Effect of a low-fat, low-protein, high- carbohydrate diet on gallstone formation in the hamster

Abstract

Abstract Many epidemiological studies support the assumption that diet is of great importance in the pathogenesis of cholesterol gallstones1, but its role in the origin and development of non-cholesterol gallstones is less clear. In humans, a low-fat, low-protein, high-carbohydrate diet seems to increase the development of pigment gallstones2. The purpose of this study was to explore therefore the effect of a low-fat, low-protein, high-carbohydrate diet on the formation of gallstones and their composition. Hamsters were used because gallstones induced in these animals can be either cholesterol or pigment, depending on dietary constituents3.