The promotion of a low-fat diet as “the healthiest diet of all” can be held partly responsible for the continuous increase in liver and gallbladder disease among the populations of the developed nations. Foods high in protein are still heralded as being crucial for the development of physical strength and vitality. Fats, by contrast, have been branded as a culprit for causing many of today’s chronic diseases, including atherosclerosis.

 At the beginning of the 20th century, heart attacks were extremely rare anywhere in the world. Since that time, fat consumption, per capita, has remained almost the same. Yet since World War II the consumption of protein has risen most dramatically in the affluent parts of the world. The overconsumption of protein foods in industrialized nations has caused an unprecedented number of circulatory diseases, as well as fatalities resulting from heart attacks. In comparison, these health problems occur only rarely among ethnic groups that consume mostly vegetarian foods. In fact, a report issued by the American Medical Association stated that a vegetarian diet could prevent 97 percent of all cases of thrombosis leading to heart attacks.

Although a balanced vegetarian diet may contain larger amounts of fats, the fats do not seem to have any detrimental effects on the circulatory system (unless, of course, they are contaminated by harmful trans fatty acids). In contrast, overeating proteins of animal origin causes thickening of the liver blood vessels, which leads to gallstone formation in the bile ducts. The presence of gallstones, in turn, reduces bile production in the liver. Diminished bile secretions undermine the body’s ability to digest fats. Because of indigestion, possible weight gain, and other discomforts arising from such a condition, doctors tell this type of person to cut down on dietary fats. But this prevents the gallbladder from completely emptying its bile contents, leading to even more problems with fat digestion. Eventually, the body will run short of useful essential fats and fat-soluble vitamins. This prompts the liver to increase cholesterol production, causing yet more gallstones to be formed.

The less fat the body receives with the food, the worse the situation becomes. However, since fats cannot be digested properly anymore, the body enters a vicious cycle, which in most cases can only be stopped by removing all gallstones from the liver and gallbladder and then gradually increasing fat intake to normal levels.

Low-fat milk, for example, may be one of the culprits that could start such a vicious cycle. In its natural state, full-fat milk contains the right amount of the fats required to digest milk proteins. Without milk fats, the milk protein remains undigested. When much of the milk fat is removed from the milk, the gallbladder is not stimulated enough to release the right amounts of bile necessary to help digest both the milk proteins and the milk fats. Hence, milk proteins and fats are passed into the GI tract without being digested properly. Much of the protein putrefies, and the fats turn rancid.

All this leads to severe lymphatic congestion, as is often seen in the bloated stomachs of formula-fed babies. (Such congestion is also seen in women who are told they need to drink milk to keep their bones strong) The babies suffer from intestinal colic. Instead of being lean, their faces are moon-like, and their arms, legs, and stomach are puffy and bloated. These babies are susceptible to colds and other infections, have sleeping problems, and tend to cry a lot.

The undigested milk or milk formula may be responsible for the development of gallstones in the livers of very young children. Even the whole-fat milk offered in food stores today has a reduced fat content, making milk indigestible for most people.

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This is an excerpt from my book THE AMAZING LIVER AND GALLBLADDER FLUSH, available on http://www.ener-chi.com/book.htm