Diet taboos for gallbladder polyps

There are actually three core dietary taboos for patients with gallbladder polyps - long-term irregular eating, excessive intake of high-cholesterol/high-fat foods, and frequent contact with alcohol and highly irritating foods. The rest of the "cannot eat eggs, cannot touch soy products, and cannot eat seafood" spread online are mostly one-sided rumors and do not need to be fully believed.

I just met a 28-year-old programmer from a major Internet company in the clinic last week. His physical examination revealed 3mm cholesterol polyps. When he came over with the report, he clutched a "polyp fasting list" that he searched online. He even threw away the egg yolks for breakfast, saying he was afraid of eating polyps and growing into them. After reading it, I crossed off the list for him and left two lines. There is really no need to engage in a "total withdrawal" posture. More than 70% of gallbladder polyps are cholesterol-related. To put it bluntly, they are "little hard lumps" where excess cholesterol accumulates in the bile. The logic is similar to the scale accumulated in your kettle at home. You can't stop using the kettle just to avoid accumulating scale, right?

In fact, there has always been a lot of controversy about high-cholesterol foods, and I don’t make absolute requirements. For example, the egg yolk that everyone is most concerned about, if you are diagnosed with cholesterol polyps, it is absolutely fine to eat less than 3 eggs per week. If it is an adenomatous polyp (the kind that has nothing to do with cholesterol metabolism and is a benign protrusion that grows out of the gallbladder mucosa), it does not matter how much you eat, and there is no need to eat taboos at all. On the contrary, I haven't found any evidence-based medical evidence for the "you can't eat soy products" rumored online. The lecithin in soybeans can actually help regulate cholesterol metabolism. Eating it in moderation has many benefits.

On the contrary, irregular diet, which many people ignore, is the hidden culprit that promotes polyps. I have seen too many young people skip breakfast in order to sleep in. The bile is stored in the gallbladder for 12 hours without a chance to be excreted. The concentration becomes higher and higher. The small crystals that could have been metabolized with food directly attach to the gallbladder wall and grow into polyps. There used to be a girl who worked in channel sales. She often skipped breakfast during morning meetings. Two small 2mm polyps were found. Later, she forced herself to stuff an egg white and a piece of whole wheat bread before going out every day. After half a year, the polyps disappeared immediately after a follow-up check. It was much more effective than taking some health products that protect the liver and promote gallbladder.

Let’s talk about the frequently asked questions about whether alcohol and spicy food can be consumed. It also depends on the situation. If your polyps are less than 5mm, have not grown in size during two consecutive reexaminations, and have no history of cholecystitis, it is really okay to drink half a glass of beer and eat two mouthfuls of spicy hotpot at a gathering with friends. Don’t do it every day. But if your polyps are over 5mm, or if you usually feel pain under your right ribs after eating something cold or spicy, you really need to keep your mouth shut. Things like alcohol, chili peppers, and ice drinks will stimulate the gallbladder to contract violently. If a polyp happens to get stuck at the gallbladder outlet, the pain may be mild to rolling, and it may even induce acute cholecystitis.

Oh, by the way, don’t believe the rumor that “eating such and such food can reduce meat consumption”. I have seen too many people drink so-called “choleric tea” every day, and after drinking it for three months, their polyps grew by 2mm. At most, dietary adjustments can help you prevent cholesterol polyps from growing. Adenomatous polyps that have already grown cannot be eliminated by eating anything. Regular B-ultrasound observation every six months is the most important thing.

There is also a common misunderstanding. Many people think that if they have polyps, they must go on a vegetarian diet, which is completely unnecessary. High-quality proteins such as lean beef, chicken breast, steamed fish and shrimp, etc., should be eaten when necessary. If you are unable to keep up with your nutrition after a long-term vegetarian diet, the rhythm of bile secretion will be disrupted, which will stimulate the growth of polyps. There used to be an aunt in her 50s. After polyps were detected, she didn't even dare to touch oil star seeds. She drank white porridge with pickles every day. The polyps had grown from 3mm to 4mm during a three-month review. This is the reason.

Finally, to be honest, the dietary taboos for gallbladder polyps are never one-size-fits-all. The core is not to let your gallbladder be "overloaded" for a long time. There is no need to look at the fasting list every day to figure out whether you can eat or not. Eat a normal and balanced diet, eat fried chicken hot pot every few times, and eat breakfast regularly, which is better than anything else. If the polyps are found to be larger than 1cm during the reexamination, just follow the doctor’s instructions and have the surgery. Don’t think about eating it away, it’s really useless.