If you don't eat on time, this organ will give you a "fatal blow" (not the stomach)

Many "workers"

To sleep more in the morning

Will continue to compress the breakfast time

Even cancel directly

Once you enter the holiday

Or one meal a day

Either eat whatever you want

There is no rule.

Image source: CCTV News

In the long run

Stones in the body

It was eaten up little by little.

Eating a lot or not eating

Can cause gallstones

Eating a lot of high-fat, high-oil, high-salt, and high-cholesterol foods will increase cholesterol, turn it into crystals, and produce gallstones.
Long-term fasting and the use of parenteral nutrition can also cause cholestasis. Prolonged retention time in the gallbladder can lead to over-concentration of bile (too high cholesterol concentration), which in turn promotes stone formation.

High-risk population

Patients who lose weight rapidly , who take a very low-calorie diet (less than 800 kcal/d), or who lose weight rapidly after gastric bypass surgery also have a higher rate of gallstone formation.

▲ However, the formation of gallstones is not only related to diet. Obese people, especially women, have a higher concentration of cholesterol in their bile, and their secretion and synthesis of cholesterol are also higher, which makes them more likely to form gallstones. For women who have had multiple pregnancies, pregnancy will increase the concentration of cholesterol in their bile. During pregnancy, progesterone will delay gallbladder emptying, and increased abdominal pressure will affect gallbladder emptying. Bile that stays in the gallbladder for a long time is prone to forming stones.

▲ In addition to these two groups, long-term vegetarians do not consume enough lecithin, and the excessive fiber in vegetarian food hinders the absorption of bile acid, which reduces the concentration of bile salts in bile. The imbalance caused by insufficient lecithin and bile salts can also promote the formation of stones.

Repeated attacks of gallstones and continued blockage of the pathways may develop into acute cholecystitis, acute suppurative cholangitis , acute pancreatitis and other acute and severe diseases, which may manifest as various symptoms, including severe abdominal pain, fever, chills and jaundice, which can be life-threatening in severe cases.

Only 4 steps!

From skipping breakfast to gallbladder cancer

first step

Skipping breakfast

The liver produces bile for us every day. When we don't eat, the bile is stored in the gallbladder, which concentrates the thin bile by 90%. When we eat, the gallbladder discharges the concentrated bile into the small intestine to help us digest the fat (oil) nutrients in the food. If you don't eat breakfast, the concentrated bile in the gallbladder will not be discharged.

Step 2

Gallstones

If we do not eat breakfast for a long time, the bile in the gallbladder will be concentrated, and over time we will develop gallstones.

Step 3

cholecystitis

If gallstones are not controlled, acute cholecystitis may occur, and the patient will experience abdominal pain, fever, cramps in the right upper abdomen, nausea and vomiting, etc. Surgery may even be required for treatment.

Step 4

Gallbladder cancer

Gallbladder cancer is closely related to gallstones and cholecystitis. Statistics show that more than 85% of gallbladder cancer patients have gallstones. Gallstones cause long-term chronic inflammation of the gallbladder, which in turn induces tumors in the gallbladder mucosa. Once chronic inflammation of the gallbladder occurs, the chance of inducing cancer will increase.

How does the gallbladder work?

The gallbladder has two major functions, including digestion and immunity .

Bile is secreted by liver cells, with a daily output of about 800~1200ml. The newly secreted bile is golden yellow and contains a variety of ingredients that promote the digestion and absorption of fat. 97% of bile is water, and the rest is composed of cholesterol, bilirubin, inorganic salts, etc. It has the functions of lipid digestion and absorption, and clearing metabolic waste from the body.

The bile flows into the common hepatic duct, and the gallbladder begins to frantically absorb water and electrolytes in the bile. This operation turns the bile into concentrated bile.
The concentrated bile is temporarily stored in the gallbladder. After people eat, cholecystokinin from the intestine and the vagus nerve from the nervous system start to work. Under the regulation of both, the gallbladder begins to contract. The stored bile is emptied and flows into the common bile duct through the cystic duct.

Loyalty

In addition to these two functions, the gallbladder also has a good friend - the liver.

When the liver is diseased and plagued by diseases such as cirrhosis and hyperbilirubinemia, the gallbladder is in danger. At this time, the cholesterol and bilirubin in the bile will exceed the standard, and the excess will turn into crystals and deposit in the gallbladder or bile duct like sand, accumulating into "gallstones".

How to protect the gallbladder?

Say no to greasiness

Generally speaking, greasy foods are often accompanied by a lot of fat. To prevent excessive intake of invisible fat, it is best to eat less visible fat, such as fatty meat, animal oil, etc.

Drink less alcohol and more water

Quitting drinking can reduce the adverse stimulation to the gallbladder.

Eat on time

Eat three meals a day with balanced nutrition. The content of saturated fat in the diet should be low, and the content of fiber and calcium should be high to reduce the concentration of hydrophobic lithogenic bile acid in bile. Eating on time can reduce the saturation of cholesterol in bile and alleviate cholestasis by promoting gallbladder emptying. For patients receiving total parenteral nutrition (TPN), try to shorten the duration of total parenteral nutrition (TPN) and resume gastrointestinal nutrition as soon as possible.

Proper weight control

Overweight and obese people should lose weight, but weight loss should be gradual (<1.5 kg/month) to reduce the risk of bile stasis causing sludge formation. People who lose weight rapidly due to very low calorie intake or bariatric surgery should not consume less than 7-10 g of fat per day to ensure good gallbladder contraction and bile circulation function.

Regular physical activity

You should pay attention to proper physical exercise, such as swimming or running, to reduce obesity, avoid cholecystitis or gallstones, and go to the hospital regularly for gallbladder ultrasound examination.