Immediately following a gallbladder surgery, your doctor may advise you to eat lower fat foods for a few weeks or months. Eggs are an incredibly rich source of high quality fats and fat soluble vitamins, making this a little tricky to incorporate post-gallbladder removal. But most experts and doctors agree that fats can be steadily increased in the diet after a few months post-gallbladder removal. In fact, reincorporating high quality fats is crucial to maintaining adequate levels of fat soluble vitamins A,D,E and K. It's also essential for increasing satiety and satisfaction after a meal in order to prevent snacking between meals. And this includes foods like eggs!
Today, I'm breaking down the deets on reincorporating eggs after at least a few months post-gallbladder removal surgery and what to consider. Remember to always check in with your doctor to make sure the changes you're making fit your specific health history and needs.
The Deets on the Gallbladder
The gallbladder is a small organ that sits right below your liver. The sole purpose of the gallbladder is to store the bile that is made from the liver, concentrate it and release it when triggered by fat (more specifically, cholecystokinin or CCK) in the small intestine. Bile and the bile salts within bile emulsify and breakdown fats so that your body can then use additional enzymes (lipase) to break down the fats further and absorb it into the blood supply to use as fuel for the body.
What to Consider Without a Gallbladder
When the gallbladder is removed, the liver will steadily secrete bile into the small intestine. Because this stream of bile isn't regulated by the gallbladder and secreted in the right amount and at the right time when you eat foods containing fat, you may be producing too little bile for the given meal. Remember, the bile (and bile salts within the bile) is essential for breaking down fats in your small intestine and absorbing them into your blood supply. If you don't have a gallbladder to regulate this process, you may need to supplement with bile salts taken before your meals. This is where discussing your specific health history with your doctor to help determine the amount of bile salts you need to supplement is a good idea. Without the necessary bile salts, if you eat a plate of scrambled eggs, you might not be able to fully access the high quality, satiating fats and fat soluble vitamins that the eggs provide.
So Can You Eat Eggs?
Without the use of bile salts, it may be a little tricky to break down higher fat foods, however it's not unheard of. Some AENpeeps and clients of mine have been able to successfully (and slowly) increase high quality fats without many issues. However, if you find that you're feeling queasy or you have irregular bowel movements after eating eggs (or other fat rich foods like Keto Coffee), then you'll want to check with your doctor to see if incorporating bile salts before meals is best for you.
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Your Nutritionist,
Autumn
Autumn Elle Nutrition