Obesity, high cholesterol can lead to gallstone formation

Obesity and a high cholesterol count are the primary reasons for gallstone formation. These stones are easier to prevent than to cure. People suffering from gallstones usually complain of gas formation, bloating, and nausea and occasionally pain. Gallstones are formed over the years of eating high fat and low fibre foods.
Foods rich in sugar, high fat dairy products like cheese, paneer, meats, thick refined oily gravies, alcohol and physical inactivity lead to the formation of gallstones. Many people remain asymptomatic and are surprised at learning from an ultrasound that they have gallstones. They usually experience gas and bloating and general digestive distress. If you experience any of this after consuming a high fat meal, change your food pattern on to the following guidelines to prevent precipitation of a gall bladder disease.
Increase the fibre in your diet: This can be achieved by switching from polished rice to brown rice, white bread to whole wheat bread, and increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables. You could make your rotis from jowar or bajra or oatmeal flour.
Avoid fatty meals: This should be done even if you are not suffering from gallstones because excess consumption of fat is the root cause of many ailments like cancer, heart disease hypertension, obesity, diabetes etc.
Lose weight: If you are overweight, your chances of developing gallstones are very high. Also a low fat diet which is rich in fibre will aid weight loss. But don’t go on to very low-calorie crash diet, as it can aggravate the problem further.
Do not skip meals: Those with gallstones who skip a meal in order to lose weight have a greater risk of precipitating a gall stone attack.
Drink plenty of water: As it is necessary to maintain the water content of the bile and prevent the formation of stones.
Eat more vegetables: People who enjoy eating vegetables have fewer incidences of gallstones. Vegetarians who mainly eat whole pulses, nuts, lentil beans and peas generally don’t suffer from gallstones. The secret ingredient in vegetables seems to be soluble fibre, which prevents gallstone formation.
Eat more soyabean: Increasing intake of soyabeans reduces the saturation of cholesterol in the bile. Soya flour can be mixed with wheat flour in the ratio of 1:1 to prepare chapatis. Chunks made out of textured soyabean are available in the market. These could be prepared like a regular vegetable in a gravy or dry preparation. Hi-protein soya biscuits are also available at most leading departmental stores. These could be had as an in-between snack food.
Control consumption of sugar: Combined with a low fibre white rice, white bread and meat-based diet precipitates gallstone formation. Such a food pattern super-saturates the bile with cholesterol. Switch to a high fibre, low sugar, and vegetarian low fat diet to correct the problem.
Avoid coffee: Some researchers believe that coffee can stimulate the gall bladder to contract possibly bringing on a gallbladder attack. According to them, coffee can stimulate higher levels of cholecystokinin, an intestinal hormone which is responsible for the gall bladder contractions.
When the gallbladder contracts to reduce bile, a stone shoots out and plugs the opening of the duct leading to the small intestine. That’s when the pain comes. They advise people prone to gallstones to avoid coffee.
Obese individuals are more prone to gallstones and others are prone to it even if they are not overweight. But diet can make a difference in preventing gallstones. What you eat can help lessen the saturation of the bile with cholesterol leading to prevention or it can increase the degree of saturation of the bile with cholesterol, leading to gallstone formation.