HELP HELP HELP what do I eat?!?! Gallbladder diet....

[babygrant]

Help please!

I am needing to start a diet of low fat or NO fat because of the severe nausea and pain from my gallbladder but I have NO idea what to eat! We have been eating a traditional type diet, plenty of healthy fats, nuts, etc, etc, etc so this is a complete change. Each meal needs to be LESS than 5 grams of fat.

Please give me ideas for breakfast, lunch, dinners and snacks.

[tinuviel_k]

I don't know anything about galbladder issues and proper diet, but I might be able to think up some non-fat suggestions...

How about smoothies? If you have a good blender you could make some nice smoothies: non-fat yogurt, a banana, frozen peaches, and frozen berries. A banana only has .5 grams o fat, but tastes nice and creamy in a smoothie.

Oatmeal can make a decent breakfast. Use thick rolled oats, non-fat milk, and blueberries.

[jake&zaxmom]

I did 5 grams of fat PER DAY for 6 weeks. I was pregnant and trying to delay having my gallbladder removed until the baby could be safely delivered. It worked! I didn't have ANY gallbladder pain for the entire 6 weeks even though the doctor was sure that I would. Since I was pregnant, I used the fat grams on protein (usually grilled chicken) I learned to drink skim milk, made a vegetable soup that was fat free (but high in sodium) I found a fat free cornbread mix and would crumble a piece of that into the soup. I had fruit and fruit juice, steamed vegetables, the occasional fat free Fig Newton, scrambled egg whites were a staple. Most of these things had traces of fat in them and I'm sure that the technical count was higher than 5 grams of fat a day but I made it through and did what needed to be done.

[mum4vr]

I have been there! I am so sorry!

I hate to tell you that I lost weight (w gb problems) so fast, I was always on the brink of being hospitalized. Food became the enemy bc I feared that anything I ate could cause the pain that caused me to pray for death (bc it often did). I hope with your new diet, you never have to be there!

BUT I did make it 10 years without surgery bc I learned what I could safely eat. For me, all fats are not equal... I cannot have meat fat of any kind and nothing deep fried. No fake fats. No coffee. I can have limited (like you said around 5 grams) amounts of olive oil, avacodoes, other fruit fats (organic coconut oil), even very small amounts of butter (for me organic makes a difference).

Skinless chicken breast was a staple, and so was salmon and eggs. I could have nut fats like peanut butter and tahini, but not everyone can. I am focusing on protein here bc it is hard to get enough when you're restricted. (Also, if you start losing weight, protein becomes even more important so your muscles don't atrophy). How are you with dairy fat? Have you tried yogurt and part-skim cheeses? Hopefully you can have most fruits, veges and grains.

I know this is nothing like a menu, but maybe it can get you thinking on how to alter what you already like to eat. You can PM me for more specifics if you like.

Oh-- and for immediate pain relief for an acute attack add 1-2 T apple cider to one cup unfiltered apple juice. If this doesn't help in 30 min, call a doctor.

Hang in there.

blessings-- hope you escape any further gb trouble!

[babygrant]

Got struck with another GB attack tonight. Had to take gravol and percoset and took a 2 hour nap. Oh, and did I mention it's my birthday tommorow?

[A&A]

Do you have gallstones, or just a dysfunctional gallbladder?

Not sure if I mentioned this to you or not (cuz I tend to say it on all of the gallbladder threads) but good quality vit. E saved my gallbladder!! (I don't have gallstones.)

This is what I buy/take:

http://www.carlsonlabs.com/p-212-e-g...te-400-iu.aspx

[damona]

oh, mama, i feel for you... i had such pain when i was having problems with my gallbladder that i wasn't sure if i was afraid i would die or afraid that i wouldn't!

i pretty much lived on skim milk, apple juice, toast with apple butter or jelly, and amy's organics fat-free veggie soup for weeks. the occasional bite of meat or eggs. i was too afraid the pain would come back to eat anything else for a long time. i also didn't cook much or know nearly as much about good nutrition, etc, as i do now . when i got better i ate a lot of lean cuisine freezer meals. i figured that that way, i could keep quick and easy count of the fat grams, since they were all under 7 grams of fat.

i'm not advocating my diet, just telling you how i coped with it. this was about 5 years ago, now, and i've had the occasional infrequent twinge, but nothing like that first attack. i've pretty much gone back to my usual diet, which, i admit, contains fast food now and then, a bit of chips or cookies, etc. but the second i feel that twinge i cut out nearly all fat from my diet and live on steamed veggies and fresh fruit and white meat chicken. i wish i could stay on that diet sometimes, but i'm easily bored and i like to eat

best of luck to you, babygrant. i hope you start to feel better soon!

[babygrant]

Originally Posted by A&A

Do you have gallstones, or just a dysfunctional gallbladder?

Not sure if I mentioned this to you or not (cuz I tend to say it on all of the gallbladder threads) but good quality vit. E saved my gallbladder!! (I don't have gallstones.)

This is what I buy/take:

http://www.carlsonlabs.com/p-212-e-g...te-400-iu.aspx

Sorry, I have multiple gallstones, largest being 1.8 cm's. Haven't had a HIDA scan because they don't do them here and the wait list is 1 1/2 years to see a gastro doctor.

I cannot take vitamin E because I have a blood clotting disorder. Interesting reading though, thank you!

[kallyn]

This site is nothing but extremely low fat or nonfat recipes, it should help a lot! http://www.fatfree.com/cgi-bin/recipes.cgi Hope you get some relief soon.

[momct]

Try looking at books by Dr. Dean Ornish. He advocates a diet with less than 10% fat for heart health so some of the recipes may work for you.

[sweetpeppers]

Check out books by Dr. Fuhrman-Eat to Live. The doctors kept telling my mom to get her gallbladder removed, and she went on a low fat diet, and she has no more pain, and never had surgery. She's also lost 70+ pounds.

[GoGoGirl]

:

I don't know anything about gallbladder issues, but I'm doing Eat to Live, which is very low fat. It might be worth looking into for some ideas...there's the Eat to Live and Eat for Health books (but I don't love the recipes in them) and a very active yahoo group. Basically, the idea is to eat vegan, with a HUGE focus on vegetables and fruits.

You might get some ideas from the FatFreeVegan blog. This is my favorite food blog, hands down. Her food is delicious!!

There's a bunch of good ideas for reducing/eliminating oils in baking and cooking here. I was surprised to learn that you can saute onions and veggies in water or broth instead of oil. I feel like that trick alone cut a lot of fat out of my diet. You can make all kinds of yummy vegetable soups and stir fries like that.

I wish you luck and healing! And happy birthday.