Gallbladder Pain: Are Women At A Higher Risk?
If you’ve ever felt the deep, the excruciating pain of a gallbladder attack then you know how serious it is. In fact, many report that gallbladder pain is a par with that of giving birth when it comes to intensity. Gallbladder attacks result when hardened deposits of cholesterol or bilirubin crystallize and form stones in the gallbladder and liver of some individuals.
Gallstones have many contributing factors, including obesity, diabetes, heredity, Native American or Scandinavian heritage, and age. One of the most significant risk factors for gallstone formation, however, is being female.
Women At Higher Risk
Women often experience their first bout of gallbladder pain during pregnancy, when estrogen is running high. This is because estrogen is linked to higher cholesterol levels in the bile. Hormone replacement medications such as the birth control pill can be a major factor. Many women when experiencing menopause will be prescribed powerful hormone replacement drugs and these too can trigger gallstones to form.
For some people, gallstones remain silent and cause no issues at all. When they shift into a bile duct or block the gallbladder opening is when the pain begins.
Other risk factors include diabetes and certain cholesterol medications.
Gallstone pain will usually onset about 1-2 hours after a meal. The pain may be felt in the upper, right abdomen, radiate through to the back or even to the right shoulder. Pain can spread to the chest and this leads many women who experience it for the first time to rush to the ER, thinking they ae having a heart attack. Luckily, the gallstones they have are not life threatening, but when a person has suffered one attack, they become quite motivated to prevent more.
Reduction Of Gallbladder Symptoms
Here are some good first steps to reducing gallbladder pain and preventing further issues.
Eliminate processed food from your diet. This means packaged desserts, cookies, cakes etc. These foods are high in sugar but also high in hydrogenated or trans fats. High fat food in general will trigger gallbladder attacks if you have a gallbladder full of stones, and fried food in particular tends to cause issues shortly after eating.
Many women are targeted for dieting ads and weight loss miracle promises. Beware of crash dieting, fasting and starvation diets. Low fat or fat free diets can be a problem too. This is because the gallbladder needs to contract regularly to keep bile moving freely. If you do not consume fat, the bile contents become thick and sluggish. Biliary sludge can crystalize to stones, and the sludge, being hard to move, can cause just as much discomfort.
Replace unhealthy fats with coconut oil, olive oil, flax, wild caught fish, avocadoes, eggs, grass fed dairy, nuts and seeds. As well, green leafy vegetables are very useful for improving gallbladder health, increasing bile flow and supporting the liver. Vegetables in the broccoli family are particularly good at balancing hormones and keeping your estrogen at the right levels.
Your daily exercise matters. If you are a woman, try to get exercise daily as this has been shown to reduce the risk of forming gallstones.
Dealing With Gallbladder Pain: What To Do
Gallstones and sludge can be dissolved and passed thru natural means that do not involve surgery or potentially dangerous drugs. An all natural gallbladder treatment is the Pulverexx Protocol. It dissolves calcified and cholesterol gallstones that are found in the liver gallbladder and bile ducts.
