Gallstones diet – the facts
Gallstones are more common than you may think. A gallstones diet could help. In fact it’s estimated that more than 1 in every 10 adults in the UK has gallstones. But what exactly are they and what effect can they have on the body? Today, we share the facts on gallstones and the risk factors which increase their likelihood. What are gallstones? The gallbladder is a small sac on the underside of the liver. Bile (also called gall) is a greenish-brown liquid produced by the liver. It’s stored and concentrated in the gallbladder and passed into the small intestine (through the bile ducts) to help with digestion, mainly of fats. Gallstones occur when bile, which is normally fluid, forms stones. They contain lumps of cholesterol-like (fatty) material that has solidified and hardened. Sometimes, bile pigments or calcium deposits can form gallstones. Some people have many very small stones, like fine gravel, and some have a single stone that’s big enough to completely fill the gallbladder. Who is at risk of developing gallstones? One in 10 people will develop gallstones. Women, people over 40 and overweight people are more likely to develop them. Gallstones are also more likely if: Your bile contains too much cholesterol The outlet from your gallbladder is blocked or infected You have a family history of gallstones How will I know if I have gallstones? Gallstones are often discovered by accident, when you have an X-ray or ultrasound scan for another reason. In these cases, it’s usually best to leave them alone unless they produce symptoms. Fewer than one in five people with gallstones have symptoms, because the stones usually stay in the gallbladder and cause no problems. However, sometimes gallstones may lead to your gallbladder becoming inflamed (cholecystitis), which can cause: Pain below your ribs on the right hand side Pain in your back and right shoulder Fever Nausea Biliary colic If gallstones pass down your bile duct into your duodenum, you will experience a painful condition known as biliary colic. The pain is usually felt in the upper part of your abdomen, in the centre, or a little to the right, and often occurs about an hour after a meal that has a particularly high fat content. The pain is usually continuous, lasting a few hours before it disappears. However, some people experience ‘waves’ of pain and others have continuous pain for more than 24 hours. Some people describe the pain as being similar to very severe indigestion. In some cases, the pain can be so severe that they report feeling like they’re having a heart attack. Also, people can feel sick and may vomit. The effects of gallstones Infection Gallstones can sometimes cause flu-like symptoms, such as a high temperature and shivering. This can be a sign that gallstones are causing an infection to develop in your gallbladder. You will normally be admitted to hospital to have your gallbladder removed if you develop this problem. Jaundice This is an uncommon complication of gallstones. It occurs if a gallstone comes out of the gallbladder, but gets stuck in the bile duct. Bile then cannot pass into the gut, and so seeps into the bloodstream. This causes your skin and the whites of your eyes to turn yellow (jaundiced). The stone may eventually be passed into the gut, but you’ll normally need an operation to remove it. Pancreatitis This is an inflammation of the pancreas. It occurs when a small gallstone passes through a bile duct and blocks a pancreatic duct or causes a reflux of fluids and bile into this duct. Acute pancreatitis develops in about 5% of people that have gallstones and is more common in patients with small, multiple stones. Gallstones Diet Recent decades have seen gallstones on the increase in our western population. Why is this? Our love of processed/convenience foods, high sugar consumption and insufficient healthy fats, fluids and fibres are major factors in stone formation. 121 Dietitian provides the gold standard in assessment and dietary treatment specific to you and your health. Using natural foods and fluids to reduce the inflammatory processes our gallstones diet programme will allow you to settle your gallstones and optimise your health. If you are unsure of how to change your eating habits, or need help optimising the foods you eat please do contact us. We would love to help you or your family and friends with any nutrition related queries big or small. In the meantime do please check out our 121Dietitian Shop If you have enjoyed this blog we would love you to share this with your family and friends on your social media channels. Why not visit our YouTube Channel for more on keeping your health optimal. How can a Dietitian help Book a consultation via our Online Portal About Gillian Killiner Check out our tailored dietary programmes Gillian x [instagram-feed] Information checked & correct on 16th May 2018.
