Post Punk Kitchen Forum

They are telling my 88 FIL he should get his gallbladder out that it's not "functioning well'. There are no stones as far as we know. The only symptom he has is nausea. He has gout and takes 9 different medicines. He is not going vegan but has increased the vegetable content of his diet. Is there anything he can do to get his gallbladder to function better? That is assuming there is anything wrong with it to begin with.

Has he tried following a low fat diet?

I have gallstones, I've had them for 7 years but honestly eating a lower fat diet (and especially being vegan) helped me. It really depends on why it isn't 'functioning well'. And what works for one person may not work for another.

Having a low fat diet is really the only thing I've heard that will help. My gallbladder started acting up when I lost a lot of weight. Something to do with the body changing and hormones. But I was told that almost everyone has sludge or stones in their gallbladder. Some people go their whole lives with no issues, others have horrible attacks. I was having horrible attacks that landed me in the ER a few times and eventually led to pancreatitis as well. So I needed emergency surgery to remove it. The surgery was fairly easy though and done laparoscopically.

I would think diet wise cutting out cheese, oil, nut butters, nuts, seeds, high fat meats, processed lunchmeats and the lot is a good idea for a non-vegan person. Basically the gallbladder pushes out extra bile to help breakdown fat if it's eaten in excess. So eliminating it should help the gallbladder in that it won't be doing too much work. But if he does have it taken out he still has to eat low fat, because now he won't have one to help anymore and if too much fat is eaten he will have stomach issues to deal with. And that's not fun!

I had a terrible gallbladder infection, landing me in the hospital for a week, requiring 3 episodes of general anesthesia, pancreatistis, transfering hospitals because the specialist couldn't get the stones out of my bile duct. This was after being vegan about 15 years. I wish I had known I had a gallbladder problem previously. It would have made a big difference. I don't have any dietary suggestions, just in my experience you don't want to mess around with a gallbladder problem.

It's not really safe to advise others to pursue "natural" treatment instead of real medical care when you don't know their medical history and don't have medical expertise, so I hope this isn't what the OP is suggesting. My guess is that the issue is related to gout, and may not be as straightforward as most gallbladder problems. It is fine to look for diet and lifestyle modifications to help ease symptoms if he doesn't need surgery urgently, but he should ok any plans with his doctor.

Gallbladder problems can turn nasty quickly so it's best to act on the advice of his doctor, however having his gallbladder removed at 88 could also cause other problems. When I had mine removed my gastroenterologist advised that my body would deal with the bile as I was 25, but that older people can have problems and may require subsequent treatment.

If he hasn't already done it cutting out alcohol, eggs, vinegar and chilli will help control symptoms as well as cutting out fats and oils.