Diet after gallbladder removal for adults

A cholecystectomy is an operation to remove the gallbladder. After the operation, bile, as before, continues to be secreted by the liver, but no longer enters the gallbladder, in which it was cleared of water and salts and became more concentrated.¹. In order for the recovery after the operation to be successful, it is necessary not only to take medications, but also to adjust the lifestyle and follow a therapeutic diet.  

What can be on a diet after gallbladder removal for adults

After cholecystectomy, it must be remembered that it is especially important for the body to receive a complete and balanced diet in order to adapt to the absence of a gallbladder. In the first days after the operation, the restrictions are quite strict, but further recovery will not cause you serious difficulties.².

Your diet should be balanced in a ratio of 1:1:2. This means that about ¼ of your diet should be high-quality vegetable fats and complete proteins, and half should be given to complex carbohydrates. The diet after cholecystectomy is based on diet No. 5, intended for people with diseases of the liver and biliary tract.

List of allowed products:

What not to diet after gallbladder removal for adults

Foods with a high cholesterol content remain under the ban after the operation, as they provoke thickening and stagnation of bile. Simple carbohydrates also cause bile stasis, so their use is minimized. It is necessary to exclude from the menu products that irritate the gastrointestinal tract. First of all, these are vegetables and fruits with a high content of essential oils and oxalic acid: spinach, sorrel, citrus fruits. The ban includes pickled and smoked foods, as well as all types of pickles.³.

 List of prohibited products:

Weekly menu for a diet after gallbladder removal for adults with recipes

The daily menu after removal of the gallbladder depends primarily on how long ago the operation was performed.

The most strict diet awaits patients immediately after the intervention. In the first hours after the operation, eating is prohibited. The day after cholecystectomy, it is allowed to drink rosehip broth without sugar and still water. You need to drink in small sips and no more than 1-1,5 liters per day. Then, liquid cereals and pureed soups in water or vegetable broth are introduced into the diet.

The first week after the operation is the most strict, only the attending physician can prescribe specific recommendations. Further, the diet becomes more varied.

Sample menu for 7 days for the first month after surgery

Day 1

Breakfast: cottage cheese casserole with raisins, green tea

Snack: 50 gr. crackers + a glass of compote (no sugar)

Dinner: pumpkin puree soup with croutons, foil-baked turkey fillet

Snack: curdled milk with apple

Dinner: salad with seafood, fresh cucumber and herbs, dressed with pumpkin oil, dried bread with bran

Recipe for pumpkin soup-puree with croutons:

• Pumpkin – 1 kg;
• Potatoes – 2-3 pcs.;
• Onions – 1 pc.;
• Carrots – 2-3 pcs.;
• Vegetable broth – 1 liter;
• Salt – to taste;
• Chopped greens – for serving;
• Olive oil – for serving;
• Crackers – for serving.

 Cooking:

1. Clean the pumpkin from seeds and peel. Cut into small cubes.
2. Peel potatoes, onions and carrots and cut into cubes.
3. Heat the vegetable broth in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and add the prepared vegetables to it.
4. Cook vegetables over medium heat until broth boils. Then reduce the heat to a minimum, cover with a lid and bring the vegetables to readiness.
5. When the vegetables can be easily pierced with a fork, turn off the heat and let the soup cool.
6. Turn the cooled broth with vegetables into a smooth puree using a blender or food processor.
7. Serve the finished soup in portioned bowls, garnished with chopped herbs, a handful of homemade crackers and a few drops of olive oil.

Day 2

Breakfast: boiled buckwheat porridge with butter, low-fat cheese biscuit

Snack: baked pear with cottage cheese

Dinner: rice with vegetables, foil baked chicken breast

Snack: fruit candy, tea

Dinner: veal meatballs, cauliflower puree

Day 3

Breakfast: protein omelet with vegetables baked in the oven, biscuit with butter tea

Snack: banana

Dinner: steamed zander fillet, baked vegetable salad

Snack: pureed cottage cheese with fresh cucumber and herbs

Dinner: steam fish cakes, stewed cabbage, biscuit

Roasted Vegetable Salad Recipe:

• Zucchini – 2 pcs.;
• Tomato – 3 pcs.;
• Bulgarian pepper – 1 pc.;
• Onions – 2 pc.;
• Salt – to taste;
• Olive oil – for dressing.

