Gall Stones and the Metabolism/thyroid Connection

When I first discovered I had a gall stone in 2011, I was told by my doctor that women over 40 who have had multiple births often get them. The more I scoured the internet to discover if there were other contributing factors the more this was confirmed. But what is it about being female, being over forty and having had multiple children that puts us at higher risk? I don't have a conclusive answer but some things just keeping adding up and I wonder just how much the state of our metabolic health has to do with it.

Women over 40 and have multiple births often diet to lose unwanted weight.

Dieting; in the traditional method of eating less and exercising more Matt Stone says in Solving the Paleo Equation tends to lower not raise the metabolism. As I understand it, if metabolism lowers then thyroid function also lowers and the thyroid is part of the hormone triangle the keeps everything in balance. Once the balance it upset gall stones often form in the gall bladder.

"From my observations, the scenario is pretty straightforward. Stress lowers metabolism, and as metabolism gets progressively lower, stress hormones get progressively higher. We’re not talking small increases: Peaks in adrenaline can be thirty to forty times higher when metabolism is being suppressed through overzealous exercise, dieting, work stress, sleep loss, and other primary stressors."

Many of the stresses Matt mentions are common in woman over 40, here are a few more...the births themselves are a big source of stress on our bodies, demands of raising children, and accumulated toxic exposure from environmental sources like chemicals in food, EMF's, and cosmetics. Note what Matt has to say about EMF's (electromagnetic fields) from cell phones, Wifi, electronic equipment and Cell phone Towers. We have one on the roof of our apartment building three stories above us. not far enough away according to experts 500 feet minimum distance is needed to ensure safety form the electromagnetic field. Luckily for us we have plans already in place to move house to a place where there are no cell phone antennas on the roof.

"So what are these EMFs actually doing to our bodies to potentially cause so many different health issues? Here are the major processes discovered in the research: 

Creating interference in normal electrical communication between cells. This could disrupt cellular function anywhere and everywhere within the body, negatively impacting sleep, hormone production, brain function, immune function, and healing (regenerative) functions. 

Reducing melatonin production. This neurohormone and antioxidant is critical to sleep and protecting cells from genetic damage. 

Creating a state of chronic inflammation in the body, including causing the release of proinflammatory substances like histamines and cytokines as part of a protective mechanism. 

Overstimulating the immune system initially, then suppressing it over the long term. 

Raising cortisol and adrenaline levels, affecting sleep, immunity (and therefore autoimmunity), cardiovascular function, premature aging, and more. 

Locking cell membranes into an inactive state, preventing the release of toxins and free radicals. This may lead to DNA damage and a reduced ability to heal, both thought to be early steps on the road to development of cancer. Causing calcium ion efflux from the cells. This may be linked to neurological degeneration, cancer, heart arrhythmias, and more. 

Elevating blood sugar and blood viscosity (that is, making thicker blood), both of which increase risk of cardiovascular disease."

Combine the stress load with less food due to dieting and the factors for gall stones increase yet again. If stress rises during our 40's then our metabolism lowers. A lower metabolism looks like hypothyroidism which can lead to many issues of ill health one being the development of gall stones. Is the answer to a gall stone present in the gall bladder to simply remove the gall bladder or is there a better approach that will set our entire body back into better overall health and prevent further gall stones?

There must be.

Women who are over 40 naturally have a lower metabolic rate or thyroid issues.

The problem becomes even more compounded for women over 40 as our bodies naturally begin to slow down and our metabolism drops.

"While we cannot avoid at least some drop in metabolism as we age, at the very least we can minimize the rate at which it declines.   Unfortunately, many accelerate this process with various restricted diets, weight loss attempts, excessive endurance exercise, and many other flawed approaches that slow down the resting metabolism."

So my hope is that getting my metabolism/thyroid working up to par once again will shift the imbalance of hormones, relieve my body of stress (move house) and allow things to function much better in the future. Some say that when this is achieved then the body will resolve the gall stone that does exist and the body will be no longer produce more gall stones in the liver or the gall bladder.