An ounce of prevention keeps the stones away

MANILA, Philippines - The best time to practice prevention is when you feel perfectly fine. Disease prevention is about having a healthy lifestyle — eating healthy food in the right amounts; having enough rest by adopting good sleeping habits; supplementing nutrition with health-enhancing vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants; embracing a positive outlook in life; indulging in healthy social activities; and having enough exercise.

Failure to have a healthy lifestyle would surely lead to contracting diseases, sooner or later. When the first stage of a disease creeps in, you are bothered by an uncertain feeling that your body seems out of balance. Seemingly not-so-serious inflammations, infections, and not-within-range hormone levels begin to set in. At the second stage, a doctor may still be needed to find what’s wrong with you because you feel okay.

However, when stage three sets in, the symptoms become more visible — they are now alarming. You begin to feel ill, experience pain, or have difficulty breathing or moving.

If we are not health conscious, one of the most battered and uncared for organs in our body is our gall bladder. Too much alcohol, fatty foods, and spices; exposure to toxins and estrogen-containing pills; and stressful habits that cause hormonal imbalances are the culprits that continually hurt our biliary systems. When there is an imbalance of substances within the bile (e.g. too much cholesterol), the risk of gallstone formation is high.

The presence of gallstones exposes a person to risks of contacting jaundice; inflammation of the gall bladder, bile duct, and the pancreas; gall bladder cancer; and obstruction of the intestine. These diseases can be avoided if we eat right, live right, and give special care to our gall bladders. Therapeutic supplements that are rich in highly purified terpenes can help in preventing the formation of gallstones and, in many cases, can help dissolve existing gallstones. Terpenes helps lower cholesterol levels in the bile and aids in natural insulin production.