They can be very painful and affect a large number of people in Australia. They actually hospitalise 800,000 Americans. Coffee with caffeine was found to stimulate contractions in the gallbladder and lower cholesterol in bile that can form painful gallstones. So - as you enjoy your specialty Caddies coffee you may be saving yourself a lot of pain. Decaffeinated coffees don't have the same effect.
Caffeine is the key.
Unfortunately caffeinated tea and soda didn't appear to have the same effect so Caddies coffee is the only way to go. Dr. Michael F. Leitzmann from the Havard University School of Public Health conducted this study on men who were 40-75 years old in 1986. It was part of an overall study on diet and lifestyle factors for men of this age group.