When it comes to stones, people may first think of Journey to the West in the Four Great Classical Novels, where Sun Wukong jumped out of the stones. Stones are ubiquitous objects in the natural world, and few people think that they will grow inside the human body. With changes in diet and lifestyle habits, various types of stones have appeared in the human body, among which gallstones are more common.
Gallstones are a common disease. The incidence of gallstones is related to various factors such as age, gender, obesity, fertility, race, and diet, and is also influenced by medication history, surgical history, and other diseases.
Eating or not eating regularly can lead to gallstones and related diseases, mainly due to the following reasons: long-term skipping of breakfast and irregular meals, and bile being stored in the gallbladder for too long. Especially on an empty stomach in the morning, the bile in the gallbladder is stored overnight, which increases the cholesterol saturation in the bile and leads to cholesterol deposition, gradually forming stones. Long term high-fat diet: Consuming a large amount of high-fat and high calorie foods for a long time can increase cholesterol levels in the body, which can accumulate in the gallbladder or bile duct like sand, making it easy to form "gallstones".
Long term extreme low-fat and low calorie weight loss dieting can reduce gallbladder contraction, leading to supersaturation of bile concentration and easy formation of stones. Pregnancy induced estrogen can reduce the content of bile acids in bile, decrease the ability of bile to dissolve cholesterol, and increase estrogen and progesterone levels can reduce the muscle strength of gallbladder smooth muscle, making it difficult for the gallbladder to excrete bile. Prolonged bile stasis can also cause gallstones.
Many people suffer from gallstones without symptoms, and these asymptomatic gallstones are like a "ticking time bomb" lurking in the human body, and may slowly develop into gallbladder cancer, which can be life-threatening in severe cases.
Although people do not have a thorough understanding of the pathogenic factors of gallstones, experts have discovered many "risk factors" for gallstones through clinical observations and epidemiological investigations. In daily life, especially during the New Year period, try to stay away from factors that can be avoided, which can naturally reduce the probability of gallstones.
Low fat diet: A high-fat diet can cause uneven distribution of lipids such as cholesterol, lecithin, and bile components in bile, leading to the formation of stone crystals. If you consume too much cholesterol based foods, it is easy to develop "cholesterol stones". But cholesterol rich foods often have a more mellow taste and are more likely to be favored by banquets. So it is very necessary to firmly reject high-fat diets.
Low sugar diet: Sugar can stimulate pancreatic beta cells to secrete insulin, which can increase cholesterol, leading to supersaturation of cholesterol in bile and promoting the formation of gallstones.
High fiber diet: Habitual constipation can easily cause intestinal bacteria (especially Escherichia coli) to ascend along the bile duct, leading to bacterial infections and the formation of stones. Therefore, consuming a high fiber diet and maintaining regular bowel movements play an important role in preventing the occurrence of gallstones.
Eat more foods that have a choleretic effect: Eat more foods that can promote bile secretion and relax the biliary sphincter, such as hawthorn, black plum, etc., foods rich in vitamin A, such as green vegetables, carrots, etc. Seafood is beneficial for the gallbladder.
Drink less beer and eat spinach carefully: The malt extract used for brewing beer contains acidic substances such as calcium, oxalic acid, guanosine monophosphate, and purine nucleotides, which interact with each other to increase uric acid in the human body, becoming an important trigger for gallstones; Excessive intake of oxalate in food may cause excess calcium oxalate crystals to precipitate from urine and form stones. Spinach has the highest oxalate content in food, so it is wise for high-risk individuals who are prone to gallstones to eat less spinach.
Exercise more: Maintain a relaxed mood. Exercise more not only enhances biliary function, but also improves cardiovascular function; As the saying goes, 'evil grows on the edge of the gallbladder', which indicates that emotions have a significant impact on the gallbladder. Therefore, in life, we should also manage our emotions well and try to maintain a happy mood.
In daily life, it is also important to pay attention to dietary hygiene. Fruits, vegetables, and fruits should be cleaned before consumption. In areas where hygiene conditions are not particularly good, individuals with severe intestinal parasite infections may even develop biliary ascariasis. For patients with intestinal parasites, active deworming is necessary, and those with biliary inflammation and biliary ascariasis should be treated actively.
The most important thing is to have regular check ups. Gallbladder stones can be detected through B-ultrasound examination for liver and gallbladder diseases, which can be done once a year. Before the examination, it is important to maintain an empty stomach for 8 hours to avoid food affecting the examination results. In addition, bile duct stones can be detected through low-dose CT or MRI, and high-risk individuals should pay attention to regular screening.
Gallstones are a major threat to health, and to stay away from them, prevention measures must be taken first. Compared to surgery and treatment after suffering from gallstones, timely changes in diet and lifestyle are obviously more beneficial to health!