by Nancy

See Nancy’s earlier post on the battle for her gallbladder.

Here’s what I’ve picked up in the 16 years I’ve been using the alkaline diet to control my gallbladder problems. Some of them I’ve been taught by a wonderful, non-mainstream acupuncturist I’ve used for many years.

Alkaline/acidic food lists vary from source to source. Even so-called experts seem to confuse acidic foods and acid-forming foods. Some foods which are in themselves acidic, such as lemons, are actually metabolized in the body as an alkaline — that is, they’re alkaline-forming. The information about coffee is a good example: some lists say it’s good for your gallbladder and some say it’s bad.

Here’s what I’ve found.

Coffee is quite acidic. I love coffee. I have one mocha a day (organic, of course). I choose mocha mainly because it has chocolate along with the caffeine. According to my above-mentioned doctor, if you have to have coffee, have it early in the day WITH chocolate. That way “all of your adrenals” are being stimulated, not just part of them.

These two drinks help alkalize my body:

• Teeccino, an organic product found in stores near the coffee grounds, but that is actually a grain beverage. It comes in a bag in most of the flavors that coffee can come in: mocha, maplenut, chocolate/mint, hazelnut, etc. I make it in my little French coffee maker. I enjoy it quite a lot instead of coffee. The bag has all the information about how it is alkalizing for your body. (Ed.: Teeccino is labeled as gluten-free, but only when brewed a particular way. Here’s a blog post about what tests were used to gauge its gluten-ness by Tricia Thompson, “The Gluten-Free Dietician.”)
  

• Lots of warm/hot water with fresh, organic lemon, taken in the first part of the day. According to my doctor, drinking it later in the day can leach calcium from your bones.

I rely on three remedies when passing a gallstone: green soup, flax seed tea, and a beet treatment. You can find recipes for these on this web page and on other internet sites as well.

In terms of diet in general, the best information I have found in all my readings comes from the book Eat Right 4 for Your Type. The author, Peter Adamo, believes your blood type dictates how you will react to certain foods and what allergies and nutrient deficiencies you’ll be prone to. I am type O and find most of his information to be very practical and true. (Ed.: I had the same experience. See earlier post.)