Natural and Healthy Gallbladder Diets - What Kind of Fats Are the Best to Eat?

Natural and Healthy Gallbladder Diets - What Kind of Fats Are the Best to Eat?

These days there are so many scientific-sounding categories of fats. What are they and what are the best for a healthy gall bladder diet?

Fats, or fatty acids, can be broken down into these categories ranked from least healthy on the top of the list to the most healthy on the bottom of the list:

• Hydrogenated fats and Trans-fatty acids: Hydrogenated fats were developed so that we could use liquid fats in a solid or semi-solid state - such as turning corn oil into margarine. The "hydrogenation" process takes largely unsaturated fats and adds hydrogen through heat and pressure processing. In the end, we end up with a more saturated, and unhealthy type of fat. Trans-fatty acids (TFA's) are found naturally in some animal products such as beef, pork, and milk. However, most TFA's that people consume come from the hydrogenation process. Examples of hydrogenated and TFA's are margarine, shortening, partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, and commercial baked goods (cookies, crackers, cakes, etc.)
• Saturated fats: Naturally occurring fats that come mostly from animals: beef, pork, lamb, poultry, butter, cream, and milk. Certain plants, mostly "tropical plants," contain saturated fats in their nuts, seeds, and oils: coconut oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil, and cocoa butter.
• Unsaturated fats: Are broken down into two categories.
  • Monounsaturated fat: Unsaturated fats that, in terms of chemistry, only have one double-bond in the fatty acid chain. This makes them liquid at room temperature and semi-solid or solid in the refrigerator. Examples of monounsaturated fats are: some nuts and seeds, avocados, olive oil, canola oil, and peanut oil.
  • Polyunsaturated fat: When examining their chemistry, have more than one-double bond. This makes them more liquid at higher temperatures than monounsaturated fats. Examples of polyunsaturated fats are corn, soy, cottonseed, safflower and sunflower oil, as well as some nuts and seeds.
    • Omega-3 fatty acids: A sub-category of polyunsaturated fats and the most healthy types of fats. They are widely known to help heart disease, reduce inflammation, and are important in brain functioning. Examples of foods with high quantities of omega-3's are flax seeds and flax seed oil, walnuts and walnut oil, and fatty, cold-water fish such as salmon, herring, and mackerel.

To reduce the occurrence of gall stones and problems with bad gall bladder symptoms, avoid hydrogenated and trans-fats altogether. Minimize consumption of saturated fats. Eat some unsaturated fats, and add Omega-3's to your diet.