I had my gall bladder removed 3 weeks ago. I had a poorly contracting gall bladder since 2009 and have avoided having surgery on it until now as was concerned I could have digestion issues if removed so was controlling it with diet -no spicy, no alcohol, avoiding fried foods, no cheese, no cream and generally lower fat foods. However I was recently diagnosed with several large gallstones and was a ” ticking time bomb” heading for more serious problems so I’ve had it removed. I also have mild IBS. Since its removal I am having a war with food with diahorrea, nausea and some light headedness. On doctors advice I have cut out gluten, lactose/ dairy, fruit ( except pear) high fat foods and foods I didn’t have before plus onions, garlic, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower . On a few days I’ve had improvement but then comes back. I’m wondering how to best apply the Clever Gut diet to help me get my digestion better in these circumstances as realise it would need to be modified but a lot of the theory behind it I am hoping could help just unsure what to apply and what wouldn’t be good idea? I would really appreciate Michael’s advice.

My husband also had his gall bladder removed last January for similar reasons. We were told your body needs to adjust to not having a gallbladder and can take time to improve. He is back to normal now but still has to watch what he eats and eat similar foods than before surgery otherwise he feels nauseous.

Thanks for your info Gigi. Guess I’m being a bit impatient as know it can take time but worried it won’t improve. Just hoping the clever gut diet might be able to get results where I can improve past where I was before having it out. I don’t think I could have all the foods on it though as suspect foods like nuts and seeds eg flaxseed might not be a good idea at this stage.

Try and limit fats and alcohol. Sadly nuts are off the list. Your body will let you know what doesn’t agree with you.

Whole flaxseed/ linseeds are apparently indigestible because chewing doesn’t sufficiently break down the seeds coating.

The gelatinous mucilage still helps them act as a bulking agent – and presumably prebiotic – but the fats and other nutrients are not released unless the seed is ground. I have wondered if other tiny seeds such as sesame and chia are the same.

Soaking flaxseed in water releases the mucilage gel fairly easily: you might test that then later a small portion of whole or cracked seeds. Flaxseeds are often used as a topping or ingredient, you don’t need to tolerate as much as with a snack of nuts.