What are the dietary taboos after cholecystectomy?

The diet after cholecystectomy does not have as many lifelong taboos as spread on the Internet. The most important thing to pay attention to is not to consume a large amount of high-fat food at one time in the first three months after the operation. The other so-called "cannot eat eggs" and "cannot touch hair" are basically misunderstandings without clinical basis.

I accompanied my elders in the family for a cholecystectomy last year. I read a lot of clinical guidelines before the operation and joined two patient groups after the operation. I have seen too many people go to extremes: either they dare not eat anything because of the advice of their relatives, and they lost ten pounds in a month after the operation.

In fact, to put it bluntly, the gallbladder is a "temporary storage tank" for storing bile. It does not produce bile itself. The bile secreted by the liver every day has to flow to the intestines to digest food. The gallbladder only concentrates the excess and stores it, and releases it all at once for emergency relief when you suddenly eat a meal heavy in oil and meat. After the gallbladder is removed, there is no jar for storing bile at first. Bile flows slowly into the intestines 24 hours a day. If you suddenly eat a large amount of fatty meat, fried skewers and other foods that require a lot of bile to digest, the bile supply will not be available all of a sudden. Either it is indigestion and oily stools, or the pressure in the bile duct is too high and the right side of the abdomen hurts. This is completely unnecessary.

Nowadays, there is a lot of debate on the Internet about whether you can eat egg yolks or animal offal. In fact, there is no unified answer. I have seen two boiled eggs a day for two months after surgery and nothing happened. I have also seen people who had diarrhea for two days after eating half an egg yolk. The essence is that everyone’s bile ducts compensate at different speeds. After the bile ducts slowly expand, they can play a role in temporarily storing bile. Some people can almost compensate in 3 months, and some people may need more than half a year. There is no one-size-fits-all standard.

Last time, there was a young man in the group who did not believe in evil. He went to eat Chongqing butter hot pot just 4 weeks after the operation. He showed off a plate and a half of fat beef. He had vomiting and diarrhea that night and went to the emergency room. The doctor said that it was not a big problem. He just ate too much fat and could not digest it. He only needed to eat it for two days. But this crime can be completely avoided, right?

It doesn’t mean that you are completely insulated from fat just after surgery. It is perfectly fine to drink some skimmed chicken soup, eat half an egg yolk, and stir-fry green leafy vegetables with a small amount of olive oil in the first two weeks. However, if you do not touch any fat, it will affect intestinal peristalsis. It is also easy to be deficient in fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamins A and D, which will slow down recovery. Those who say you can’t eat fried food or hot pot for the rest of your life are exaggerating. My elders have been post-operative for almost a year now. Occasionally they are craving for two pieces of fried crispy pork, or go out for a lighter hot pot meal with friends. They just won’t show off half a plate of braised pork like before.

If you really want to say what you can’t touch, there are actually no absolute taboos. The key is not to make up the sensitive period just after surgery. After that, try a small amount of everything you eat. If you feel uncomfortable after eating, eat less next time. It is much better than not daring to eat this or touch that despite dozens of taboos listed on the Internet.