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GALL BLADDER FACTS

By February 26, 2013February 21st, 2017Uncategorized

Another great testimonial about this lifestyle.  

“I started yo-yo dieting and exercising when I was 8 years old even though I was a slim child with no genetic tendency towards being even slightly overweight!

I had started baby ballet a few months prior and was so gifted a dancer that in just a month I was moved to the advanced ballet class with the older girls and was (apparently) even better than all of them.

My ballet teacher who was once a prima ballerina was so impressed by my ability that she pulled my mom aside and I had the ill luck to have overheard this conversation. She told my mom that if I continued to dance that I would someday be a prima ballerina assoluta. (I had to look up this definition when I got much older  but at 8 years old I had no idea what kind of compliment I was being given). But THIS I remember…she said that for me to be a ballerina I would have to go on a strict diet because I was not a ‘skinny’ girl. That actually my (slim) frame was not ideal for ballerinas and it would hold me back. The ballet world would think I was too ‘fat’ and my body was not ideal.

There. My life was changed at that moment. I started a lifelong struggle with body image at that moment that I heard I was too fat. And even though I stopped dancing only 2 years later, the dieting and exercise continued. I would do 45 minutes of aerobics and toning in my room with my door closed and I was only 8 years old.

I never had an eating disorder but I was definitely obsessed with my weight. My eating was either feast or famine because I could never stick to a real diet. I had no concept for what was healthy and what was right. I went about ‘dieting very blindly. And because I could never stick to an actual ‘diet’ i actually started gaining weight. All the feasting was catching up to me which made me try more starvation diets only to feast later on. Because i never lost weight and I would hide my binge eating, my mom never knew how obsessed I was with my weight and my body. No one knew. It was my own secret.

To make a long story short, everyone in my family was thin except for me…which made me even more obsessed.gall bladder

I have been on every diet I can think of and have been to countless nutritionists with little success. I was really at the end of the line and I always felt trapped in my body. I’m an emotional eater and have a major sweet tooth. Once I start I can’t stop. I once went on a sugar binge that lasted almost a year. I felt like crap every single day!

Then one day, I had the good fortune to meet Maria who really understood me and my background! She showed me a lot of compassion and I knew she really cared about helping me.

She mapped out a great eating plan, but more importantly recommended supplements to curb my moods and emotions–which was at the crux of my emotional eating.

Since then, I have bought every one of her cookbooks. I feel very educated about health and eating and can consciously make the right choices.

By the way, I have made almost every one of her desserts and ate it guilt free!! But I slowly stopped craving sweets altogether. When you don’t deprive your body of something, it stops craving it.

Now, I am healthy at 5’6″ and 117lbs and am no longer dieting or going crazy about my weight and body which had consumed the better part of my life. I can live and enjoy life the way I was meant to…something I haven’t felt since baby ballet.

Thank you Maria. You are a superstar and life changer….and forever my go-to gal. I love you!!!!” Romy J.

Click HERE to get your 30 day meal plans and start your transformation!

gall bladder

GALL BLADDER FACTS

Are you or someone you know part of the increasing population having gall bladder surgery? It is becoming a very common operation. Is there something changing in our current diets that is causing this? Could it be the gluten over-load in our diets? Gall bladder disease or malfunction is often associated with celiac disease. CCK (cholecystokinin) is the hormone responsible for gall bladder contraction. The bulk of this hormone is produced in the duodenum. People with celiac, or sensitive to gluten, will have a reduction or of duodenal production of CCK; which will cause gall stones.

In the past few recent decades, we have been mis-informed that fat-free diets and healthy “whole grains” are the healthy way to eat. Even the medical profession is telling parents to have their kids drink skim milk! Don’t get me wrong, there are some fat to totally avoid, such as vegetable oils and trans-fats. But going on low fat diets is more harmful than you realize. This is why I always use full fat (and tasty) foods! High protein and grain-free diets alone are not the way to go. High fat is.

Galls are released by dietary fat. If you go on a little-to-no fat diet, the gall bladder starts to atrophy because it doesn’t need to work; just as when you don’t use your muscles, they atrophy and you are no longer as strong as you once were. Once the damage is done, and the gall bladder is removed, patients mistakenly believe that they can no longer eat fats without discomfort. This is not true, the bile to break down fat is made in the liver, then stored in the gall bladder. Even without a gall bladder, you produce bile and can (and should) consume healthy dietary fats.

After surgery (any surgery) you lose most of your beneficial bacteria; such as bifido bacteria, that keeps your intestines strong and healthy. Adding in probiotics and digestive enzymes are the first step to healing. Your body is smart, after years of low-fat dieting, it no longer produces lipase like it once did; lipase is the enzyme to break down fat (just as when a vegetarian adds in more protein after years of low protein, they feel sick… they no longer produce Protase, the enzyme to break down protein).

After a few days of increasing enzymes and good bacteria, adding in quality fats is essential for your body and cellular health; our brain and cells are composed of over 60% fat people! It is important! I suggest starting with MCT oil.

Coconut oil has both long and medium chained triglycerides (MCT). You can make MCT oil from coconut oil which is all medium chained triglycerides which is an awesome fat because it doesn’t require bile for digestion! I use this in place of butter for all my baked goods and it holds flavor like no other oil so it makes great salad dressing.

