(I copy/pasted her email)
Here is some of the information laid out in a little more “reader-friendly” format than searching through all those links I sent you. I would recommend still checking them out because this is just the basics, but let me know if you find this helpful or not! Sorry for the multitude of emails coming your way . haha
Foods to eat immediate post-surgery:
In the initial few days following surgery, you will want to eat a bland diet, with foods that are easily digested. This will allow your body to focus on both the healing process and the changes in the way that bile is being processed by your body.
- Applesauce
- Bananas
- Broth
- Crackers
- Eggs
- Chicken or fish, steamed or braised
- Rice
- Soup
A study in Nutrition Research found that when vegetables are steamed as opposed to raw, they improve their ability to bind bile acid. Thus, it is theoretically possible that eating steamed vegetables will reduce the amount of bile acid making its way into the large intestine and contributing to diarrhea. The specific vegetables tested in the study were:
- Broccoli
- Cabbage
- Collard greens
- Green bell pepper
- Kale
- Mustard greens
Research has shown that soluble fiber is effective in binding with bile acids, reducing any negative impact of the acids on gut functioning and therefore may help to prevent unwanted symptoms. Good sources of soluble fiber include:
- Apples
- Bananas*
- Beans, e.g. lima, kidney, pinto
- Blueberries*
- Brussel sprouts
- Broccoli*
- Carrots*
- Chickpeas
- Grapefruit
- Lentils
- Oatmeal*
- Onions
- Oranges*
- Pears
- Plums
- Prunes
- Strawberries*
You don’t need your gallbladder in order to digest protein. Therefore, you will not experience unwanted digestive symptoms after eating foods that are high in protein. However, you might have a problem if you eat fatty cuts of meat.
So avoid beef that looks marbled and cut away the fat from the side of your pork chops! Instead choose:
- Lean cuts of beef
- Lean cuts of pork
- White meat chicken or turkey
- Fish, such as cod, flounder and halibut
Although your ability to digest fats will be limited due to the absence of your gallbladder, you still need to consume fats in order to be healthy. Your pancreas is still on the job pumping out enzymes to help to break down fats, but the loss of your gallbladder means that you will need to be wise about your fat choices. The average Western diet is too high in pro-inflammatory Omega-6 fatty acids but deficient in the anti-inflammatory Omega-3 fatty acids.
The following foods will help you to get in your “good fats”:
- Avocados
- Coconut oil
- Fish, such as anchovies, salmon and sardines
- Nuts, such as walnuts and almonds
- Olives
- Olive oil (extra virgin)
- Seeds, such as chia seeds, flaxseed and psyllium
Foods to AVOID:
- fried foods
- greasy foods
- -Hamburgers
- -Bacon
- -Cheese pizza
- -Heavy or creamed gravies
- -Fatty cuts of meat
The typical Western diet tends to lean way too heavily on the Omega-6 side of things. Since your fat absorption is compromised without the help of your gallbladder, you will want to limit your exposure to foods that are excessively high in Omega-6 fatty acids, so that you can focus on those with a higher amount of Omega-3 fatty acids.
– Vegetable oils tend to be the worst offenders, so avoid eating anything that is prepared with or in the following:
- Canola oil
- Corn oil
- Grapeseed oil
- Safflower oil
- Shortening
- Soybean oil
- Sunflower oil
Vegetable oils can also be found in the following, so avoid these foods as well:
- Cooking oil
- Mayonnaise
- Store-bought salad dressings
What to use instead? Whenever possible, choose extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil which are good sources of anti-inflammatory Omega-3 fatty acids.
Avoid convenience foods,w hich tend to contain high levels of Omega-6 fatty acids. This is because many convenience foods are made with soybean oil. Therefore, your digestive system (as well as your heart and arteries!) is likely to thank you if you avoid store-bought versions of the following:
- -Crackers
- -Potato chips
- -Tortilla chips
- -cookies
- -cakes
- -Other pre-packaged baked goods or snack food items
Eating too large a meal can strenghten intestinal contractions, adding to any symptoms of abdominal pain and diarrhea. With your body’s compromised ability to digest fats, you will be doing yourself a great favor by choosing to eat small meals, perhaps more frequently, during your day.
Once you have eliminated the major suspects from the previous slides, you may find that you need to take things a step further. The following foods have the potential for causing digestive upset for many people, regardless of whether or not they have a gallbladder. You may need to try an elimination diet to find out if any of the following are problematic for you:
- Gluten-containing foods
- High FODMAPs Foods
- Dairy foods
- Excessive alcohol
- Excessive sugar
- Corn
- Soy
Sorry again for the overload of information…Just felt this helped to lay it out better than sending you a bunch of links. Research is always good though!
All the above information is from this website http://ibs.about.com/od/
good luck
Wayne Ridley
