| In most cases, gallstones are painless. In fact, you | | | | Defat your diet. Reduce your intake of dietary |
| usually find out that you have them while | | | | fat. If you have gallstones, consumption of fat, |
| undergoing a routine checkup or an exam for | | | | especially animal fat, may trigger gallbladder |
| another illness. But when gallstones act up, you | | | | spasm. Once you have gallstones, dietary changes |
| may feel sudden, severe pain in the upper | | | | along will not get rid of them. But eating less fat |
| abdomen that can last from 20 minutes to | | | | can minimize the risk of symptoms appearing. |
| several hours. That is the result of a stone as | | | | Shed extra pounds. Try to maintain your ideal |
| small as a speck or as large as an egg getting | | | | weight. People who are overweight are at a much |
| wedged in the duct that leads from the gallbladder | | | | higher risk for developing gallstones. |
| into the intestine. Sometimes the pain will radiate | | | | Nix the crash or fast. If you need to lose weight, |
| to your back and shoulders. And once you have a | | | | do so gradually. Overweight people who go on |
| gallstone attack, you are likely to have another. | | | | extremely low calorie diets or who fast for days |
| What causes these little nuggets of pain? | | | | or weeks tend to develop gallstones. Also do not |
| In a nutshell, the problem arises from the way | | | | consume a totally fat-free diet. Have one meal a |
| that you metabolize cholesterol. Your liver | | | | day with at least 10 grams of fat. |
| produces bile, a cholesterol-rich fluid that your | | | | Eat breakfast. People who skip breakfast are |
| body uses to digest fats. Bile is stored in the | | | | essentially undergoing a short-term fast, and |
| gallbladder. Too much cholesterol in your bile can | | | | fasting has been shown to increase the risk of |
| form soft clumps that eventually harden into | | | | gallbladder disease. |
| stones. As unfair as it seems, women are three | | | | See if you are C-deficient. Ask your doctor if you |
| times as likely as men to develop gallstones | | | | may be deficient in vitamin C or hydrochloric acid. |
| because females have more hormones racing | | | | Animals with a high-cholesterol diet and vitamin C |
| their systems. It's thought that the female sex | | | | deficiency are prone to developing gallstones. In |
| hormones progesterone and estrogen may affect | | | | addition, about half of all people with gallstones are |
| the amount of cholesterol in bile as well as the | | | | deficient in hydrochloric acid. If your doctor finds |
| functioning of the gallbladder. | | | | that you have either deficiency, you can take |
| It may sound scary to have gallstones. However | | | | steps to correct it. |
| you can try out these tips to relieve your pain. | | | | |