5:2 Fasting diet – my thoughts and experience after completing it…
Hi I am Clare writing as part of the 121 Dietitian team. Below is my own assessment of Michael Mosley’s fasting diet. Why I did 5:2 fasting diet I’m soon to graduate as a Dietitian and I have a keen interest in weight management and awareness of food content. When I heard about this diet, I knew that I would be asked about it and decided the best way to be able to give my view/understand what people were dealing with, would be to try it out myself. “Dietitians should take into account what people actually do rather than what we would like them to do” – Dr Krista Varady Note: I didn’t do the fast diet with the aim to lose weight; simply to see how it would feel and the effect it would have on my health and lifestyle. In the UK, nearly 2 in 3 adults, and 1 in 2 children, are overweight or obese. (2012) Having a BMI above 25kg/m2 puts you at higher risk of many other diet-related diseases including Type 2 Diabetes, Heart Disease and Cancer. this is something to be taken seriously and probably one of the biggest reasons for our world’s growing obsession with diets. * To work out your BMI: divide your weight (kg) by your height squared (m)2 e.g. if you are 57kg and 1.62m, it would be 57/2.62 = 21.8kg/m2 Dieting is no new thing; a quick search in google brings up some odd historical diets ranging from the self explanatory ‘chew and spit diet’ to eating tapeworm eggs… So what about this 5:2 fasting diet from Michael Mosley? Fasting is no new concept either. it is an important practice in a number of religions (consider lent, Yom Kippur, Ramadan) carried out to fulfill a number of purposes that include practicing self-control and purifying oneself. In the early Christian church, Wednesdays and Fridays were traditionally fast days, and those partaking would abstain from meat, fish, eggs and butter. ‘i fast twice a week’ – Luke 18:12. “gluttony makes a man gloomy and fearful, but fasting makes him joyful and courageous” – Saint Nikolai of Zicha I have a nagging suspicion that there’s some wonderful underlying truth about improved health with fasting just waiting to be discovered. Does the 5:2 fasting diet work? Start – 4.3.13 – weight 127lbs; BMI 21.8 kg/m2; serum cholesterol 3.8mmol/l Finish – 12.4.13 – weight 127lbs; BMI 21.8kg/m2 This is interesting. My weight stayed stable. Admittedly, on a couple of occasions I cheated, going a little bit over the 500kcal allowance or being sneaky and ‘fasting’ from 2pm one day to 2pm the next day and still allowing myself 500kcal in between (and having a takeaway pizza for lunch at 1.30pm just before i started). Also, this period in my life has been one of celebration and freedom from structure and responsibility. Therefore I have been eating out, throwing dinner parties and having coffee dates much more frequently than usual. So what I have found is that this diet has allowed me to do is to maintain a happy weight whilst eating in a ridiculously undisciplined fashion 5 days a week. It has also shown me that I am disciplined enough to work around food all day (in a cafe on my days off) and not give in to temptation 2 days a week. It required effort in planning and calorie counting and commitment but it brought a sense of achievement and self-control when mastered. I am aware that lowered cholesterol and blood sugars are supposed to be the other health benefits in the fast diet. Prior to starting, and in the name of science I visited my GP to measure my blood sugar and cholesterol levels, but it turned out they only measured my cholesterol (as seen above). Because of this I did not return post fast period because my cholesterol was at a healthy level on starting and I had nothing to compare my sugars to! Not very scientific after all. For anyone else wanting to try out this diet, please make sure to get your bloods checked before and after! Did I over-compensate for my fast days? Yes. Definitely. However, I think that had I started the fast diet with a genuine desire to lose weight, I would easily have been able to refrain from over-compensating. in Mike Mosleys book, Dr Krista Varady carried out a study which showed people generally did not compensate for their fast days by having 175% on a feed day. personally, because I wanted to push boundaries with this diet, I think I have proven that to see all the results you need have a motivation and be very, very strict. What are the benefits of 5:2 fasting diet? Bearing in mind that there have been no long term studies carried out in humans, here is a list of some of the believed benefits of fasting: · longevity (in mice: lowered IGF-1*) · weight loss (i have spoken with a number of people who have lost between 8lbs and 21lbs) · improves learning and memory in mice (possibility of reduced risk of Alzheimer’s?*) · improves nutritional awareness (constantly reading labels) · reduced risk of cancer (due to weight loss and decreased % body fat*) · lowered blood sugar and cholesterol levels · choose your days/ make it suit you · improved self discipline *The science bits. 1) this is a quote from Mike Mosley’s book. “The IGF-1 hormone (insulin-like growth factor) is one of the drivers which keep our bodies in go-go mode, with cells driven to reproduce. This is fine when you are growing, but not so good later in life. There is now evidence suggesting that IGF-1 levels can be lowered by what you eat. Studies on calorie restrictors suggest that eating less helps, but it is not enough. As well as cutting calories you have to cut your protein intake. Not entirely – that would be a very bad idea. It’s about sticking to recommended guidelines, something most of us fail to do. The reason seems to be that when our bodies no longer have access
Salt – Sea salt & rock salt -healthier options?