 Cooking:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
2. Wash and dry vegetables thoroughly.
3. Put the peeled onions in one baking dish. Cooking time approximately 45 minutes.
4. In the second form lay out peppers, tomatoes, zucchini. Cooking time approximately 25 minutes.
5. Remove the cooked vegetables from the oven and let them cool.
6. Cut the cooled vegetables and season with chopped herbs, salt and olive oil.

Day 4

Breakfast: oatmeal on the water with dried apricots and crushed almonds, cracker, boiled egg

Snack: fruit chips made from apple, pear or banana

Dinner: fish soup, Beijing cabbage, cucumber and carrot salad dressed with sesame oil, biscuit

Snack: bread with vegetable juice

Dinner: beetroot salad with prunes and nuts, stuffed peppers

Day 5

Breakfast: cheesecakes baked in the oven with fruit puree, rosehip broth

Snack: kefir, a handful of hazelnuts

Dinner: rice with seafood, salad with leafy greens and baked beetroot dressed with olive oil

Snack: homemade compote with croutons

Dinner: carrot cutlets, chicken breast pate, biscuit

Recipe for carrot cutlets:

• Carrots – 500 gr.;
• Egg – 1 pc.;
• Green buckwheat flour – 3 tablespoons;
• Dried herbs – to taste;
• Salt – to taste.

 Cooking:

1. Wash and peel carrots. Cut and boil until done.
2. Grind boiled carrots in a convenient way (grater, blender).
3. Add the egg and green buckwheat flour to the chopped carrots, mix thoroughly.
4. Add salt and dried herbs.
5. Carrot minced meat can be put into silicone molds or cutlets can be formed with wet hands and laid out on parchment.
6. Bake in an oven preheated to 200 degrees for about 15-20 minutes. 

Day 6

Breakfast: rice porridge with baked pumpkin, poached egg cracker

Snack: biscuit with cheese

Dinner: vegetable stew, pollock baked in foil with herbs and butter

Snack: homemade jelly with cracker

Dinner: meat casserole, boiled cauliflower and broccoli with olive oil

Day 7

Breakfast: rice pudding with fruit sauce, cracker with turkey pate

Snack: kefir with dried fruits

Dinner: shchi from beef on the secondary broth, croutons, salad “summer” with mustard oil

Snack: banana, a handful of almonds

Dinner: pike fillet baked with vegetables in tomato sauce, toasted bread, low-fat cheese

Recipe for rice pudding with fruit sauce:

• Rice – 250 gr.;
• Oat milk – 100 ml;
• Egg – 2 pc.;
• Peach – 2 pc.;
• Apples – 2 pcs.;
• Sugars – 3 tbsp

 Cooking:

1. Cook the rice according to the directions on the package.
2. Pour milk into a saucepan with a thick bottom and transfer the cooked rice to it. Boil rice in milk for a few minutes.
3. Remove the pot of rice from heat and let cool.
4. Add the yolks to the cooled rice and mix. Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks and add to the rice as well.
5. Pour the rice mixture into a baking dish. Cook for about 30 minutes in an oven preheated to 180 degrees.
6. Wash and peel the fruit for the sauce. Cut into cubes and boil in a saucepan with sugar for a few minutes. Let cool and rub them through a sieve.
7. Serve rice pudding in portioned slices drizzled with fruit sauce.

Results of the diet

A therapeutic diet after cholecystectomy allows patients to recover faster after the intervention and normalize their lifestyle.

Many patients note that therapeutic nutrition does not bring discomfort: the menu is balanced, there is no feeling of hunger. Adhering to the rules of nutrition, you can get rid of pain in the gastrointestinal tract.

Popular questions and answers

How to eat right after gallbladder removal, we discussed with endocrinologist, nutritionist Ekaterina Kazachkova.

Sources of:

1. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Koshenov M.R. Bulletin of Surgery of Kazakhstan, 2012. https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/laparoskopicheskaya-holetsistektomiya-1/viewer
2. Dysfunction of the sphincter of Oddi in the postcholecystectomy period. Bueverov A.O. Medical Council, 2020. https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/disfunktsiya-sfinktera-oddi-v-postholetsistektomicheskom-periode/viewer
3. A modern view on the problem of postcholecystectomy syndrome. Neresov A.V., Kaibulaeva D.A., Vasnev O.S., Tashenova L.K., Sakhipov M.M., Berestimov G.T. etc. Pharmacoeconomics. Modern pharmacoeconomics and pharmacoepidemiology. https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/sovremennyy-vzglyad-na-problemu-postholetsistektomicheskogo-sindroma-po-materialam-ekspertnogo-soveta-sostoyavshegosya-4-maya-2019/viewer