Cholelithiasis is not a word that you hear very often in the day to day conversation, but chances are that you know someone who has it.
Maybe even you have it. It’s something that is very common and it’s becoming more common these days as people subsist on a diet of fast food and other unhealthy things.
Plainly put, Cholelithiasis is a gallbladder disease and it indicates the presence of gallstones.
It’s not a very fun thing to have, so what is it that causes Cholelithiasis so that you can avoid it?
Causes of Cholelithiasis
Here are some of the common causes of Cholelithiasis:
1. Obesity: This is one of the causes of gallstones that you can control. It has been discovered through studies that even people who are only a bit overweight are at an increased risk
2. Losing a lot of weight: Now, if obesity is one of the causes of Cholelithiasis, you would think that losing weight would be good, but only if it’s gradual and not due to crash dieting.
When someone loses a lot of weight fast, the body metabolizes the fat faster and that affects the liver’s bile output. So lose weight, but do it in a healthy way.
3. Estrogen: Unfortunately, estrogen is something that really causes Cholelithiasis. Whether it’s from having a baby, taking HRT, or contraceptive pills, estrogen is something that has been discovered to increase the risk of gallstones.
4. Race: Another thing that studies have shown is that people who are American Indians are more likely to have gallstones due to the higher cholesterol levels in their bile.
The statistics are staggering – most American Indian males have developed gallstones by the age of sixty and almost three quarters of the females have developed gallstones by the age of thirty.
5. Medications that lower cholesterol: It may seem strange, but the medicine that people take to lower their cholesterol can actually increase the cholesterol that is secreted in the bile.
6. Diabetes: Due to the high levels of triglycerides that diabetics have, they are at a higher risk of developing Cholelithiasis.
Cholelithiasis is not something that is pleasant, as anyone who has had gallstones will tell you, but there are things that you can do to reduce your risk of developing it.
Eat healthy, lose weight responsibly and do what you can to reduce your risk of developing diabetes. Also you can talk to your doctor to see what he recommends.
