Dr. Simon of the University of California, San Francisco, stated that women with high levels of vitamin C in their blood are only half as likely to suffer from gallbladder disease as those with low levels. The researchers drew this conclusion after investigating 9,000 men and women regarding their age, race, gender, physical activity, smoking history, history of diabetes, alcohol consumption, use of diuretics and cholesterol-lowering drugs, and whether they had undergone a cholecystectomy or had a history of gallstones.
According to Dr. Simon, the role of vitamin C in preventing gallstones was initially suggested by animal experiments. Studies have shown that all guinea pigs deficient in vitamin C developed gallstones. The researchers hypothesize that vitamin C levels may affect the activity of a liver enzyme that converts cholesterol into bile acids. California researchers noted that no association was found between vitamin C levels and gallstones in men.