The causes of gallstones and their risk factors that you should avoid

Gallstone disease is a common but often not recognized digestive system disorder. In severe cases, gallstones can be life-threatening because they cause pancreatitis or gallbladder cancer. In addition to knowing the symptoms, you also need to know the causes of gallstones. Indeed, what are the causes?

Knowing the cause of gallstones is important

Bile is actually a liquid produced by the liver to stimulate the intestines to squeeze food and break down fat in the food we eat.

After the liver produces bile, the fluid is "passed" to the gallbladder for temporary storage. The gallbladder is the size of a pear and is located under the liver, while the bile duct extends from the liver to the intestines.

Bile also helps remove excess cholesterol from the body. The liver secretes cholesterol into the bile, which is then eliminated from the body through the digestive system.

When food is digested from the stomach to the small intestine, the new gallbladder releases bile through the bile ducts. It is at this time that the bile begins to actively do its job.

Stones formed in the bile from excess fluid that should have been removed actually accumulate, clot, and eventually harden like crystals. Stones can form in the gallbladder or anywhere along the duct, so that new bile flow becomes blocked. This can block the gallbladder from working.

The presence of gallstones is the reason you often feel pain in the stomach, nausea, vomiting, and back pain between the shoulder blades.

Knowing the cause of this disease is very important because it can help you avoid various things that can trigger gallstone recurrence.

The cause of the formation of gallstones

As explained above, gallstones are formed from excess substances or residual fluids that eventually coagulate and harden.

Gallstones can be as small as a grain of sand to the size of a golf ball. Small gallstones usually don't have any effect. However, the larger the stone size, you will feel a variety of painful gallstone symptoms. The following are some things that are believed to be the cause of gallstones, including:

1. Bile contains too much cholesterol

Normal bile should contain enough bile salt compounds to dissolve the cholesterol secreted by the liver.

However, if the liver produces too much cholesterol, the bile will contain more cholesterol than the solvent.

This is why cholesterol is difficult to break down by bile, so that it crystallizes and eventually turns into stones.

2. Lots of bilirubin in the gallbladder

Bilirubin is a chemical that the body produces to break down red blood cells. Certain conditions can cause your liver to produce too much bilirubin. The excess bilirubin can harden which will end up turning into stones in the bile.

Some disorders that make the body produce too much bilirubin are liver cirrhosis, bile duct infections, and certain blood disorders. All of that then can cause the formation of stones in the bile.

3. Your gallbladder is not completely empty

Bile is responsible for digesting and processing cholesterol until it runs out. If your gallbladder doesn't empty regularly or completely, it means you still have residual cholesterol that's not wasted. This can cause stones to form in the gallbladder.

Various things that increase your risk of having gallstones

Launching the Utah Health University page, the surgeon dr. Toby Enniss, MD, FACS, says about 20 percent of people in the world can have gallstones.

There are several factors that can lead to the appearance of stones in the gallbladder. Starting from age to habits and eating patterns of bad days. Let's take a look at further reviews of the following risk factors for gallstones:

Age

Age that is no longer young is one of the factors that causes gallstones to be experienced more often by the elderly (elderly).

According to a study, gallstones are 10 times more common in older people than in young people. Not without reason this can happen.

The older we are, the body's cholesterol levels will naturally increase. As we get older too, the activity of cholesterol 7α hydroxylase, which functions to process acids in bile, slows down.

Both of these things make excess cholesterol not properly processed by bile. As a result, a lot of cholesterol builds up and settles into stones in the gallbladder

Poor diet

Research summary published in British Medical Journal states that excess calorie intake can cause the formation of stones in the bile. The study specifically found that carbohydrates from processed foods were most at risk of triggering gallstone formation.

Excess calories can reduce levels of good HDL cholesterol in the blood, while actually increasing levels of triglycerides (lipids) and fasting blood sugar levels. These three conditions are a sign of increased total cholesterol levels in the body.

High cholesterol can make it difficult for the bile to process large amounts of cholesterol. The gallbladder then risks leaving cholesterol which will turn into rocks.

Several foods can cause gallstones, including:

• Fried foods such as French fries and potato chips.
• High-fat meats, like bacon (sepek), sausage, ground beef, and animal ribs.
• High-fat dairy products, such as butter, cheese, ice cream, cream, whole milk, and sour cream.
• Meals made with lard or butter.
• Milk cream-based soup or sauces.
• Chocolate.
• Oil, especially palm oil and coconut oil.
• Fried chicken or turkey skin.

