What are gallstones and how are they affected by my diet?

What are gallstones and how are they affected by dieting? Gallstones are a fairly common condition affecting as many as 1 in 12 Americans. Your gallbladder contains an emulsifying fluid called bile and when one eats, the gallbladder contracts, releasing the bile. The bile is then transported through the common bile duct to the small intestine where it can help break down digested fats. Now, if one's bile becomes chemically unbalanced then hardened particles of bile pigments, cholesterol, or calcium salts can form, possibly growing to uncomfortable sizes within a few years. However, not all gallstones are painful and can go unnoticed entirely. There are several possible factors that contribute to gallstone formation.

The first of the contributing factors is having too much cholesterol in the bile. Bile already contains fatty compounds and if it contains more than it should then it becomes supersaturated in a sense and begins to form crystals that can then lead to stones. One point that needs to be noted is that blood cholesterol levels are unrelated to bile cholesterol levels. Another factor that can contribute is incomplete gall bladder emptying. If your gallbladder doesn't empty frequently enough or incompletely then your bile can become too concentrated and thus form gallstones. The latter factor is directly related to one's diet. People who eat too infrequently or who commonly skip breakfast will find themselves with gallstone problems since the lack of digestive stimulus fails to trigger contractions from the gall bladder. Even if you do eat a good breakfast every morning, you still might be susceptible to gallstones. There are still other risk factors that need to be addressed before you can most likely be in the clear, so to speak.

First of all, genetics do play a role in gallstones. read more