What is salt? Have you ever considered certain salt e.g Sea Salt or Rock Salt, may be better for you than others? At 121 dietitian we have been asked this very question. So you can see why we came to our conclusion we have provided some background info first. What is salt made from? Salt is made up of two minerals (sodium & chlorine). Sodium naturally occurs in many plant and animal foods but for most of us it is the salt in our diets which is our main source of sodium. 1g of sodium is the equivalent to 2.55g of salt. If you see sodium on a food table the easiest way to decide how much salt the food contains is to multiply the sodium by 2.5. Sodium x 2.5 = Salt in grams Why do we use salt? Salt is used in cooking to add flavour to foods, boost the flavour of other ingredients and to act as a preservative. Most of the salt we eat comes from pre-prepared foods (75%) rather than the salt we add at the table. Sea salt, rock salt or table salt is there a difference & which is better? Sea salt, rock salt and table salt all contain around 100% sodium chloride which means that too much of any of them will have a negative effect on your health. However rock salt & sea salt are often marketed as being a healthier or tastier option than table salt. Both are considerably more expensive than table salt. Sea salt is produced by the evaporation of sea water. It is argued that sea salt contains more minerals than table salt so is better for your health. However, just because it may contain extra minerals does not mean it is good for you. It would better to get these minerals from a balanced diet containing lots of fruit and vegetables than to consider sea salt as a healthy food. Rock salt is also known as halite. It is different to sea salt because it is already found in a solid form and then mined. Table salt (refined salt) can also be produced from solid salt which is found underground and then refined to remove any impurities. When the salt is being refined minerals such as calcium and potassium are often considered as impurities and so are removed in the refining process. Since 75% of the salt we eat is already in the foods we buy and no salt is a “healthy” option, we here @ 121 Dietitian suggest the cheapest and best decision you can make is to not add any extra salt at all. Instead try experimenting with other flavours such as herbs, spices, garlic, chillies, lemon & ginger. Which foods contain high levels of salt? We mentioned that 75% of the salt we consume is already in the foods we buy. Foods which often have a high salt level include bacon, cheeses, ready-made stocks, soy sauce, tomato ketchup, mustard, ham and ready-made sauces. Try to limit how often you use these products and where possible choose the reduced salt options. You can also use nutrition labels to compare salt content when no reduced salt options are available. What are the health effects of salt? In the body sodium is actually essential, it is required to maintain fluid balance and for nerve signalling. Despite this, as a nation we needn’t worry about deficiency. It is recommended that adults have no more than 6g salt per day. But the average intake shown in the last national diet & nutrition survey was 8.6g per day (with many people consuming more than this). Really all we need to maintain our health is only around 1g of salt (a pinch). Getting too much salt can be bad for our health. High intakes of salt are linked to increased blood pressure, which in turn can increase the risk of stroke and heart disease. Salt has also been linked to other conditions including osteoporosis, stomach cancer, kidney disease, kidney stones and obesity. It may also exacerbate the symptoms of asthma, Alzheimer’s and Diabetes. How much salt is too much? Recommended maximum salt intakes Age Maximum Salt Intake 0-6 months Less than 1g / day 6-12 months 1g / day 1-3 years 2g / day 4-6 years 3g / day 7-10 years 5g / day 11 years and above 6g / day If you found this article interesting you can find more information on the Action Salt website www.actionsalt.org.uk or chat to us @ 121 Dietitian: info@121dietitian.com Make sure you have the correct nutritious foods to get you off to a great start. Check out the 121Dietitian Shop Please visit my YouTube Channel. If you have enjoyed this blog we would love you to share this with your family and friends on your social media channels. Instagram Facebook Youtube X-twitter Linkedin
Never eat a polar bears liver!
Cute they maybe, but deadly to eat! Last night, The Polar Bear Family & Me was on BBC Two and since it also happens to be Liver Awareness month I thought I would share this top tip with you: Never Eat a Polar Bears Liver. Now okay, not likely to happen down the high street, but should you find yourself in this unusual circumstance be warned! So why is a Polar Bear’s Liver so lethal? Arctic predators such as polar bears have a greater capacity to store vitamin A in their liver than most other animals. It is thought to be because of the effect of naturally occurring vitamin A in marine algae being passed up the food chain to the polar bear. So great is the polar bears ability to store this vitamin that if you were to consume the liver, you would more than likely succumb to the effects of Hypervitaminosis A. Put simply it would be too much vitamin A for your body to handle & and you would suffer from vitamin A poisoning. Symptoms of this include liver & bone damage, hair loss, double vision, vomiting and headaches. However don’t panic and avoid Vitamin A altogether as it is essential for growth & normal development. In particular it is important for our eyes and fight infections. If we don’t get enough it can lead to night blindness. The estimated average requirement for vitamin A in adult females is 400µg per day & 500 µg per day in males. In doses over 100mg in children or 300mg for adults it can become toxic. Good Sources of Vitamin A Foods rich in vitamin A to eat regularly include: – Oily fish, eggs, fortified low fat spreads, milk, yoghurt, liver and cheese -in small amounts. For most people an overdose of