I was diagnosed w/ gallstones via ultrasound last year after a series of weird reactions to (mostly) restaurant food. I worked w/ a naturopath to dissolve the stones (dissolving confirmed via ultrasound again) and have linked all my reactions to vegetable oil. I eat lots of natural fat (coconut oil, meat fat, butter) with no problem.

Stones are made of cholesterol, which leads people to think that eating cholesterol will cause them (just like eating fat make you fat, right? ;)). The NIH states that "stones form when bile contains too much cholesterol, too much bilirubin, or not enough bile salts, or when the gallbladder does not empty completely or often enough. The reason these imbalances occur is not known." My anecdotal belief for my own stones is a sluggish liver, which is evidenced (to me) by my complete intolerance for alcohol and caffeine.

There are lots of theories on what causes gallstones, but I don't think it's a high fat diet - in fact, my ND said that she sees a lot of vegan patients w/ gallbladder issues. If you eat NO or very little fat, the stones will collect because the gallbladder's not contracting to push them out - so they sit there and get bigger. Mary Eades mentions this in one of her books - eating fat is necessary to keep the gallbladder functioning.

That said, if you have large gallstones, eating fat could trigger an attack (although Mary Eades claims that coconut oil won't because of how it's processed by the body).

Suddenly increasing fat intake could certainly bring on a gallbladder attack because it is trying squeeze out more bile, and that would cause pain as the stones get squeezed.

As for saturated fat causing gall stones I don't follow the logic because I thought bile was synthesized from saturated fat. I'm totally talking outta my ass on this, but would suspect our ol' pal vegetable oil eaten in place of saturated fat would be much more problematic resulting in insufficient bile production.

From what I've read and my doctor has told me, folks that have been on low fat diets for long periods usually develop gallstones. When they switch to a higher fat diet, that's when they have issues (and have to get their gallbladder removed at times). So, fat intake alone isn't the the culprit IMO, it's sometimes overall diet related, hereditary or just a fluke when folks have issues. I like that answer better than, "fat causes gallstones", lol, really : )

Sorry to hear this Caveman....

I hope that you will be able to get the medical testing you need to know if you have Celiac's. Then again, maybe you are already eating and living as if you do have it, which is a good thing for most all of us anyway!

Good luck

In his book, Robb Wolf states that gluten sensitivity is actually the culprit when it comes to gallstones--that's actually what convinced me to adopt a completely gluten-free lifestyle (had my gallbladder removed in 2006).

I know that many, many people who are gluten intolerant have gall stones. Is there a connection? I hope some day they will do some kind of research on it. I had my gall bladder out, but I wish I would work with a naturopath instead. Surgery is not always the best solution - sometimes it creates other problems.

Good luck!

I hope that you are well okay at this point. But ultra sounds are not that 100% accurate. If you have these symptoms like flatulence and belching, I suggest that you have this examined again.

Check this site and see the step by step experience. whatisgallstone.com

I had horrible gallstone symptoms for over ten years that went undiagnosed. When I was in the ER due to appendix pain, I was told after my ultrasound that my gallbladder was FULL of stones. That was my "A-HA!" moment.

I wish I'd known about the gluten connection sooner. I am in fact, intolerant, and I ate a crap ton of pasta when I was a teen (right around when these pains started).

I had my gallbladder taken out about 1.5 months after my appendix in 2010.

I had bloating and nausea after my surgery for a while, still eating mostly paleo. Digestive enzymes helped a lot.