals.
- In your new gallstone diet, try eating a lot of water soluble fiber and introduce more fruits and vegetables.
- You can eat dried fruits and fresh, organic ones. This will aid in the digestive process and reduce gallstone symptoms.
- Try to minimize the amount of dairy products you eat and choose more low fat milk and cottage cheese. You may want to try rice or soy milk, but make sure it does not contain a great deal of sugar.
- In your gallstone diet, you should eat more whole grains and stay away from “enriched” or processed grains.
- Try eating smaller meals and if you have a snack, make sure you eat it a few hours before going to bed.
Make sure you are including these tips in your gallstone diet as well:
- No overeating!
- Avoidance of refined carbohydrates which includes white flour and sugar
- Try eating more polyunsaturated fats
- Cut down on saturated and trans fats
- Eat lean meats in moderation
- Exercise regularly if possible
- Water is good for you – drink six to eight glasses each day.
- If you are overweight, try to lose it but do so slowly.
- In your gallstone diet, try to cut down on wheat and other grains that contain gluten.
In order to avoid further gallstone symptoms, try taking care of certain health issues you may be experiencing such as a leaky gut, hypothyroidism and any other food intolerances.