You are female

According to published research journals Gut and Liver in April 2012, women are more at risk of developing gallstones than men. The risk is especially high in pregnant women and who are on hormone therapy.

The reason women can be more susceptible to gallstone disease is because of their high estrogen levels at that time.

Too high levels of the hormone estrogen can increase cholesterol levels and slow down the movement of the gallbladder. These two things increase the risk of women forming stones in their bile.

In addition, pregnant women have high levels of progesterone. Progesterone reduces gallbladder contractions. In other words, the gallbladder will be more difficult to excrete bile from, making it prone to settling and forming stones.

Lose weight the wrong way

Obese people are often forced to lose weight drastically. Sometimes, the wrong diet method is used, which causes an increased risk of stone formation in the bile.

Stones are more likely to settle in the bile of obese people who immediately lose up to 1.5 pounds a week. Weight loss drastically in a short time is considered unhealthy. Ideally, reduce body weight by 500 grams a week, and do this gradually.

This is confirmed by studies looking at the eating habits of obese patients who are on a low-calorie diet or have recently had gastric bypass surgery. Two methods of this instant diet are reported to cause gallstones in 10-25% of these people.

The wrong way to lose weight can cause gallstones to appear due to an imbalance of body fluids. When weight falls dramatically in the wrong way, bile salt levels decrease while cholesterol levels continue to rise.

In addition, during a strict diet the body will work harder to break down fat. This makes the liver release more cholesterol levels into the bile. Too much fat and cholesterol in the bile in the bile can cause gallstones to appear.

Smoke

Not many direct links have been found between the causes of gallstones and smoking. However, smoking can reduce HDL lipoprotein cholesterol in the blood. Smoking is also known to inhibit prostaglandin synthesis and mucus production in the gallbladder.

Lack of physical activity

Rarely or never exercising can be the cause of gallstones. So to prevent gallstones from forming, you must be painstaking in physical activity, one of which is sports.

Regular physical activity with exercise can increase the body's metabolism to prevent obesity. As is well known, obesity is closely related as a factor causing gallstones.

In one study, about 60 thousand women who were observed to exercise frequently avoided having to undergo a cholecystectomy. Cholecystectomy is an operation to remove the gallbladder due to blockage of stones in it.

In contrast, women who are lazy to move and rarely do physical activity are at high risk of undergoing cholecystectomy.

High levels of lipids (triglycerides)

High lipid levels can cause bile stones to form. People with high lipid levels in the blood show that their gallbladder is full of fat.

This is also reflected in people who are slim. This means that you don't have to be overweight, obese, or overweight to have high triglyceride levels.

This statement is reinforced by a study from the Archives of Internal Medicine quoted from WebMD. The study examined and tested nearly 46 thousand men. It found that men who consumed the most trans fats had a 23% risk of gallstones.

This is because eating foods high in trans fats can increase lipid levels in the body. Trans fatigue can be obtained from eating unhealthy foods such as pastries, packaged snacks, and fried foods.

Have diabetes

A study published in March 2016 in the Journal of Diabetes and Complications suggests diabetes can cause gallstones to form.

Researchers don't know for sure the link between diabetes and gallstones. However, there is a theory that suggests insulin resistance can affect the health of the gallbladder.

In people with type 2 diabetes who are overweight, the release of cholesterol into the bile will increase. Leftover cholesterol that cannot be disposed of properly will build up. This is what can be the cause of gallstone formation.

In addition, there is another theory that connects diabetes autonomic neuropathy as one of the causes of gallstone formation. Autonomic neuropathy is diabetic damage to the nerves that control bowel and gallbladder movements.

According to research from the International of Medical and Dental Sciences, the presence of damaged nerves in these two things can cause bile to remain in the bag and cannot be completely excreted.

As a result, the remaining bile will mix with excess cholesterol and other fluids which then turn into stones.

Crohn's disease

Crohn's disease can be a contributing factor to gallstones. Crohn's disease is a disorder characterized by inflammation in the lining of the digestive tract.

This disease can make bile salts not be reabsorbed by the ileum (end of the small intestine). This bile salt will then leave the body. The problem is that losing bile salts will cause bile to be unable to properly dissolve excess cholesterol.

High cholesterol will accumulate in the bile and lead to stone formation.

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