Paleo Trail update : March 10th, 2018
When Paleo is the focus for health.
Call it confirmation bias, but when I discover a health problem, I immediately look for how a more natural, traditional diet can fix it. My last week was all wrapped up in learning about Gallbladders. I don't have any symptoms of gallbladder issues, but while getting an ultrasound for my other issues, they found some stones. So I researched the traditional medical response, i.e., "Stop eating fat and have surgery", then learned everything I needed to know about gallbladders so that I could use my own body to reduce, dissolve, and excrete the stones.
Below this issue's featured article by @kiwideb I've included the most succinct video I found for summarizing what I am heading towards. Please forgive the slight supplement promotion he goes into, it's just a few seconds and contains some herbal info you might want.
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This is a timely and necessary discussion. It was highlighted in recent weeks by some vegans who are posting promotional links in the Paleo-Trail discussion board at Steemtrail. Honestly, I looked at them and tried to find a way to exclude them based on Paleo principles but could not. They were not very low carb, but many paleo diets are not low carb. They used some slightly processed foods, but no more than a similar paleo recipe might use.
I do think there is some misinformation in the vegan community about the effects of responsible animal ranching on the environment and the effect of meat eating on health, but putting that aside, we absolutely agree more than we disagree.
That's interesting, what he says about the causes. I've long thought that low fat diets can cause them, but thought it was for a different reason. My theory was that when bile is made by the liver, it then sits in the gall bladder unused, if no fat is eaten. Then when some fat is eaten, the cholesterol has precipitated out to form stones, which then get stuck in the duct.
I think you are right about that. Certainly it is an added effect. The part he didn't mention in this is the role bile plays in removing substances from the liver. That happens even when you don't use your gallbladder. This is what makes the increased concentration of cholesterol in your bladder. If you are not moving that out regularly then precipitation happens. And as can be seen when trying to grow crystals in the lab, time and concentration are the main factors there.
Of course, none of this explains why I have gallstones. I believe in my case it is a failure to produce enough bile in the first place. I'll be taking bile salts but also looking in to bitters, because, yes, I avoid the bitter flavors.
Also not mentioned here, if I recall correctly, is fasting. One of the things you can do is not eat until your bladder is completely full of fresh bile, then make sure it completely empties. This gives a greater opportunity for dissolving the stones. IF is great for that. Again, this doesn't explain why I have gallstones... but I'll just cover that cognitive dissonance with some confirmation bias.