The Importance of Breakfast for Gallbladder Health

It should be common sense that skipping breakfast may contribute to gallstone formation. Skipping breakfast is a poor dietary habit—not only from the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine, but also in modern medicine.

I use ChatGPT to search some studies:

Recent epidemiological research indicates a positive correlation between skipping breakfast and gallstone formation. A large U.S. study showed that delayed first meal time (e.g., skipping breakfast) was associated with higher gallstone prevalence (Sun et al., 2024) – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39737153/ PubMed Another analysis of NHANES data found that individuals with later breakfast patterns had increased gallstone risk compared to those who ate earlier in the day – https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-024-20512-x SpringerLink Additionally, a large prospective cohort study reported higher gallbladder and bile duct cancer risks (which are often linked to chronic gallstone pathology) among people who never ate breakfast – https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10465444/

I was thinking this should be common sense, especially for patients who already have gallstones. Doctors should educate them about the importance of eating habits. Even if they do not feel hungry in the morning, it is still beneficial to eat a small amount to establish a regular gastric acid secretion rhythm. Over time, this can help develop a “breakfast biological clock”, which may support better digestive and overall health.