Vitamin C study shows women who don’t get enough of it could get gallbladder disease

Associated Press

CHICAGO — A new study suggests another benefit to eating oranges: Women who don’t get enough vitamin C may be prone to gallbladder disease.

Though the study of 13,130 men and women doesn’t say vitamin C can prevent gallbladder disease, it “supports that hypothesis,” said Dr. Joel Simon, the lead author and an assistant professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of California-San Francisco. The findings appear in today’s Archives of Internal Medicine.

Smaller studies have found a similar association, and research has shown that vitamin C-deficient guinea pigs frequently develop gallstones.

Gallstones can form when bile, a liquid produced by the liver to help break down fats during digestion, becomes oversaturated with cholesterol.

The gallbladder is a pear-shaped sac beneath the liver where bile is stored. Disease can be characterized by gallstones, which can cause severe abdominal pain. Treatment may involve removal of the gallbladder.