the vitamin from their diet would be unlikely however as a precaution pregnant women should take care to avoid vitamin A supplements (unless advised otherwise by a doctor), liver & liver products since they contain high levels of Vitamin A. Too much of which can have a negative effect on the developing baby. Why you should love your liver The liver is the largest organ in the body. A healthy liver is kept busy performing various jobs, over 500 to be precise! The liver acts like a factory in the body. It performs tasks such as creating proteins, blood clotting factors and other products which aid with digestion and energy release. It also acts a storage facility for vitamins, iron & energy. The liver helps to control blood sugar levels, it cleanses infections from the blood & helps to neutralise drugs & toxins that enter the body. How to love your liver If you want to show your liver you love it. Then you should familiarise yourself with some of its friends and foes. Friends of the liver Exercise We all know that exercise is a great way to get fit and lose weight. Carrying around excess weight and especially visceral (body fat) is a risk factor for liver damage. Therefore maintaining a healthy weight is a great way to reduce your risk. By exercising and moderating your diet you are likely to lose more fat than with just diet or exercise alone. As well as slimming down you may also be helping to remove fat from around the liver. In doing exercise you are helping to optimise the functions of the liver. Which means you’re helping to keep the factory running efficiently. Nutrient Rich Diet Reducing saturated fats, sugars and processed foods will reduce extra stress on the liver. Eating a diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables and complex carbohydrates: brown rice and pasta, wholemeal bread, beans, pulses, nuts and seeds and lean proteins. This will boost the function of the liver to improve it from working like it was riding a toy bike with wooden wheels to a Olympian Velodrome cyclist! Fluids as per recommended (1.5 to 2 litres) helps keep the body toxins flushed through the system. Foes of the liver Alcohol Each time your liver filters alcohol some of the liver cells die. Despite this the liver is very resilient and providing it has no lasting damage it can repair itself very quickly. It can take as little as 24 hrs to go back to normal. However, over time prolonged alcohol misuse can cause serious damage. You can help your liver by not binge drinking and giving yourself 2-3 days in a row off from drinking alcohol. This will keep your total intake down and gives your liver time to recover. Drugs can have detrimental effects too, so follow the advice from your GP or pharmacist. For more information on vitamin A If you wish to have a liver check-up do get in touch with us: email: info@121dietitian.com If you are unsure of how to change your eating habits for the best or need help optimising the foods you eat. 121 Dietitian are happy to help with any nutrition related query big or small. 121Dietitian Make sure you have the correct nutritious foods. Check out the 121Dietitian Shop Please visit my YouTube Channel. If you have enjoyed this blog we would love you to share this with your family and friends on your social media channels. Gillian x Information checked & correct on 27th December 2022
It’s Been a While – Vitamin D
Hi, well what a year it has been. Work has pushed my boundaries further than ever imagined, the kids school and social demands continue unabated and we are now heading to another episode of over indulgence! Looking back, we have had a disappointing amount of summer sunshine, not good for Vitamin D stores or for the fun picnics we so love. We did have a fab trip which was a special treat and it certainly made up for our poor weather; a royal Caribbean cruise! Wow, as a Dietitian it was a sight to behold. The food choices were superb from both ends of the spectrum! The holiday guests, some whom had definitely been there before, could eat 24/7 and some did. Initially I found it all a little overwhelming and off-putting, but once I realised that the majority were not all gluttons we had a holiday of a lifetime! Vitamin D As we come into the winter it is important to be aware that nearly half of the British population have low blood levels of Vitamin D during the winter and spring months. This has come from changes in our lifestyles, less time outdoors, and increased use of sunscreens. If you are Obese, pregnant or a child you are at further risk due to either lack of availability with high fat stores or due to an increased need for development and growth. Why Worry? Rickets, a bone disease from the Victorian times, that had diminished, is now increasing significantly, leading to bow legs and short height, if prolonged it results in adults as osteomalacia. Recent Scientific literature has linked this important vitamin to not alone bone health; rickets, oesteoporosis (brittle bones) but also low levels of vitamin D are linked to increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, breast and colon cancer, impaired immunity, type I diabetes, arthritis and multiple sclerosis. What Can You Do? Careful exposure to the sun in the summer months (pale skin achieves sufficient amounts 10 times faster than darker skin) is considered essential but maybe not enough. Food Sources: Salmon- wild and baked is an excellent source. Baking has no effect on Vitamin D content whereas frying reduces it by 50%! Sun dried Shitake mushrooms is also highly concentrated, sardines canned, mackerel and tuna canned. Some breakfast cereals are higher than others so check the labels. Some manufacturers are aware of this deficiency worry and products like breads are being fortified, polyunsaturated margarine are also fortified. Until further fortification is widespread supplements maybe necessary. Make sure you are getting enough from your diet and sunshine and then top up over the winter months. Information checked & correct on 16th May 2018.
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