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Recent Medical Studies on Gall Bladder Function
Vitamin C for the gall bladder A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine reports that vitamin C deficiency may make a person more susceptible to gall bladder disease. The study involved more than 13,000 people over six years. Women who had low blood levels of ascorbic acid were more likely to develop symptomatic gallstones. Men showed no such relationship. It is thought that ascorbic acid controls the conversion of cholesterol to bile compounds. AIM, April 10, 2000
Vitamin C Lowers Women's Risk of Gallbladder Disease The gallbladder's most important function is to store bile, a substance manufactured in the liver that helps the body digest fatty foods. Cholesterol is a normal component of bile; if too much cholesterol accumulates in the gallbladder, gallstones eventually result. Because estrogen is an important risk factor for gallstone formation (it increases the concentration of cholesterol in bile), women are at particular risk for the disease.
Experimental animal studies suggest that ascorbic acid (vitamin C) may play a role in preventing gallstones, an observation that led to a recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. As part of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 7,042 women and 6,088 men provided data on vitamin C intake and the incidence of gallbladder disease. Results showed that increasing serum levels of ascorbic acid were related to a reduced risk for clinical and asymptomatic gallbladder disease in women, but not in men. Specifically, each standard increment increase in ascorbic acid level reduced the risk of a woman getting the disease by 13%.
Your chiropractor can provide you with more information on these results and suggest nutritional guidelines appropriate to your needs. Reference: Simon JA, Hudes ES. Serum ascorbic acid and gallbladder disease prevalence among U.S. adults. The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). Archives of Internal Medicine 2000: Vol. 160, pp931-36.
Exercise Decreases Risk of Gallstones in Women A report in The New England Journal of Medicine reports that regular exercise decreases the likelihood that a woman will need gall bladder surgery. This study spanned 10 years and collected data on 60,000 women, 3,200 of which required gall bladder surgery. Researchers say that women who spend at least 30 minutes each day for five days each week can reduce their risk of gall bladder disease by 30 percent. Even if one doesn't engage in a formal exercise program, just moving about seems to help. Women who spent 60 hours per week sitting (while working, driving or watching TV) doubled their incidence of surgery compared to those sitting fewer than six hours. NEJM, September 9, 1999.
More Coffee, Fewer Gallstones
The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that gallstones occur less frequently in coffee drinkers. The study from Harvard University School of Public Health found a 45% decrease in men who drank four or more cups per day. Two to three cups per day were almost as good, producing a 40% decreased risk. Only caffeinated coffee will do, though. Decaffeinated coffee, tea with caffeine and soda did not inhibit gallstone formation much. Researchers assume this to be due to the lower levels of caffeine. The study involved 46,000 men over a 10-year period. JAMA, June 9, 1999