Around 20 million people in the U.S. have gallstones, according to an August 2008 report from the Weight-control Information Network. Risk factors for gallstone development include obesity, rapid weight loss, being female, having a family history of gallstones, having diabetes and taking drugs for high cholesterol. If you want to lose weight to decrease your risk of gallstones, consult your doctor and plan to lose weight slowly.
Weight Loss From Crash Diets
Crash diets, or any diet that severely restricts the amount or kinds of foods you eat, allow you to lose weight quickly. However, you typically regain all the weight you lost when you go back to your normal eating habits. The Wardenburg Health Center at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado, reports that only 5 percent of the people who follow crash diets keep the weight off once they return to their regular eating patterns. The restrictions of these diets often cause nutrient deficiencies, because you need to consume a large variety of foods to get the vitamins and minerals your body needs to function properly. Crash diets also increase your chances of binge eating because you begin to crave fats, proteins and your favorite foods.
Crash Diets and Gallstone Formation
Gallstones form due to a variety of factors, including high cholesterol content of bile; high levels of bilirubin, bile salts, proteins or fats in bile that cause the cholesterol in bile to form crystals; insufficient bile salts for successful fat breakdown; and the inability of the gallbladder to contract and empty regularly. Crash diets cause rapid weight loss that results in an increase in the concentration of cholesterol in your bile as your liver breaks down fat and can also cause decreased emptying of your gallbladder.
Gallstone Prevention During Weight Loss
Decrease your risk of gallstone development during weight loss by eating meals regularly throughout the day and limiting your weight loss to 1 or 2 lbs. each week. Weight loss does not require you to eat less food, it requires you consume fewer calories than your body burns each day. Make a lifelong commitment to an eating pattern that focuses on low-calorie, nutrient-dense foods. Replace foods containing high amounts of fats or calories, such as pizza, macaroni and cheese, creamed soups, cookies, chips, doughnuts and fried foods, with fruits, whole grains and vegetables. Simply replacing a large order of french fries with a fast food dinner with 1 1/2 cups of whole strawberries allows you to eliminate 440 calories from your daily intake.
Considerations
Not everyone who follows a crash diet develops gallstones or has symptoms of gallstones. The Weight-control Information Network reports that only 10 to 25 percent of people following very low-calorie diets develop gallstones. Of these, only one-third have symptoms of the condition. Consult your doctor if you decide to try a crash diet to lose weight quickly. If he approves, he may put you on medications to help break down the extra cholesterol produced during periods of rapid weight loss.
References
- Weight-control Information Network; Dieting and Gallstones; August 2008
- National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse; Gallstones; July 2007
- Wardenburg Health Center: Recognizing Fad Diets
- Rush University Medical Center: Gallstones
- MayoClinic.com; Gallstones; July 2011
- MayoClinic.com; Counting Calories: Get Back to Weight-Loss Basics; December 2009
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