[Source: Love Qingdao]
Among the various health topics, the presence and discussion of the gallbladder are not high. Many people know it, often through the diagnosis of "gallbladder stones" on the physical examination list.
In fact, gallstones are a common digestive disease, with an incidence of 7%-10%, and there is even a trend of younger age. The occurrence of gallstones is closely related to our daily habits, and some unhealthy lifestyles can induce gallstones.
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These behaviors predispose to gallstones
Number 2: A lot of women are doing it
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Fasting for too long
Many people think that skipping breakfast can easily induce gallstones. However, some studies have shown that skipping breakfast is only one aspect, the key is to empty for too long.
An analysis of 30 case-control studies on risk factors for gallstone disease in mainland China showed that:
Compared with those who eat breakfast regularly, people who eat breakfast irregularly have a longer fasting time, resulting in a decrease in bile acid secretion, while cholesterol secretion remains the same, bile composition changes, and the cholesterol ratio increases relatively, thus increasing the likelihood of gallstones.
At the same time, it has been pointed out that a regular diet may increase the normal emptying of the gallbladder to reduce cholestasis, which has a preventive effect on cholesterol gallstones.
Therefore, eating three meals regularly can avoid fasting for too long and help prevent gallstones.
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Frequent dieting
Many people are accustomed to reducing their caloric intake and losing weight quickly by skipping meals and eating less, especially women who are deeply troubled by "appearance anxiety" and "body anxiety".
However, Practical Internal Medicine clearly states that frequent dieting and rapid weight loss are risk factors for gallstones.
The research of foreign scientists has also found that the bile salt content in the bile of dieters has increased significantly, the mucus has increased by at least 10 times, and the calcium has also increased by 40%. The increase of calcium and mucus plays an important role in the formation of gallstones.
In addition, without the stimulation of food, the gallbladder cannot excrete bile, and the fat metabolites in the gallbladder cannot be digested, and stones are easy to form.
Relevant clinical data have found that gallstones caused by weight loss mostly occur in the first two years of weight loss, especially within 2-4 months of rapid weight loss, and about 25% of people develop gallstones.
What's more, under the influence of estrogen and fertility, women have a higher risk of developing gallstones than men, about 2 times.
Therefore, the process of losing weight must be gradual.
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"Three highs" diet
The "three highs" here mainly refer to high fat, high sugar, and high carbs.
A high-fat diet is often accompanied by excessive cholesterol intake, and the concentration of cholesterol in bile is saturated, which makes it easy to precipitate cholesterol crystals, resulting in the formation of stones.
Excessive intake of high-sugar and high-carbohydrate water will also be converted into fat in the body, and cholesterol accumulation will increase, resulting in an imbalance in the proportion of bile acids and cholesterol in the bile, and then gallstones will be formed.
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Sedentary
When sitting for a long time, the contractile ability of the gallbladder muscle slowly decreases, which will delay the emptying of bile, and cholestasis may also occur, so that cholesterol is precipitated in the form of crystals, inducing gallstones.
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80% of patients with gallstones are asymptomatic
But asymptomatic ≠ harmless
Once gallstones occur, they are often accompanied by symptoms of indigestion such as bloating and discomfort in the middle and upper abdomen or right upper abdomen, belching, anorexia and greasy.
But not every patient has a significant symptomatic response. Surveys have shown that about 70%-80% of patients are asymptomatic when gallstones are found, and only 15%-25% of them are symptomatic during a follow-up period of up to 1 to 15 years.
Since there are no symptoms and it does not affect life, can it be left alone? In fact, asymptomatic ≠ harmless, and if gallstones are not treated in time, it may also induce other more serious diseases.
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Induces gallbladder cancer
Gallstones irritate the cystic duct wall or gallbladder mucosa for a long time, which can easily induce chronic inflammation. Chronic cholecystitis happens to be the strongest risk factor for gallbladder cancer - repeated inflammation can cause tissue hyperplasia and become adenoma, increasing the likelihood of cancer.
According to statistics, about 85% of cancers are related to gallstones, and people with gallstones have a 7 times higher chance of developing gallbladder cancer than people without gallstones, and the risk of gallbladder cancer can increase by 30 times if the gallstones are larger than 3cm!
Moreover, the onset of gallbladder cancer is relatively insidious, most of them are found late, and the treatment effect is very unsatisfactory, and the 5-year survival rate is even less than 5%, which can be called the "king of cancers", so even if there are no symptoms, patients with stones should not let their guard down.
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Induces acute cholecystitis
Stones can cause mechanical friction on the gallbladder and damage the gallbladder mucosa, and during the contraction of the gallbladder, the gallbladder can also compress the stones, block the cystic duct, and induce acute cholecystitis.
