The typical symptom is abdominal pain , perhaps accompanied by nausea , indigestion , or fever . The pain, caused by the gallbladder s contraction against the lodged stones, generally occurs within an hour of eating a large meal or in the middle of the night. Obstructions in the bile s pathway can cause a duct to become inflamed and possibly infected. If the problem continues for a number of years, liver damage and possibly liver failure may result. Approximately a million new cases of gallstones are diagnosed in the United States each year.
Women are four times as likely as men to be affected with gallstone .
Gallstones are also more common in people over the age of forty, in those who are obese or have lost weight in a short amount of time, and in women who have had multiple pregnancies. Foods can make a big difference in preventing gallstone. What you eat can thwart formation of stones by lessening the degree of saturation of the bile with cholesterol the prime contributor to gallstone formation. Certain foods can also provide more detergent to keep the cholesterol safely dissolved. In addition, diet can regulate contraction that expel stones into the duct, bringing on a painful gallbladder attack.