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Drinking Coffee and Preventing Gallstones
Your gallbladder stores bile, the liquid produced by the liver
to
digest fats. Gallstones, hard masses of cholesterol and protein,
are the most common digestive-related cause of hospitalization
in
the United States, with symptomatic gallstone disease affecting
more than 20 million Americans annually.
A 10-year study (1986-1996) examined the possibility that
coffee
could reduce the risk of gallstone formation. The study, published
by the Journal of the American Medical Association, gathered
data
from more than 45,000 men and found a decreased risk of symptomatic
gallstone disease associated with higher intake of regular
(caffeinated) coffee. Subjects who drank no coffee or only one
cup
per day had a higher risk compared with those who drank four
or
more cups per day.
Does that mean you should run down to your local coffee shop
and
start chugging the 64-ounce cafe mochas? Of course not. As the
authors of the study note, "clinical recommendations on
coffee
consumption should be based on patients' individual health risks
and benefits." In other words, ask your doctor for more
information.
Letzmann MF, Willett WC, Rimm EB, et al. A prospective study
of
coffee consumption and the risk of symptomatic gallstone disease
in
men. Journal of the American Medical Association, June 9, 1999:
Vol. 281, No. 22, pp2106-2112.
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