How to Spot the Connection Between Kidney Stones and Diet
Kidney stones and diet are intertwined. In fact, most kidney stones can be prevented if you
only follow a proper diet regimen. What I find most frustrating for a nurse like me is that kidney stones can be
easily prevented, but the resources available to spread the information are insufficient.
Kidney stones are formed in the urinary tract when urinary concentrations of substances such as calcium oxalate,
calcium phosphate, and uric acid increase. We call this supersaturation and this is dependent on the amount of
substance, ionic strength and pH of the urine.
Urinary stones account for about 328,000 hospital admissions each year. The occurrence of urinary stones occurs
predominantly in the third to fifth decades of life and affects men more than women. About half of patients with a
single renal stone have another episode within 5 years.
Through this alarming numbers you see above, it is but natural that we should discuss the relationship between
kidney stones and diet. With this information on hand, we can follow this diet to prevent kidney stones and save us
all a lot of trouble.
The best way to prevent kidney stone is to drink lots of water. In fact, this is the mainstay treatment for
kidney stones. Unless contraindicated, any patient with renal stones should drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of
water daily. This is to keep the urine diluted and prevent supersaturation.
Another mislead information is reducing calcium. My advice is do not restrict dietary calcium unless instructed by
your health care provider. Lowering your calcium intake will ultimately lead to more disease conditions such as
osteoporosis and it might increase the risk of oxalic acid kidney stones (thus reversing your purpose of decreasing
calcium intake!).
Lowering protein intake is recommended to decrease urinary excretion of calcium and uric acid. We want to lower
calcium excretion to prevent osteoporosis.. A maximum of 6 oz of protein (on a normal healthy individual) gives the
body enough energy during the day. You need to consider the fact that protein does not only mean meat, you can also
get them from vegetables.
A healthy practice would be to have a “meat break” each week and select a day that you would only use beans, peas,
and legumes as your protein source. This way, you will lower down the family's red meat diet and increase complex
carbohydrates.
Now that you have read this article, you can now see the connection between kidney stones
and diet. I hope that you will share this diet for kidney stones to others and help prevent the occurrence of a
truly preventable disease.
More resources:
Kidney Disease Diet
Diet to Prevent Kidney Stones
|