What foods can i eat after gallbladder removal

Surgeons remove more than 600,000 gallbladders each year to help eliminate pain associated with it. Often times, surgery is done because of gallstones, which are hard deposits of digestive fluid in the gallbladder. As people age, gallstones become more common.

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If you have your gallbladder removed, you’ll likely experience changes in your digestion and will need to carefully watch your diet.

The gallbladder, which is a pear-shaped organ on your right side beneath your liver, isn’t necessary. However, it does help you digest fatty foods. It also stores, concentrates and secretes the bile your liver makes.

After surgery, your liver will still make enough bile, but you might have difficulty processing fatty foods – at least for a while. More than half of patients who have their gallbladder removed have trouble digesting fat.

Laura Jeffers, MEd, RD, LD, shares five tips to avoid discomfort after gallbladder removal:

1. Add foods back into your diet gradually

For the first few days after surgery, stick with clear liquids, broths and gelatin. After that, gradually add more solid foods back into your diet.

2. Avoid fried food and stick with smaller portions

Avoid fried foods, high-fat foods, foods with strong odors and gas-causing foods. You should also stick to small, frequent meals.  

3. Skip high-fat foods to help avoid discomfort

Eating the wrong food after gallbladder surgery can induce pain, bloating and diarrhea. To side-step this gastrointestinal discomfort, avoid eating high-fat or spicy foods, including:

• French fries and potato chips.
• High-fat meats, such as bologna, sausage and ground beef.
• High-fat dairy, such as cheese, ice cream and whole milk.
• Pizza.
• Lard and butter.
• Creamy soups and sauces.
• Meat gravies.
• Chocolate.
• Oils, such as coconut and palm oil.
• Chicken or turkey skin.
• Spicy foods.

Typically, fat calories should total no more than 30% of your daily intake. That means if you eat about 1,800 calories each day, you should consume no more than 60 grams of fat.

Be sure to read food labels carefully. Look for foods that offer no more than 3 grams of fat per serving.

4. Take it slowly as you reintroduce high-fiber foods

Consider adding these gas-producing foods back into your diet slowly:

• Whole-grain bread.
• Nuts.
• Legumes.
• Seeds.
• Brussels sprouts.
• Broccoli.
• Cauliflower.
• Cabbage.
• Cereal.

Slowly add small amounts of foods back into your diet. Re-introducing things too quickly can lead to diarrhea, cramping and bloating.

5. Keep a food journal

It’s a good idea to keep a food journal after surgery. This will help you keep track of what you eat and what the impact was. Doing so will help you know what you can and cannot eat comfortably.

Most people can return to a regular diet within a month after surgery. However, talk to your doctor if you experience these symptoms:

• Persistent, worsening or severe abdominal pain.
• Severe nausea or vomiting.
• Jaundice.
• No bowel movements for more than three days post-surgery.
• Inability to pass gas more than three days post-surgery.
• Diarrhea that lasts more than three days post-surgery.

After surgery, doing these things should help you feel more comfortable. As time goes on, take note of your tolerance for high-fiber foods and fats, especially healthy fats.

The so-called gallbladder cleanse is often touted on social media as a treatment for gallstones or an alternative to gallbladder removal.

There are many different recipes for this “cleanse,” but most involve drinking large amounts of citrus juices, Epsom salts, and olive oil.

The advertised promises may sound enticing, especially if you’re facing the cost and hassle of gallbladder removal.

But there are no gallbladder flushes or cleanses that have been proven to break up or eliminate gallstones, says Sanjay Jagannath, MD, a gastroenterologist in Raleigh, North Carolina.

“There’s not any good evidence to suggest there’s anything out there to reliably do that,” Dr. Jagannath says.

Jagannath says that people who try out these remedies often have subsequent bowel movements that include small round objects thought to be gallstones.

But, he notes, the observed objects are actually the result of the olive oil mixing with bile, the fluid in the gallbladder that digests fat.

“Bile mixes with olive oil to form a yellowish-colored soap,” Jagannath says. “There are no real stones actually pushed out by the gallbladder in most cases.”

Jagannath adds that these objects usually float in the toilet, while real gallstones are hard — like pebbles — and sink to the bottom.

And you should be especially wary of any product marketed as an herbal gallbladder treatment. “The problem with all herbal treatments is there’s no regulation by the FDA [Food and Drug Administration],” Jagannath warns.

It’s always advisable to check with your doctor before trying any kind of over-the-counter treatment for gallbladder problems, he adds.

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