Click HERE to find SKINNYFat MCT oil.

Foods high in cholesterol are also essential! You NEED cholesterol to produce bile. Start to add in quality eggs (yes, the yolks…whites don’t count, the cholesterol is in the yolks), grass-fed meats, lobster and other shellfish. I am not talking about “oxidized cholesterol”… which is damaged cholesterol found in skim milk and many processed foods; which triggers heart disease. If you keep avoiding fats and cholesterol, your body will keep on pace with no lipase excretion or bile production causing a vicious cycle.

Click HERE to find my favorite MCT salad dressing recipe.

Click HERE to find my Nicoise Salad

Click HERE to find my favorite MCT pesto recipe.

gall bladder

 

Maria Emmerich

Maria is a wellness expert who has helped clients follow a Ketogenic lifestyle to heal and lose weight for over 20 years. She has helped thousands of clients get healthy, get off medications and heal their bodies; losing weight is just a bonus. She is the international best selling author of several books including "Keto: The Complete Guide to Success on the Ketogenic Diet.".

19 Comments

  • Jen says:

    Hey Maria!!!!! 🙂 🙂

    I am just curious to know if a person already has gallstones, would the gallstones naturally break up and dissolve with your lifestyle of eating?? I have another somewhat off topic question. Do you have list posted anywhere of what veggies are safe to eat?? I know that potatoes and carrots are bad but that’s about it. Thank you in advance for the help. 🙂

  • Cheryl says:

    I had my gallbladder out several years ago and had found myself running for the bathroom at a moments notice. Then I read one of your blogs and discovered Probiotics. Not sure if it is related or not , but it has changed my life!

  • Carin says:

    Maria, as I understand it gallstones are either formed of one of two types of substances – 80% are hardened cholesterol, the other 20% are made of hardened pigment (bilirubin) and calcium salts. Any future insights you may come across on how to reduce existing gallstones and avoid surgery would be of great interest. Keeping my fingers crossed that eating this healthified way at least stops formation of more stones!

  • Sarah says:

    I wonder I really wonder if the reason I have never had problems is I refused to go low-fat because of all the chemicals in low fat food. Everyone around me (relatives) is missing their gall bladders but my husband and I. We are healthy…fat, yes, but healthy.

  • Janet t says:

    hi there maria, I was wondering, my naturopath prescribed standar process cholacol 2425 which is a bile salt (collinsonia (root) and purified bovine bile salts and .2mg iron and other ingredients are calcium stearate. will this product interfere with your supplement recommendations that you gave me? I let them know everything and told them that I would continue on your recommendations because I felt so great. just want to make sure it does not interfere with your recommendations. thanks maria

  • Janet t says:

    ok will do… no problem.

  • Linda says:

    I had my gallbladder removed when I was about 23 years old. I was never instructed to return to the surgeon’s office for follow-up instructions. Meaning: I never got the memo to avoid eating fat, lol! Now at age 44…I’ve never felt ill effects from any of your recipes that I’ve prepared (and enjoyed,) but I do wonder if eating consistently high-fat would still be ok. I have the new book, but haven’t made anything from it yet.

  • Lyn Marie says:

    Hello Maria~ I’m not sure you’ll still be answering on the older post, however, it’s worth a try.
    I had my gallbladder out 20 years ago. (I am 52.) I was on the ZERO fat diet, and I developed 10 bile crystalizations. Painful!
    I’ve never had any problems until now. I have indigestion, bloating, etc. I have wobbled on your way of eating for about
    4 years now, but have recently had a new lease on life and am now going full bore, realizing I can’t mess around anymore.
    I have all of your cookbooks, etc., and I feel GREAT when I am following your way of eating.

    I just have one question, and I’m first going to quote from your above article:
    ” Your body is smart, after years of low-fat dieting, it no longer produces lipase like it once did; lipase is the enzyme to break down fat.”
    Can the body START producing lipase again with eating healthy fats? Or once it’s gone, it’s gone for good?
    I would hope after 20 years of eating fats again, it would re-produce itself.
    Fingers crossed!
    Thank you!

    • Maria Emmerich says:

      I would supplement. Some people need it ongoing. If you notice your poo floating then I would for sure add it;)

  • Lyn Marie says:

    Thank you!

  • Karin says:

    Hi Maria!
    I have been eating the Maria way for 2.5 years now, and going strong. Have all your cookbooks, and check your site regularly. Thanks for all the work you do for us!
    A friend just contacted me with gallbladder problems, and I remembered reading about it here. She currently has a symptomatic gallstone and has had 2 episodes of colic in the last 3 months. After the last one last week she went to the hospital where they said it is only going to get worse, and in order to avoid a gallbladder infection they want to remove the gallbladder within the next 1-2 months. She had been told by her GP to go on a low fat diet, but it didn’t help.
    Our question is: would starting on the KETO diet, and vitamin K2 (or anything else you can think of), now help get rid of the gallstone, and prevent the surgery within those 1-2 months, or should she go through with the surgery?
    Background information: She’s a young mother, with a low BMI. She’s worrying most how her 2 young children will cope with her being in hospital!

    Thank you so much for any advice you can give!

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