News and Articles on Health. Medical research topics.

Autopsies indicate that 10 per cent of our population has gallstones, most of which consist largely of cholesterol though a few are formed from bile pigments. Cholesterol stones have been produced in rabbits in a single week by substances causing the walls of the gall bladder to become inflamed; in three weeks their gall bladders were completely filled with stones. The inflammation apparently injured the mucous membrane lining the gall bladder, causing cells to slough off upon which cholesterol could deposit.
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When hamsters have been given a diet deficient in vitamin E, all developed cholesterol stones, though no stones occurred in animals receiving the vitamin. It has been generally believed that diets high in fat and/or cholesterol produced stones, but animals given large amounts of cholesterol or saturated or unsaturated fats developed no stones as long as vitamin E was adequate. Conversely, hamsters fed no fat or cholesterol whatsoever all formed stones without vitamin E. The stones developed before any signs of a vitamin-E deficiency could be detected and while the amount of cholesterol in the bile and blood was the same as that in animals having no stones.

Moreover, when animals were kept on a vitamin-E-deficient diet until all had stones and the vitamin was then given them, the stones dissolved. Even a diet still deficient in vitamin E but containing yeast and generous amounts of fat (natural lard) caused half the stones to dissolve; the remainder were small and contained little cholesterol. Yeast and soy flour, added to the stone-producing diet, prevented stones from forming; and the addition of natural grains, peanuts, and minerals decreased the number of stones to half.

The reasons why stones form or are prevented from forming by these diets are not yet clear. It is known that vitamin A is quickly destroyed in the absence of vitamin E; that without vitamin A, millions of dying cells from mucous membranes covering the walls of the gall bladder slough off into the bile; and that stones form around a base of organic material. It would therefore appear that dead cells may catch and hold the cholesterol. Foods such as yeast, nuts, and unrefined grains, containing B vitamins and/or oils, increase the production of lecithin; and they as well as lard stimulate the emptying of the gall bladder. Because lecithin breaks cholesterol into tiny particles and keeps it in suspension; a high lecithin content of bile would appear to be vitally important in preventing stones. Population groups living on refined foods have far more stones than those eating only unrefined products.

Can human gallstones be dissolved?

The general medical opinion is that gallstones cannot be dissolved and that sooner or later surgery is required. Many people with stones, however, have no digestive or gallbladder disturbances; and others apparently have had stones for years without knowing it until a chance x-ray revealed them. There are situations, of course, where surgery is imperative, but if a physician’s decision is to postpone surgery, it is worth the effort to try to dissolve such stones.

Investigators have pointed out that the low-fat diets customarily recommended can actually cause stones by preventing the gall bladder from emptying vigorously. The longer bile remains in the gall bladder, the more concentrated it becomes. When the gall bladder fails to empty, thick stagnant bile high in cholesterol may slosh about with each body movement for days or weeks. Cholesterol and bile pigments are thus constantly brought into contact with any dead cells present. Under such circumstances it would be strange if stones did not form.

Human gallstones, implanted in a dog’s gall bladder, dissolve quickly. This fact indicates that some constituent in bile keeps cholesterol from settling out; therefore the bile of persons who had had stones removed was studied after various nutrients were given them. Cholesterol settled out quickly when saturated fats were eaten. A teaspoon (3.5 grains) of arachidonic acid–the essential fatty acid in peanut oil–or linoleic acid with 20 to 60 milligrams of vitamin B6 increased the cholesterol-holding capacity of bile as much as 200 per cent. Vitamin B6 is necessary before linoleic acid can be changed into arachidonic acid, 25 needed to produce lecithin.

The diet to prevent gallstones or to help them dissolve, therefore, must be high in vitamins A and E to keep cells from sloughing from the mucous membranes. It should contain sufficient oil and B vitamins to stimulate the gall bladder to empty vigorously during each meal; and it must supply all nutrients known to increase lecithin production so that cholesterol can be held in suspension. Saturated fats should be kept to a minimum, and hydrogenated fats and excess carbohydrates, which change into saturated fat, should be avoided.

Large gallstones cannot enter the bile duct, and tiny ones pass readily through it; hence only medium-sized stones may become troublesome. Possibly because many nutrients aid relaxation and decrease sensitivity to pain. The discomfort lasts only a few hours, and as soon as the stone is forced through the bile duct, it is gone forever. The over-all pain and certainly the expense is considerably less than that incurred by surgery.

Too much focus is often put on high cholesterol levels as the major risk factor for heart disease when in fact more than 50% of people with heart disease do not have high cholesterol levels. Something else must also be at work. More and more evidence is pointing towards chronic inflammation as the culprit. So what is chronic inflammation, and what can you do about it?

Normal inflammation occurs when you have an infection or cut your finger. It is your body’s natural healing response. Overt symptoms of inflammation are redness, swelling, and soreness. The problem happens when your body remains in an inflammatory state when it is no longer needed. This is called chronic inflammation, and it is a problem because the immune system starts attacking healthy tissue as is the case with such autoimmune diseases like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and Type I diabetes. In addition, there is increasing evidence that chronic inflammation may be the main underlying cause of heart disease, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

So what causes your body’s natural healing system to get out of balance? Inflammation is greatly influenced by the kinds of foods you eat and the lifestyle you live. Below are 4 tips on what you can do to control inflammation:

Reduce Waist Size: Visceral fat contributes to inflammation and heart disease. Visceral fat accumulates around the belly and internal organs to create the apple shaped figure. One excellent way to help reduce visceral fat is to exercise regularly.

