by An-Nur Nasir

Created on: June 17, 2009

The gallbladder function is to store and concentrate bile, a substance produce by the liver to digest fats in the small intestine. Doctors agree that removal of the organ appears to have no effect on digestion. Generally bile consists of pigment bilirubin and cholesterol. Somehow these substances would precipitate as crystal and form gallstones. Most gallstones are hardened cholesterol, the rest are made up of bilirubin and calcium.

Gallstones may develop in people that have high cholesterol level. It is also believed that the female hormones, progesterone and estrogen, whether occurring naturally or taken in oral contraceptives may play a role in gallstones formation. Woman who have borne children, are thought to be in risk because the cholesterol level and bile that increase in late pregnancy and the weeks after childbirth. Other factors include crash-weight loss diets which start to develop when one is experiencing a period of intensive dieting, with repeated cycles of weight loss and gain, or after just having a dramatic weight loss.

Some people may not experience any pain although they have gallstones, but some other people may experience pain in upper right abdomen or a sudden, severe pain extending to the back and under the right shoulder blade, with fever, chills and vomiting. The stones may obstruct the flow of bile, if this happens, the skin and the whites of the eyes will become jaundiced. This can lead to inflammation of the liver or pancreas. A serious case would require the removing of the gallbladder called cholecystectomy. It can be performed by conventional surgery or by laparoscopy.

People with gallstones need to eliminate fats and cholesterol from their diets. This is simply because gallstones are made of cholesterol. But this alone may not help much as there's little evidence that low cholesterol diet will lower the risk of gallstones. Doctors recommend that people with gallbladder problems should eat a substantial breakfast, which will cause the bladder to empty itself and flush out any small stone sand stagnant bile. This is because bile is likely to form stones after the long period of fasting that occurs overnight. It is also advisable to eat small and frequent meal in order to regulate the filling and empty cycle of the bladder.

All in all, the diets for the people with gallbladder should be emphasized on starchy foods, with lots of fruits and vegetables, moderate serving of proteins, and small amount of fat.

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