Diabetes, gallstones and LCHF diet

[DJC3]

Hi Does anyone else here have gallstones?

I had a CT scan a few days ago as part of the follow up to cancer surgery last year. Happily nothing cancerous showed up, but the consultant did mention incidentally that I had gallstones. He said a lot of peole have them and if they’re not causing any problems then there’s no reason to worry about them.

I’m on LCHF diet to try to control bg but I’m wondering if this might aggravate the gallstones?

I can’t do anything about some of my predisposing factors: being female, over 40 and having had multiple pregnancies (4). But luckily the cancer has taken care of being overweight! ( I lost a few stone through it and I’m now not overweight, every cloud..etc) but I’m beginning to wonder if its ok to carry on LCHF.

If I cut down the fat, I dont want to increase carbs so that only leaves protein to fill the gap. Excess protein can cause renal problems and I only have 1 kidney ( another consequence of the cancer) so don’t want to chance that.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed, any thoughts?

 

[Resurgam]

As long as the gall stones are not going to get worse, there isn't any need to change your diet - the bile salts solidify when they are not being added to the food being digested, so stimulating the gall bladder to contract and expel the bile with fatty foods on a regular basis would seem to be a good idea. Leaving the bile to stagnate would seem - to me - to be a bad idea, but that would be the result of a low fat diet.

 

[Fleegle]

There does seem to have been a lot of posts recently on people with gallstones.
I am not sure that any link between them, LCHF and T2 was established but there is enough anecdotal evidence that makes me wonder that these things must be linked somehow.

 

[Resurgam]

I suspect that the modern low fat diet is the culprit. Low fat means little need for the bile salts to be pushed out of the gall bladder, so they sit and stagnate.
When anything fatty is eaten a stone can be pushed through or just into an block the bile duct - very painful, so it is the fatty food which causes the pain, but is not the reason for it.

 

[sally and james]

@DJC3 Have a look at this part of the Diet Doctor site, https://www.dietdoctor.com/gallstones-and-low-carb
Getting gallstones appears to be a consequence of a Low Fat diet.
Sally

 

[DJC3]

Thanks all for your replies. @Resurgam and @ sally and james you both mention low fat diets and this makes perfect sense: I’ve bought into the percieved wisdom of low fat high carb dieting for the last 30 odd years ( and got steadily fatter!).

I think for now I am definitely sticking to LCHF, it’s keeping my bg under control and I’m actually enjoying the food.

The dietdoctor link you provided Sally was really easy to understand and backed up what you both said. I guess if the gallstones rear their ugly and painful head I’ll cope with that at the time, but won’t regret or blame LCHF

Thanks again D

 

[lindisfel]

I didn't know I had three big ones that filled my gall bladder. I saw them on a CT scan of my adrenal glands. Still don't feel anything as long as they stay put. I am within 15 months of being 80 so I wouldn't worry, I eat all the fat I like.
My wife had gallstones and an infected gall bladder in her thirties, it was serious and excruciatingly painful.
D.