Fruits and Veggies Reduce Risk of Gallstones

The more fruits and vegetables you eat, the less likely they are to develop gallstones that require surgical intervention. After following more than 77,000 women for 16 years, Harvard researchers found that when daily meals included lots of leafy greens, citrus fruits and other foods rich in vitamin C (tomatoes, red pepper, broccoli), the risk of surgery to remove painful gallstones was 21 percent lower than in women whose intake of fruits and vegetables was minimal. Women who consumed the most fruits and vegetables typically ate seven or more servings a day; those who ate the least, reported less than three servings a day. Don’t get the idea that the vitamin C in the fruits and vegetables was entirely accountable for the protective effect. The researchers said that the interaction between various nutrients was probably responsible and suggested that dietary fiber and such minerals as magnesium may play key roles. The Harvard study was published in the September 2006 American Journal of Medicine.