Lisa Barger's Alternative Medicine

Gallstones show up in about 30% of all women and perhaps as many as 15% of all men but a new study finds that regular vigorous exercise can help keep these painful formations from developing in the first place.

Gallstones form in your gallbladder and most are made of cholesterol that has hardened naturally. Most gallstones stay put in your gallbladder and never cause any problems at all. However sometimes they cause inflammation, infection and severe pain. Thousands of Americans have their gallbladders removed every year because of them.

But the researchers behind this new study say that if we all went from our current level of physical activity to just one level higher, we could reduce our risk of developing gallstones by about 17%. What does that actually mean? Well, let’s say you’re a person who sits at a desk all day and gets essentially no real exercise. If you were to find enough time to spend just 30 minutes walking on a treadmill, that might be enough, these scientists say, to reduce your risk of gallstones.

And if you were to exercise about an hour a day—even if you lived an otherwise “sedentary” life—your risk might be reduced by as much as 70%.

So what else can you do to prevent gallstones? Well the researchers behind this study also looked at data on alcohol consumption. They found that “moderate” drinking reduced the risk of gallstones by as much as 30%.

Source:

Banim, P., et al. (2010). Physical activity reduces the risk of symptomatic gallstones: a prospective cohort study. European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology.