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Take
some steps to avoid kidney stones
February 01, 2007
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
Are
you prone to kidney stones? If so, some dietary changes may
help prevent a recurrence.
Kidney stones form when minerals and other substances in urine
crystallize and clump into hard masses or stones. A number
of factors may cause this to happen, including urinary tract
infections, kidney disease and various inherited disorders
or conditions that favor the formation of stones. Foods aren’t
likely to cause stones to form, though, unless you are already
susceptible to them.
Kidney stones travel through narrow tubes that deliver urine
from the kidneys to the bladder. Tiny stones may pass through
these tubes, or ureters, without symptoms, but larger stones
can cause excruciating pain in the back, side or abdomen.
Symptoms may also include nausea, vomiting, blood in the urine,
and fever and chills if an infection has developed.
Who’s most likely to develop kidney stones? Middle-aged
men, but they can occur in adults of all ages. When they do,
the treatment varies. Most small stones don’t require
medical intervention, but larger stones that cause persistent
pain or other complications may be treated with a variety
of techniques, none of which typically involve surgery. (For
more detail about kidney stones, go to the National Kidney
and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse at http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov.)
Drinking plenty of water – up to 2 or 3 quarts per day
– can help flush a kidney stone out of the ureter and
into your bladder. Other than drinking plenty of fluids, though,
your diet is likely to be more helpful in preventing future
stones than in treating the ones that already exist.
Specific recommendations depend on the type of stones you
form. Medications may be necessary in some cases, too. Blood
and urine tests – or analysis of a stone that’s
been passed and saved – can help determine dietary changes
that may help. The vast majority of kidney stones, though,
are composed of calcium and oxalate – a component of
some fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes.
And contrary to what you might guess, you don’t have
to restrict your intake of calcium-rich foods to prevent calcium
oxalate stones (although calcium supplements taken between
meals may increase the risk of stones).
It’s more important to reduce the amount of salt and
sodium-rich foods you eat, including salty soups, condiments,
fast foods and processed foods, and cut back on animal proteins,
especially meat, cheese, eggs and poultry. Sodium and animal
proteins cause you to lose calcium in your urine and may contribute
to the formation of kidney stones.
People prone to forming calcium oxalate stones also need to
limit foods high in oxalates. Those include: chocolate, nuts,
rhubarb, spinach, peanut butter, dark leafy greens, strawberries,
wheat germ, soy foods, and sesame seeds. Unfortunately, most
of these high-oxalate foods are also super-nutritious, the
kinds of foods most of us need to eat in greater amounts.
Your health care provider will give you individualized advice,
and it’s likely you’ll be able to eat some –
but not a lot – of these otherwise-good-for-you foods.
More water, less sodium, less animal protein. Perhaps you
recall hearing that advice from me before. That’s because
the same recommendations that help prevent kidney stones generally
reduce the risk of other chronic diseases and conditions,
too.
Eat a diet rich in whole, unprocessed foods, reduce your reliance
on protein-heavy and fatty animal products, watch the sodium
and added sugar and get regular exercise. It’s a prescription
for overall good health.
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