Are You Getting The Benefits From Those Added Fats?
Many of my clients have been adding in healthy fats to their diet, and a lot of them are even doing a ketogenic diet. Healthy fats are crucial for us to absorb fat soluble vitamins and minerals, they help with hormone production, and can even be beneficial for weight loss. I highly encourage adding these into the diet, but it is important to know if your body is processing them properly.
Not digesting fats is connected to a variety of different symptoms and health problems. One of my clients recently came in with the following health complaints:
Pain in right side of stomach and between shoulder blades
Nausea
Fatigue
Trouble concentrating
Dry skin & bumps on the back of upper arms
Hypoglycemic symptoms worsened for the last few weeks
Undigested food in stools
One episode of debilitating pain in stomach lasting hours
She was low on many fat soluble vitamins such as vitamin D & K, despite being on a high fat diet and taking vitamins.
During her blood analysis, this client presented with a delayed clearance of chylomicrons. This means that her liver was unable to clear fats, and is also related to a slow release of bile from the gallbladder. This can lead to decreased HDL, insulin resistance, abdominal obesity, and hypertension.
The Protocol
My client already had a fairly healthy diet, but she was consuming a few inflammatory foods that were aggravating the issue. Reducing inflammation is key when dealing with issues of the gallbladder, so she removed those foods from her diet.
Did you know that food sensitivities can worsen gallbladder issues and put additional stress on the liver?
There are other things that can cause a impaired gallbladder and fat clearance, such as infections or thyroid disorders. After her blood analysis we ordered some additional tests for her in order to help her get to the root of this issue.
Lastly, she added in a few supplements to her regimen to help process fats such as lipase, and herbs that can promote bile production.
One month later... her pain and digestive discomforts have greatly decreased. She has not had any major crashes in blood sugar. The consistency of her stools has become more regular, and the bumps on the back of her arms have reduced.
We look forward to seeing her additional test results to determine what might have caused this issue in the first place.
If you have recently decided to try out a ketogenic diet or increased healthy fats, come by to make sure that you are absorbing all of the wonderful benefits from these super foods!
resources:
Neogenesis LBA Mannual by Dr. Okker R. Botha
https://www.mcvitamins.com/gallbladder.htm
http://www.innerbody.com/image/dige02.html