Increase Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Most people are eating too few Omega-3 fatty acids and too many Omega-6 fatty acids due to high meat and polyunsaturated vegetable oil consumption (corn, safflower, cottonseed, soybean, and peanut oil). To help improve your ratio, eat more foods that contain Omega-3 fatty acids like fatty fish, walnuts, and flax seeds and reduce your consumption of meat and store-bought packaged foods which often use polyunsaturated vegetable oils. If you choose to eat meat, choose meat from grass-fed instead of grain-fed animals to increase the Omega-3 content of the meat.

Greatly Reduce Sugar Consumption: Most of your diet should consist of foods that are low on the glycemic scale because these foods will trigger an inflammatory response in the body. Examples of high glycemic foods include white potatoes, tropical fruits like pineapple, sugar, juice, high fructose corn syrup, refined or pulverized flours found in bread, many cold cereals and baked goods.

Eat More Turmeric and Ginger: These two spices are anti-inflammatory spices that should be incorporated more frequently into the diet.

Having high cholesterol levels is associated with a serious risk for your health and life. Even if you are not experiencing this problem at present it is worth taking measures for avoiding the condition. The cholesterol lowering diet is the ultimate solution that all sufferers can complement their medication treatment with. It is not difficult to keep and is effective in producing the desired results.

It is worth learning more about the problem before taking the adequate measures for its solution. There are some basic roots to the problem and by identifying them you will be able to make the most out of your cholesterol lowering diet. Cholesterol is an organic chemical substance that is produced in the liver. It exists in the body and has a number of beneficial functions such as the synthesizing of Vitamin D. However, when the cholesterol levels become too high, this sticky and dense substance piles up in the arteries. As a result the blood vessels become harder and narrower and less blood can pass through them. This condition is associated with a higher risk of extremely dangerous and lethal cardiovascular and even nervous system diseases.

The ultimate goal when adopting the cholesterol lowering diet is to reduce the amounts of the substance that are piled in your arteries and diminish the risks for your life and health. This type of nutritional plan will help you improve your situation on a number of levels and in a verity of ways. Generally, the diet consists not only of cholesterol lowering foods, but of ones that do not allow for its further accumulation in the blood vessels. The latter types of foods in particular are beneficial for weight loss. The less heavy you are, the easier and more pleasant the physical activity will be for you. This will allow you to do more cardio exercises, which also aids for the reduction of cholesterol.

The first aspect of your cholesterol lowering diet is to reduce the amount of foods in it that provide for its build up in the arteries. These are mostly the red and fat meats and the different types of dairy products. It is arguable whether you should exclude these altogether since they contain essential nutrients, but restricting them to a minimum is to give you the basis for accomplishing optimal results. These foods have to be replaced by plant based ones that are rich in sterols. Generally, the different types of vegan foods should be abundant in your diet – they are nutritional and will not give you a feeling of hunger since they keep you full. The foods that can actually lower cholesterol include fatty fish and oatmeal.

As you can see for yourself the cholesterol lowering diet might feel a bit restrictive at first, but in reality it can cure you successfully when combined with the appropriate medical treatment. By keeping it, you will never have to face this serious problem again. So, it is definitely worth starting it today and sticking to it preferably through the rest of your life.

Far from being a totally unwanted substance in the body as many would probably believe, cholesterol is in fact an important constituent of certain bodily hormones such as estrogen and testosterone, and of cell membranes. In other words, cholesterol is actually something that is required and which performs vital functions within our bodies.

Why then, are we constantly told that we need to cut down our cholesterol levels? It is because our bodies actually manufacture all the cholesterol that they need. Cholesterol only becomes a problem for us when we consume it in excessive quantities. About three quarters of the cholesterol in our blood is manufactured by our bodies.

Your liver is extremely sensitive to your cholesterol requirement, so if you consume a somewhat greater quantity of it at some point, your body will manufacture a somewhat lesser quantity to keep the overall level in balance. A problem only arises when you consume so much that the ability of your body to properly balance the quantity is compromised.

The average individual requires something under about 14 grams of fat per day to enable them to acquire their requirement of essential fatty acids, but in the United States the average daily consumption is at least eight times that amount. That is, the average daily consumption is greater than 112 grams when only about 14 grams are required. This excess builds up in the arteries and sets in train a health time bomb in the bodies of the individuals concerned.

Epidemiological studies have demonstrated that cholesterol levels and blood pressure levels increase in proportion to the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol consumed. This results in an increased risk of coronary heart disease, and in fact if you eat excessive quantities of saturated fat and cholesterol and your blood pressure and cholesterol levels still do not rise all that much, you are still at a greater risk of suffering from coronary heart disease.

Cholesterol is commonly divided into two groups: good and bad.

• The good cholesterol is high density lipoprotein (HDL)
• The bad cholesterol is low density lipoprotein (LDL)

The so called good cholesterol shifts cholesterol from the artery walls and back to the liver, whereas the bad cholesterol keeps the cholesterol in the bloodstream which results in the arteries becoming clogged up with deposits. To reduce your levels of LDL limit the quantity of saturated fat that you consume and increase the quantity of fibre that you consume by eating such things as oatmeal and other whole grains as well as peas and beans and fruits. Psyllium is considered to be a very good food for reducing LDL as well. To raise your HDL levels you need to lose excessive weight and get moderate amounts of exercise, and try to have a supplement of a gram or so of Omega 3 fatty acid per day.

Animal products and processed foods are the most risky foods to consume in excess in terms of saturated fat content. It has been demonstrated that those who consume a low fat vegetarian diet maintain low levels of blood pressure, low blood cholesterol levels and low rates of heart disease.