Back to gallstones....What might be the effects of red wine?

[Guest guest]

Hi, Will:

From what I have studied, a little bit of red wine is good for the GB, plus

stomach ailments. It's also good for the heart. I have a glass with dinner

every night. I had a 72-year-old friend who as a teenager had a bad home life.

She came up with tons of stomach ulcers and her doc put her on a little red

wine. After that she no longer had those problems. Maybe it's also the fact

that it relieved her stress. Well, even when she was in her 70s, she was

extremely active like horseback riding and swimming and still drinking her red

wine

at dinner.

Susie

[Guest guest]

> Date: Sat, 01 May 2004 15:07:56 -0000

> From: " Will Winter " <holistic@...>

> Subject: Back to gallstones....What might be the effects of red wine?

...........

> It's obvious that excessive consumption, chronic abuse, even occasional

> binge drinking wreaks havoc with the liver, but I have no idea what effect it

> has upon the GB. I do know cholesterol will dissolve in alcohol-based

> solvents.

FYI:

http://www.mercola.com/1998/archive/vitamin_c_and_alcohol_fight_gallstones.htm

Vitamin C and Alcohol Fight Gallstones

Gallbladder disease -- the formation of stones in the gallbladder,

affects up to 20 million Americans every year. Vitamin C

supplementation and regular alcohol consumption are linked to

reduced rates of gallbladder disease among postmenopausal women.

Among drinkers, ascorbic acid (vitamin C) supplement use was

associated with a 50% decrease in the prevalence of clinical

gallbladder disease but there was no similar benefit from vitamin

C in nondrinkers.

So why the effect? Experts have long known that moderate alcohol

consumption seems to have some protective effect against

gallbladder disease. And previous research has revealed that

vitamin C plays a key role in the metabolism of dietary

cholesterol.

Journal of Clinical Epidemiology (1998;51(3):257-265)

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

I feel that it is an enormous tragedy that so many gallbladders

are removed every year. Improving the diet and taking supplemental

taurine and whole beet concentrates (I use a supplement from

Biotics that has both called Beta TCP) can limit the gallbladder

symptoms in most patients. I can't tell you how many patients I

have seen that have had their gallbladders removed only to still

have their symptoms.

It is very rare for anyone to every have their gallbladder removed

if they are receiving appropriate nutritional interventions.

Please review issue #26 for specific reasons why you may NOT want

to consider increasing your alcohol intake.

However, like most things in life, many things in moderation

probably provide some beneficial effect. I believe the take home

message here is clear. I you are a female over 50 and drink

alcohol you should take vitamin C. My mom falls into that category

and has been on vitamin C for many years. However, she is quite

thin, and gallbladder disease is prevalent mostly in heavy women.

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