I know that the gall bladder stores the bile produced by the liver, and releases it into the digestive tract after a fatty meal. When I learned this, I tried to lessen my fatty food intake or just make sure I didn't have a fattening meal more than once a day. I have actually been able to lessen the symptoms just by watching what I eat. For a while I used Nature's Sunshine Gall Bladder Formula before meals just to lessen the pain after eating, but I could still hear my gall bladder working and I still had some tenderness in the area.
Fast forward a few years...yesterday I was seen by a chiropractor. After examining me and adjusting me, she was feeling my abdomen where my gall bladder is and my body did not like it at all. I tried to relax for her so she could do her job but my muscles would physically not let her feel around underneath my ribs. She then put me on a two week "gall bladder saving" diet (I don't want to have it removed if I don't have to!), and I am going to keep up with my progress on here.
Basically, the diet is meant to make you eat foods in which your gall bladder doesn't have to work. No fats or oils of any kinds, which includes nuts (I love peanut butter so much so this will be a struggle). At the end of the two weeks, while my gall bladder has been sort of resting this whole time, I will eat a very high fat meal which will cause my gall bladder to work really hard in a short amount of time. In doing so, it will flush out all of the bad stuff that has been sitting in there this whole time and then I can continue with my normal diet.
I should mention that this is a diet a chiropractor recommended to me. I have not been diagnosed with anything and this isn't a prescribed diet. She said she has done this diet around 3 times in her lifetime and mentions it to anyone will gall bladder issues, especially for people with referred pain in the right shoulder and upper right back (your gall bladder could be causing this pain).
If you know me, I am very aware of the food I put into my body so I have no trouble with taking out these things from my diet for two weeks.
DAY 1:
Breakfast- a sugary cereal with soy milk (I'm also avoiding dairy since it holds a lot of fat). Obviously a sugary cereal can't be good for you but I have a little bit left and I'm just trying to get rid of it, don't judge me.
Lunch- 4 large strawberries. I was not hungry for lunch which was unusual but I was about to exercise so I needed a little something.
EXERCISE:
I ran 4 miles! This is the farthest I've ever ran before! Considering I struggled running a mile this summer, I'm pretty proud of myself.
Post-run snack- another bowl of cereal (the same kind) with soy milk.
Dinner- Ramen noodles (just the noodles...college kid struggles) and frozen peas and carrots cooked in vegetable stock and water. This was actually REALLY yummy and flavorful with a little bit of salt added.
THOUGHTS:
The amount of discipline that will be required of me throughout this diet might just drive me insane. I need my peanut butter. But strawberries and other fruits will have to be what I have for dessert for the next two weeks :/
I will probably make days 2-5 in their own post so stay tuned! Thank you for bearing with me through this experience and maybe you'll be able to make your own opinions and see if a diet like this could help you!
No comments:
Post a Comment