Hey everyone – long time no speak!
To jump straight into things – this year I want to re-vamp/re-visit my blog sites and continue sharing what I feel would be super helpful to people 🙂 I have kept an eye on this blog and seen the kind of things that keep getting re-visited by people and I think there are so many things I can expand on 🙂
I want to start with the post I made in 2014 about my lack of gallbladder and give an update on my health/diet and add some new tips!
A quick recap for those who haven’t been here before – I had my gallbladder removed in 2012 after over a year of excruciating pain and tests that eventually all pointed at the pesky thing! I actually started this blog while recovering from the surgery!
I have been very interested in how my diet post-gallbladder removal affected my general health and it has continued evolving ever since removal day. Some of these points will be the same as my first post about this, however it will be nice to see what has changed since then as well:
My food do’s:
– Do always have breakfast – This is the same 🙂 as bile is constantly dripping into my digestive system, not eating for long periods of time makes it uncomfortable (like acid burn), so I always eat breakfast. i usually eat oats – they are the most easily digestible and I have them with banana or stewed apple.
– Do enjoy your fruit and veg – This is the same 🙂 I can eat all fruit and veg, bar one or two things (although when my stomach isn’t feeling great, I avoid raw vegetables). I’m not able to eat things like radishes as it was one of my trigger foods, but I always get my 5-a-day in as nowadays I have found I have transitioned to more of a vegetarian diet (I very occasionally eat fish but also eat a lot of vegan meals). My favourite dinner to have is a big bowl of mixed roasted vegetables!
– Do exercise! – Of course this is the same 🙂 exercise will normally help most people feel better. I have continued running sporadically over the years (I even competed in a Tough Mudder 10 miler in 2017!) but i find even a short walk will help me feel better 🙂
My Food Changes:
– Protein – I do not try and eat as much protein as I used to as I find now that my diet has steered towards predominantly vegetarian/vegan meals I am more interested in nutrients that I can get from plant based sources. I do eat a lot of beans though, so I’m pretty sure I get lots of protein overall!
– Snacking – I do not snack as much as I did previously as I have found I’m more likely to eat intuitively (i.e.: when I feel hungry). As my main meals have balanced out, I find I don’t need to snack as often sometimes. I would recommend doing what feels right and always try and have healthy snacks on hand just in case you get peckish 🙂
My food don’ts:
Unsurprisingly these are all the same! I do have an extra one at the bottom though 😛
– Don’t eat high fat items often – high fat items, for me, include peanut butter, most nuts, full fat dairy (including cream, milk, cheese and yogurt), fast food (especially battered items), fatty meats and high fat carb items (like pastries) and whole eggs. I have some of these very occasionally but if I eat them too often or eat too much of them, my digestive system does not cope so well and it isn’t comfortable.
– Don’t overeat! – no-one should overeat anyway, it’s not good for you, but having no gallbladder to control the flow of bile means that a very large meal can take a very very long time to digest, which equals the very full feeling for a very long time (for me). I do eat large meals sometimes, but I am a lot more conscious of how overeating affects me.
– Don’t worry! –Â Stress exacerbates a lot of conditions, and it also makes for a unhappy digestive system. By stress I mean worrying about eating the right foods or too much of the not so good foods. Don’t worry! Your main aim should always be to eat lots of fruit and vegetables. I have found all the rest will balance itself out due to being full up on all the good stuff!! Exercise also helps all forms of stress, so get moving!
– Don’t drink too much coffee –Â I used to be a big coffee drinker – I love the taste, but over time, the acid levels of my stomach just couldn’t cope and I got regular pains in my stomach after drinking coffee. After I stopped drinking coffee for a bit and let my stomach heal, I can now drink coffee again, but I try to have it very infrequently.
Again, overall, just be happy! I still have general aches and pains, but nothing like the excruciating pain I was in when I had my silly gallbladder. I can cope with these, I can enjoy my life, and I am happy and healthy!
Have you got any food do’s and don’ts that are specific for yours or your family’s needs? And how do you cope with having no gallbladder? I’d love to hear your stories 🙂