How to prevent gallstones

Although no definite preventive technique for gallstone development has been discovered yet, research shows that there are ways people can lower their risk for these stones.

Refrain From Taking These Medications

If you are taking any of these medications, remember that the following can increase your risk for gallstones:

Cholesterol-lowering drugs: Medicines like gemfibrozil (Lopid) and fenofibrate (Tricor) can increase your gallstone risk. Although they may decrease your blood cholesterol levels, these medicines can also increase the amount of cholesterol released in bile.

Hormone therapy: HRT is a general term referring to the administration of estrogen or a combination of estrogen/progestin therapy. Increased estrogen levels can cause the body to produce more cholesterol and raise the levels of it in bile.

As such, if you are a woman who is undergoing HRT or is taking high-dose birth control pills, talk to your doctor about your gallstone risk and ask if there are other hormone-related medications that are better for you.

A Healthy Lifestyle Can Lower Your Gallstone Risk

Decreasing your risk for gallstones begins with a healthy lifestyle, specifically by following these habits:

Maintaining a healthy weight: People who are overweight or obese have a higher risk of gallstones. Boost your diet with these foods:

  • Unlimited amounts of fresh, organic and vegetables, especially fiber-rich options (just make sure to introduce these foods slowly into your diet, since they can prompt digestive discomfort, especially in those who have had gallbladder surgery).
  • Moderate quantities of high-quality protein from meat ideally organic.
  • High portions of healthy fats from sources like avocados, coconut oil, organic butter, pastured egg yolks and raw nuts like macadamias, pecans and pine nuts.

The following common practices can also raise your gallstone risk, so it’s best to avoid them:

  • Skipping meals or fasting for long periods of time. As much as possible, try to stick to your usual mealtimes.
  • Following diets that promote rapid weight loss.  By rapid I mean aiming to lose more than 1 to 2 pounds, or 0.5 to 1 kilogram, per week.

• Exercising regularly: Research shows that moderate physical activity can help with increasing the body’s levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) or “good” cholesterol.

References

Related Posts

  • Tai Chi and Chronic Pain

    Tai chi is a ancient chinese mind-body exercise that is low impact, that is like a moving meditation.  You move in slow-motion to stretch and strengthen muscles. The phyisical benefits of Tai Chi are that it improves balance, flexibility, coordination, muscle strenght and stamina hence why some people think it helps them stay young.  On the mental side, Tai Chi helps releive stress, improves body awareness and when done in a group setting reduces social isolation. Some recent research shows Tai Chi can help benefit people with ongoing painful conditions suchs as

    • osteoarthritis
    • fibromyalgia
    • rheumatoid arthritis
    • tension headaches
    In one trail, 66 people with fibromyalgia were randomised into two groups: one took tahi chi classes twice weekly, the other group attended wellness education and stretching classes twice a week.  After 12 weeks, those in the Tai Chi group reported
    • less pain
    • fewer depresession symptoms
    • better sleep
    when compared to the control group.  This study suggest that Tai Chi may assist those who have an ongoing painful condition manage their pain and improve their general sense of wellness. References Wang C, Schmid CH et al, 2o10, A randomized trail of Tai Chi for Fibromyalgia, New England Journal of Medicine, 363(8):743-54  

  • Migraines – Part 2

    In part 1, I explained the difference between a headache and a migraine.  In this article I want to explore evidence for nutritional fixes to assit migraine sufferers. [...]

  • The Impact of Sitting All Day – Part 3

    In part 1, I looked at the impact of sitting on your muscles,  and in part 2 I started to explore the impact on the rest of your body.  In this post I continue to explore the impact of sitting on your circulatory system including your heart. Heart Disease When sitting for prolonged periods of time, muscles burn less fat and blood flows more sluggishly, allowing fatty acids to more easily clog the heart.  In 2012 Ford & Caspersen in their research paper, Sedentary behaviour and cardiovascular disease: a review of prospective studies (International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol 41, No 5 pages 1338 - 1353) showed that the people with the most sedentary time are more than twice as likely to have cardiovascular disease than those with the least. In 2012 Zedric and Hamilton found that just a few hours sitting suppresses a gene that helps keep your cardiovascular system healthy by controlling inflammation and blood clotting. T W Zedric & M T Hamilton, 2012 Identification of hemostatic genes expressed in human and rat leg muscles and a novel gene (LPP1/PAP2a) suppressed during prolonged physical inactivity (sitting), Lipids in Health and Disease, Vol 11 see http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1476-511X-11-137.pdf Cholesterol Sitting also means that your large postural support muscles are inactive.  When active these muscles produce a quite of beneficial molecules.  One molecule skeletal muscles produce is an enzyme called lipoprotein lipase - which you can think of as a vacuum cleaner for fats in the blood stream.  A study in rats showed that after 24 hours forced inactivity, their lipoprotein lipase acitivity was reduced by 90 - 95%, which led to a 75% drip in the ability of their muscles to remove fats from their bloodstream as will as a significant decrease in "good" (HDL) cholesterol. L Bay & Mark Hamilton, 2003, Suppression of skeletal muscle lipoprotein lipase activity during physical inactivity: a molecular reason to maintain daily low-intensity activity, Journal of Physiology, Vol 551, No 2 pages 673 - 682.See http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1113/jphysiol.2003.045591/full