Coffee healthy drinking coffee can prevent gallstones in men

A survey of 46008 men between the ages of 40 and 75 who had no history of gallstones found that regular coffee drinkers had a lower risk of developing gallstones over the next decade than infrequent drinkers.

Men who drank an average of 2-4 cups of coffee a day had a 40% lower risk of developing stones than those who did not drink coffee, and a 45% reduction in risk for those who drank more coffee a day.

Drinking tea, decaf and low-calorie soft drinks had no such effect, the researchers reported.

In the study, researchers identified 1081 cases of gallstones, of which 885 required surgery to remove the gallbladder.

Gallstones are lumps formed in the gallbladder by cholesterol, calcium salts or bile. Small stones can be asymptomatic, but large stones hinder gallbladder movement, causing pain and inflammation. The researchers note that 20 million Americans suffer from stones and that 800000 people are hospitalized each year.

A team of researchers led by Michael F. Leitzmann, Ph.D., Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, believes that coffee can reduce the risk of stones in several ways, such as helping the gallbladder contract and empty.

They also noted that the phenomenon is common among men over the age of 40 in the United States.

"the obvious benefit of drinking coffee to prevent gallstones and the potential efficacy of coffee need to be further studied," Leitzmann and colleagues wrote.

"the overall health effects of coffee can vary according to the acute or chronic intake, the amount of coffee consumed, the source and type of coffee, the method of baking and making, tolerance, and so on. therefore, the medical advice of coffee drinking should be based on the individual health status of the patient.