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Wednesday, November 12, 2008

What is Gallbladder Attack?

By Scott Malin (a widely respected writer on the subject of nutrition and detoxification)

Millions of people suffer from gallbladder attacks every day, but are completely baffled by what causes them. As a result, almost all of them continue to do, on a daily basis, the exact things that will make their condition worse. It's not a question of adding new things to your life, in the form of medication, but stopping what you did that has caused the pain in the first place. The first thing you need to know is that your condition was not caused by genetics. You are causing every single gallbladder attack you have by your actions throughout the day. And what are those actions? Very simply, a gallbladder attack is caused by what you eat.

But, before we get to that, I want you to know that having your gallbladder taken out is not a good option. About 750,000 people in the United States have their gallbladders removed every year. A very large portion of these people continue to have frequent gallbladder attacks well after the surgery. In other words, it is not effective at reducing a gallbladder attack AND you will be without a very important organ for the rest of your life. The gallbladder is important because it works in conjunction with your liver to remove fats, cholesterol, and other harmful waste and toxins out of the body. Since your condition was caused by your diet, removing your gallbladder and continuing to eat the same way won't make you better. In fact, it puts you at much greater risk for other diseases. Remember, your gallbladder isn't doing anything wrong: You are. It's doing the best it can to keep you healthy, but you are eating in such a way to make that impossible. Taking out your gallbladder because of what you are eating would be like taking out the engine in your car, because you put in the wrong kind of gasoline and the car stopped running.

I would like to simplify this for you so you can go about this the right way and stop any future gallbladder attack. So, what is the problem with your diet? Well, let's take a look at cholesterol, which is the prime culprit in your condition. Although a very small amount of cholesterol is necessary for good health, your liver naturally produces all the cholesterol you will ever need. However, other animals produce cholesterol too. When you eat meat and dairy foods, you take in their cholesterol which causes your cholesterol to skyrocket. This increase in cholesterol is what leads to heart disease and many other harmful conditions, including gallstones which are the cause of your gallbladder attack. You see, gallstones are actually cholesterol deposits! It is this daily action of eating unhealthy foods that causes you to have a gallbladder attack, not your gallbladder.

So, the most effective way to reverse a gallbladder attack is to stop eating animal foods. That means meat (this includes white meat and fish too). It also means you have to stop eating dairy foods which includes butter, cream, milk, cheese, etc... I suggest you some more research and for yourself. Assuming you come to see that your diet is the cause of your pain, you may begin to wonder what in the world you would actually eat, but there is very good news for you. You can begin eating foods that will not only reverse and completely stop a gallbladder attack, but will also protect you against heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity and all other known ailments and diseases. So, what kinds of foods are they?

Basically anything in the vegetable kingdom as it does not contain ANY cholesterol. This includes vegetables, fruits, dark leafy greens, legumes, nuts, seeds and basically anything else in the vegetable kingdom. There are so many great cookbooks out there and most restaurants are happy to create delicious meals for you. You will be surprised at how quickly you adjust to this healthy, new way of eating. By the way, other benefits include gorgeous skin, restful sleep at night, sustained energy throughout the day and regular bowel movements.

There is one more important step involved with stopping a gallbladder attack. Assuming you stop eating cholesterol, that means you won't get any worse and it will allow your body to start digesting and removing your current overabundance of cholesterol in the gallbladder. But, the second thing you have to do is actively flush the gallstones out of your body. I recommend a very high quality herbal flush that specifically goes to work on your gallstones. With the change in your diet, this combination will effectively and painlessly flush gallstones out of your body, effectively preventing any future gallbladder attack.
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Additional information:
Does our body naturally produce cholesterol?
Q. I am a little confused about cholesterol – the difference between what we get through our diet and what our own body produces. I have heard that our bodies will produce our own cholesterol. If we eat less cholesterol, will our bodies produce more?

A. Cholesterol is a white, waxy substance that is produced by the liver and released in the bloodstream. Our body makes a certain minimum amount of cholesterol, which has many uses. It is used as a building block for cell membranes and for bile acids (which help us digest fats). It is also required to make vitamin D and the sex hormones. However it is only when there is an excess of blood cholesterol (from either diet or from the body), that it starts to be deposited on the inside of blood vessels and causes problems with the heart and blood vessels.

A person’s blood cholesterol may be too high because their body naturally creates too much (regardless of what they eat) – a problem they have most likely inherited. For these people, a change in diet does not help and often they have to take cholesterol-lowering medication.

But for most of us, our body makes too much cholesterol because we eat too many saturated or trans fats. These fats are converted by the liver into cholesterol – that’s why when your diet is high in these your liver will make more cholesterol. Cutting back on these types of fats and replacing them with polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats such as sunflower, safflower, canola and olive oil will cause your body’s cholesterol production to drop to more normal levels.

Cholesterol from food does not stimulate the body’s cholesterol production as much as saturated and trans fats do. But, if you already have a high blood cholesterol level and want to lower it, cutting back on foods rich in cholesterol (as well as saturated fats) is the best starting point.