As the saying goes, “Eat a good breakfast, a full lunch, and a small dinner.” Why should we arrange it this way? Whenever we have eaten, after about 4 hours, the food will be completely emptied through digestion and absorption in the body. Therefore, in order to constantly replenish the body with energy, meals must be scheduled once every 4 to 6 hours. In the morning, when we feel especially refreshed after 8 hours of sleep, naturally the morning work and study are more efficient than the afternoon ones. However, many people in order to rush, breakfast “omitted”. If you do not eat breakfast, it will be easy to gallstones. Before talking about how gallbladder stones are formed, let’s introduce bile, which is closely related to gallstones. First, where does bile come from and where does it go? Bile is a digestive fluid. Since lipids are insoluble in water, they need to be dissolved and digested with the help of bile. Bile is continuously secreted by the liver and contains water, bile salts, cholesterol, bile pigments, phospholipids and other complex components, both fat-soluble and water-soluble. . Gallstones are called gallbladder stones when they grow in the gallbladder and bile duct stones when they grow in the bile duct. What are stones? How can stones grow in the stomach? There are two types of stones, gallbladder stones and bile duct stones, depending on the location of occurrence. The common stone components are cholesterol stones, bile pigment stones, and mixed stones. Cholesterol stones: These stones are mainly composed of bile solid enzymes, and the content of bile solid enzymes accounts for more than 80%. Cholesterol stones are white-yellow, gray-yellow or yellow in shape and size, ranging from small grains of sand to several centimeters in size, polyhedral, round or oval, hard, with smooth or uneven granular surface and radiolucent streaks. 80% of cholesterol stones are located in the gallbladder. Bile pigment stones: Bile pigment stones mainly contain bile pigment and are brownish-black or brownish-brown in color, varying in shape and size, and can be granular, elongated, or even tube-shaped, soft, fragile, and generally multiple. They are laminar in section and may or may not have a core. Loose and unshaped bile pigment stones, shaped like mud and sand, also called mud and sand-like stones, occur mainly in the bile ducts and are often associated with bile duct infections. Another type of black stone, black or brownish-black, hard, spherical, composed of insoluble black bile pigment polymorphs, various calcium salts and mucin, almost always occurs in the gallbladder and is commonly found in patients with hepatic sclerosis and hemolytic disease. Mixed stones: Mixed stones are composed of a mixture of bilirubin, cholesterol, calcium salts and other components. They have different shapes and colors depending on the proportion of the components they contain. They have a lamellar profile, with some having a radiolucent center and a lamellar periphery. Because they contain more calcium salts, they are often visible on x-ray. About 60% of mixed stones occur in the gallbladder and 40% in the bile ducts. What are the common reasons for the formation of gallstones? 1, related to obesity, weight more than 15% of the normal standard, the possibility of gallstones than normal people increased by 5 times. 2, chronic inflammation of the gallbladder, changes in the structure and function of the gallbladder mucosa. Under normal conditions, the gallbladder mucosa can absorb water, electrolytes and organic matter, and secrete mucus at the same time. When the movement of gallbladder contraction and bile evacuation is weakened, the result is that the bile accumulates in the gallbladder and the cholesterol “bubbles” are transformed into cholesterol monohydrate crystals, which are composed of bile sludge with bilirubin calcium ions and mucin. Biliary tract infection can also cause the biliary tract mucosa to secrete large amounts of glycoproteins, which can coalesce various precipitates together to form the matrix of stones. 3, diet is the main factor affecting the formation of gallstones, often diet and do not eat breakfast, easy to cause thick bile, bile composition ratio changes, bile stagnation, easy to form cholesterol crystals, day after day gradually formed stones. A good regular diet, on the other hand, is less likely to cause high cholesterol saturation in the bile of the gallbladder due to the contraction of the gallbladder and the discharge of cholesterol with the bile, while food stimulates the secretion of bile instead of stagnation in the gallbladder, making it less likely to form stones. The habits of eating sweets and high-fat diet can easily lead to imbalance of bile ratio and saturation of cholesterol. Therefore, it is correct to say that “patients with gallstones should eat less egg yolk” because egg yolk is high in cholesterol and triglycerides. 4, cholesterol metabolism disorders, pregnancy can promote the formation of gallbladder stones, and the number of pregnancies and the incidence of gallbladder stones is positively correlated. 5, after biliary conservation surgery or other surgeries caused by reduced gallbladder function or changes in bile excretion kinetics, bile stasis, can also promote stone formation. Fourth, why is it easy to get gallbladder stones without breakfast? The bile in the gallbladder starts to be stored after dinner, if the next day is not to eat breakfast, after about 12 hours of storage and concentration, the cholesterol in the bile is more saturated, easy to form cholesterol crystals, and gradually form stones day after day. In the case of normal breakfast, the cholesterol is discharged with the bile because of the contraction of the gallbladder, and the food stimulates the secretion of bile instead of accumulating in the gallbladder, so it is not easy to cause high saturation of cholesterol in the gallbladder, just like doing morning exercises for the gallbladder, which is not easy to form stones. V. How to prevent the occurrence of gallstones? Although gallbladder stones have a good incidence of the population (obese women over 40 years old), but through the adjustment of lifestyle habits for gallbladder stone prevention or have a positive effect. Regular diet: breakfast should not be skipped, regular eating (three meals a day) allows the bile to be discharged regularly and not to be overly concentrated, thus preventing the formation of stones. Reasonable diet: avoid high-fat, high-calorie eating habits, and maintain a good weight. Eating fiber-rich foods can improve the metabolism of cholesterol and help prevent stone formation. Vegetarians should take proper supplementation of lecithin: normal human cholesterol is mixed with bile salts and lecithin in a certain ratio in microgel-like suspension of bile, and when this ratio is disrupted, gallstones are easily formed. Some vegetarians do not consume enough lecithin, and the excess fiber in vegetarian diets prevents the reabsorption of bile acids, which reduces the concentration of bile salts in the bile, and should be properly supplemented with lecithin. Weight control: maintain the habit of exercise and avoid prolonged sitting, such as using computer for a long time, watching TV for a long time after dinner, etc.