The gallbladder is a small, pear-shaped organ close to your liver. Gall stones and infection in the gall bladder may call for its removal. Here is an Indian diet plan for gall bladder removal surgery. What to eat after cholecystectomy?
When you eat a fatty meal, the gallbladder releases bile into the intestines to break down these fats and aid digestion.
Table of Contents
Why is gall bladder removed?
Gallbladder removal is mainly done due to either
- The presence of gallstones: These stones are formed when bile is unable to flow out of the gall bladder. It starts precipitating and form a stone. It is not harmful most of the time. But in some cases.
- Inflammation and infection: The accumulation of bile in the gall bladder can sometimes result in pain, inflammation, and infections. It may lead to cholecystitis.
What happens when a gall bladder is removed?
Post-surgery the bile production goes low in the intestine. Even after the removal of the gallbladder, your body still continues to get bile from the liver. This requires the patient to avoid fats as much as possible.
What are the Side effects of a high-fat diet after cholecystectomy?
With the high intake of fat, the patient experiences symptoms like
- Nausea
- Bloating
- Indigestion
- Abdominal pain.
Soon after the surgery, you may be asked to eat a bland diet including foods that can be digested easily. This way, the body gets enough time to heal and soon adjusts to the bile production in the body.
What to eat after cholecystectomy surgery?
A sample Indian diet plan for gall bladder removal surgery is mentioned below. However, Immediately following a cholecystectomy surgery, follow these steps for 1 week.
Step 1:
A clear liquid diet is advised. It prevents nausea, vomiting, and constipation. You can include clear broth, fruit juice, strained soups, daal water or rice kanji.
Step 2:
If clear liquids are digested well, A full liquid diet is advised. You can include milk, curd, buttermilk or any non-dairy milk. Rice kanji, ragi kanji or raw kanji can be included.
Step 3:
The next step is to start with a bland BRAT diet. The BRAT diet consists of bread, white rice, apple sauce, and toast to bind loose or runny stool. If the stools are normal there is no need for a BRAT diet. You can directly start with a low-fat soft diet.
After you settle down and start with your routine life, the following foods must be included in your diet.
Grains:
Increase your fiber intake by including whole grains such as oats, whole wheat, brown rice, and barley. Use whole wheat flour instead of refined flour. Millets also provide a good amount of fiber. Multigrain flour and thalipith flour are very beneficial in such cases.
Protein:
Proteins do not need bile for digestion. Thus, a moderate-protein diet is sufficient to fulfill the body’s needs. Include good quality proteins like milk and products, chicken, egg, fish, soy, dals, pulses and sprouts. Nuts and oilseeds also provide a good amount of proteins.
Dairy:
Consume low-fat dairy products like milk, curd, paneer. You can also try dairy-free cheese made from cashews or tofu.
Healthy fats:
Opt for healthy fats like omega 3 fats. Consume coconut oil, olive oil, avocados, flaxseeds, chia seeds, walnuts, and almonds.
Fruits and vegetables:
Consume whole fruits and vegetables. Have soups without straining. The soluble fiber helps prevent diarrhea. Avoid raw vegetables immediately after surgery.
Beverages:
Initially avoid sodas and alcohol after surgery. Over the period of time start different beverages and check which one suits you better. Try and avoid high sugar content beverages to prevent diarrhea. Alcohol is best avoided in all cases.
Desserts:
Desserts that are high in sugar and trans fat are especially difficult to digest. Ice cream, cakes, cookies, puddings, and chocolate should only be consumed occasionally and in moderation.
Foods to avoid after cholecystectomy:
Avoid anything fatty, greasy, or fried. In addition, processed and sugary foods should be avoided, both of which can promote diarrhea.
People with severe symptoms of diarrhea should limit their intake of dairy, fatty meats, caffeine, spicy foods, sugar, desserts, and alcohol. Low-fat dairy products can be accepted in most of the cases. Choose healthy polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. Especially omega-3 fatty acids are useful. To watch a video on this topic, Subscribe to our Youtube channel now.
Important Tips to follow after gall bladder removal surgery:
Eat smaller and frequent meals:
Small meals ensure less amount of fat in the intestines. The less amount of fat mixes better with the bile available from the liver. With cholecystectomy, the need for calories increases thus frequent meals are advisable.
Increase the fiber in your diet:
Fiber can help normalize bowel movements. Add soluble fiber, such as oats and barley, to your diet. But increase the amount of fiber gradually. Too much fiber at a time may cause flatulence and cramping.
Drink plenty of water:
Hydration is very important. Drink at least 3 liters of water every day. This will help in digestion and excrete the body wastes.
Indian Diet Plan for Gall Bladder Removal Surgery:
Here is a sample Indian diet plan for gall bladder removal surgery. This will guide you regarding what to eat after cholecystectomy.
This is a 1500 kcal low-fat diet. It contains 50 gms fat (visible – cooking oil + invisible from foods)
| Breakfast: | 1 cup Low Fat Milk + 6 small Vegetable Oats Appam + Green Chutney OR 2 small Uttappam + Green Chutney OR vegetable daliya upama with veggies |
| Mid – Morning: | 1 cup Curd + 1 fruit (Banana/ Chickoo/ Pomegranate/ Orange or any other fruit) |
| Lunch: | 1 Cup Vegetable Soup + 1 – 1 ½ cup Brown Rice/ 2 Phulka without fat+ A cup of Vegetable + 1 cup Dal/ Sambar/ Kadhi or 100 gms Chicken/ Fish A glass of buttermilk |
| Snacks: | Green tea + 1 Cup Roasted Cereal Puffs OR ½ Cup Poha/ Upma OR 1 Boiled Egg |
| Dinner: | 1 cup Tofu/ Paneer Boiled Veggie Salad + 2 Chapati + 1 Cup Green Vegetable + Dal / sambar/ kadhi/ edamame beans/ soybean chunks sabji |
| Bedtime: | 1 Glass Buttermilk with 1 tspn flaxseed powder OR 1 glass lemon water with 1 tsp of chia seeds |
Endnote:
Anyone who has undergone a cholecystectomy needs to follow a low-fat diet irrespective of age, sex, or health status. A low-fat diet helps to improve bowel function as well as the function of the heart, kidneys, and liver. Experiment with different food groups to see how your body responds. Keep a food diary to keep a tab on which foods suit you the most and cause no side effects. I hope our Indian diet plan for gall bladder removal surgery helps you in finding the foods that suit you.
You may be interested in reading:
- Indian diet plan for fatty liver
- Indian diet plan for liver cirrhosis
- Jaundice diet plan
- How to increase Haemoglobin levels on blood.
Indian diet plan for Liver Cirrhosis Stage 1, 2, 3 and 4 ( What to Eat and Avoid )
It’s been approx. 25 days to my gall bladder surgery. I am suffering from indigestion problem. all the time I feel acidic taste. Pls suggest. What to do ?
eat simple food . the digestion take a little while to come back to normal after GB surgery. Please follow the diet plan mentioned above in the article.
Hi Payal. I am a physician. I stumbled upon your page looking for advice for my Indian patient. I feel like making a pamphlet out of your information for all my patients of south Asian dissent. Thank you for such a valuable piece of work.
Thanks for reading at Dietburrp mam … ofcourse you can use the information. However, it would be really great if you could mention our name anywhere suitable on the pamphlet, as a deserved credit to our work. Thank you for reading at Dietburrp.