SIGNIFICANT RISKS TO WEIGHT LOSS

At 283, I was morbidly obese. This put me at risk for gallstones, among other health problems. But most people are not aware that weight loss INCREASES your risk for gallstones.

As you lose weight, the cholestrol and waste products from emptying cells goes in to your blood stream. The liver then filters your blood, and puts the extra waste into your bile. The loaded bile is then collected in your gall bladder.

The gall bladder needs to purge, or empty, at least once a day. A low fat diet is not enough to purge the gall bladder unless the amount of dietary fat exceeds 10gm for any given meal.

This is one reason you want to make sure you are taking your flax and fish oil supplements, up to 10gm per day on the 25gm fat, 100gm protein, and 100gm carbs. This helps "emulsify" the bile and keep the gall bladder purging.

If you are losing weight, and you have a pain in your rib area or back, be sure to get it checked out with a doctor. In my case, I checked in to the hospital, and they did not let me out for 4 months. I was in intensive care for 1 week and nearly lost my life. It was gallstone pancreatitis, and it was in the hospital that I learned that 25gm of dietary fat is not enough to keep the gallbladder purging. But since I could not prove that my gallstones came from a diet, I decided to not sue the doctor who gave me the original diet. But just be aware, if you are obese, you are at risk for gallstones, and if you are on a lowfat diet, you increase that risk.

Lots of good reasons to take those omega 3's. How about not having gallstone pancreatitis? Sounds like a good reason to me.