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Shelly47

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14
Type of diabetes
Type 2
I recently had some blood tests to test my liver function. The tests came back ok but I also had an ultrasound and it showed that I have a fatty liver. The lady doing the ultrasound mentioned that I have gallstones. I'm waiting to see my doctor for a follow-up. However, looking online it looks like a low fat diet is recommended. So what do I do now? Low carb for T2D or low fat for gallstones? I feel like my body is falling apart before my eyes :(
 
I would see a doctor or specialist so they can advise properly. Its not the bet idea to get advice from others as we don't know the full situation and most are probably not qualified to advise anyway.
 
Are your gallstones causing a problem, pain, nausea etc...? If not then I’d keep with the low carb. That’s just my opinion from my own experience. I had gallstones resulting in having my gallbladder removed back in 2000. I was advised to eat low fat (I wasn’t diabetic then) while waiting for my surgery but it made no difference to my gallbladder symptoms. There is a school of thought that reducing fat reduces the output of the gallbladder and any ‘flushing out’ of the gallbladder, which increases the risk of stones.

Edit for clarity.
 
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Gall stones aren't a problem when they don't bother you. Should they ever give you problems they'll take your gall bladder out. I'd stick with the low carb and not worry about the stones.
 
Most type 2 diabetics have a fatty liver.
That is a hugely sweeping statement, and there are also many who don't. I don't.
But recent research (used in the formulation and application of the Newcastle Diet) suggests that one of the reasons type 2 diabetes develops is because the amount of fat in the liver (Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease) increases enough to interfere with the body's capacity to process and regulate glucose. If we have a fatty liver, we are also quite likely to have a fatty pancreas, and that is where insulin is produced.

So you are in good company with the fatty liver.

The Newcastle Diet was specifically formulated to reduce fatty liver by using a shake diet to rapidly reduce body and liver fat (just 800 calories a day) which 'unclogs' the liver and improves its function.
https://www.ncl.ac.uk/magres/research/diabetes/reversal/#publicinformation

but you don't have to do the Newcastle to lose weight and improve liver function. Any way of eating that reduces weight will also reduce liver fat - and most people lose weight on low carb.

Another thing to bear in mind, is that the liver does not become fat due to eating fat. Rather it is carbs which get converted to fat in the liver, and that fat gets deposited in the liver. Think of those poor geese who are fed huge amounts of carbohydrate grain mash, and end up with hugely distorted and distended fatty livers => fois gras pate.

https://www.docsopinion.com/2015/12/08/low-carb-diet-to-treat-non-alcoholic-fatty-liver-disease/
 
My middle has shrunk down and softened considerably since diagnosis, an equator and rigidity can indicate fatty liver, so I suspect that the LCHF diet I have followed is the reason for the alteration - I can now get down to the lower shelves and even wash out the bottom of the fridge, something which left me breathless and dizzy if I even attempted it two years ago.
 
Thank you so much for the replies.
I am seeing my GP later today so will see what he suggests. I was completely unaware I had gallstones until the scan and they have not been causing me any symptoms.
The fatty liver, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol are more concerning to me. I have been eating low carb for a short time and have lost some weight so I know it works for me.
 
Most of us on here know low carb is effective for diabetes control, but I would expect a healthcare professional would tell you to stop, as they're not recommended yet.

Regarding gall stones, a high fat diet can cause gall stones. I had them when I first started low carbing, because I was eating fat way in excess of what I needed to. Once I reduced my fat intake, the gall stones went away.
 
No, low fat is probably what caused the stones in the first place. Rapid weight loss too (possibly through low fat eating though). Low fat is followed by many with problematic stones as eating fat can aggravate the pain. Many many people have stones and don’t know it and there’s no real need to change anything because of them if that’s the case, other than hopefully prevent more of them.

No fat eaten means little bile demanded so it sits and goes sluggish in the gallbladder turning to stones sometimes. Then when you do eat fat and demand the bile the movement of the bile moves the stones about causing pain. Maybe why when you go low carb and shake up the gallbladder it presents as a problem for the first time.

If they’re tiny some drs now advocate high fat to flush them out and prevent new ones. Bigger ones are more problematic in that they get stuck in ducts more easily. Huge ones are too big to go into ducts but can still block the entrance to them.

I had mine out to prevent complications (bullied into it by surgeon) and that’s not perfect and has its issues but at least I don’t get the pain anymore.

I’d eat what fat you can tolerate but spread it out carefully throughout the day so the demand on the gallbladder (and the squeeze it gives) is moderated and possibly could help flush some tiny stones by keeping it as active as possible.
 
Shelly47 said:
I recently had some blood tests to test my liver function. The tests came back ok but I also had an ultrasound and it showed that I have a fatty liver. The lady doing the ultrasound mentioned that I have gallstones. I'm waiting to see my doctor for a follow-up. However, looking online it looks like a low fat diet is recommended. So what do I do now? Low carb for T2D or low fat for gallstones? I feel like my body is falling apart before my eyes :(
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Yes my dear I have had same concerns for past year but I have now lost almost 1stone in weight and have a new insulin to go along with the other 2 pens I have they say I am insulin resistance now but since using the new insulin I am feeling better and have low blood sugars now I take this new insulin once weekly..getting back I was really at a low end last year really low you understand without saying it...but for you time will pass and think positive we can't all beat this diease but we can surely help each other on here with great comments even if they don't help at the time...x
 
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