Acute cholecystitis presents with paroxysmal cramping cramps in the right upper quadrant after eating a greasy or full meal, accompanied by radiating pain in the back of the right shoulder. In severe cases, symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and fever may occur. If left untreated, it may be complicated by pyometra and perforation of the gallbladder, and even be life-threatening.
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Induces acute pancreatitis
70%-80% of pancreatitis in China is caused by gallstones.
This is due to the confluence of the gallbladder and pancreatic duct at the duodenal papilla, sharing an outlet, and if this place happens to be blocked by falling stones, it will cause joint obstruction of the pancreatic duct and bile duct, so that pancreatic juice excretion is impaired or bile enters the pancreas, inducing biliary pancreatitis.
Biliary pancreatitis may present with pain in the middle or left side of the upper abdomen that continues to worsen, accompanied by nausea, vomiting, abdominal distension, jaundice and other symptoms, and can be life-threatening in severe cases.
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Induces acute cholangitis
Many people mistakenly believe that small gallstones have little impact on health, so they ignore treatment. But in fact, the gallstones that cause cholangitis are often small, sediment-like stones.
Because the cystic duct is connected with the common bile duct, small stones in the gallbladder can be discharged into the common bile duct through the small cystic duct, once the bile duct is blocked to cause jaundice, or cholestasis is complicated by serious bacterial infection, it can cause acute cholangitis, cause high fever above 39 °, and even lower blood pressure, coma shock, life-threatening!
If the bile ducts are completely blocked and the bacterial infection in the biliary tract is severe, it may lead to more severe acute purulent obstructive cholangitis, with refractory hypotension, altered mental status, and excessive hyperactivity. Once biliary tract infections have circulatory and mental changes, the mortality rate can be as high as 70%.
Therefore, whether it is a large stone or a small stone, it is necessary to pay attention to it.
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Gallstones are found
Do I have to have surgery?
Surgery is a common treatment for gallstones, but not all people with gallstones need surgery.
Some patients may consider oral litholysis drugs to slowly dissolve the cholesterol on the surface of the stones, so that the stones become smaller and excreted with bile. However, it is generally not recommended that patients pass stones on their own, because the human body has many spiral valves, which may cause inflammation due to stuck stones, which is more dangerous.
However, surgery is usually needed for people with gallstones in the following categories:
(1) Symptoms of biliary colic:
It is generally manifested as a strong dull pain in the right upper abdomen, middle upper abdomen, substernal and other parts of the right upper abdomen, middle upper abdomen, substernal and other parts after eating too much or greasy food, which can radiate to the back (especially the right shoulder blade), and the pain usually lasts for at least 30 minutes, accompanied by nausea, vomiting, sweating and other symptoms.
(2) The location of the stone is not good, and it is easy to block the bile duct.
(3) Patients who cannot be improved by drug treatment, and have the risk of rupture or cancer.
(4) In addition to stones, there are other lesions of gallbladder.
(5) Patients with gallstones greater than 1cm in diameter.
(6) Patients with a family history of gallbladder cancer.
The need for gallbladder removal is at the discretion of the doctor, and prophylactic removal is generally not recommended.
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How to eat to prevent gallstones?
Eat more of these 3 things
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Drink plenty of milk
Several studies have confirmed that milk is a protective factor for gallstones and can prevent gallstones.
This is because milk is rich in protein and calcium, and a high-protein diet inhibits cholesterol saturation in bile, which in turn inhibits the formation of stones.
A diet high in calcium can reduce hydrophobic bile acids in the bile, increase the normal emptying of the gallbladder to reduce cholestasis, and prevent the reabsorption of bile from intestinal reflux and change the composition of bile to reduce the likelihood of gallstone formation.
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Eat more high-fiber vegetables and fruits
Patients with gallstones should appropriately consume vegetables and fruits rich in dietary fiber, such as corn, millet, sweet potato, carrot, cabbage, tomatoes, bananas, apples, etc., which can reduce cholesterol formation.
After these foods enter the gastrointestinal tract, they not only play a role in supplementing nutrition, but also promote gastrointestinal peristalsis, so that bile can be consumed in time to avoid stasis and cause harm.
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Consume more unsaturated fatty acids
Eat more unsaturated fatty acid foods, such as avocados, pumpkin seeds, nuts, deep-sea fish, etc., and choose olive oil or perilla seed oil to stir-fry vegetables, which is conducive to reducing cholesterol levels and the risk of gallstones.
In addition, drinking plenty of water and exercising moderately can help prevent stones.
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