Diet for Kidney Stones

Kidney and bladder stones cause excruciating pain, tend to recur, and are distressingly common. Roughly 10 percent of persons in the world will have at least one stone in the course of their lives. The disorder has a long history. Stones have been found in Egyptian mummies and have been mentioned in histories of Babylonia and ancient China.

What are Kidney stones?

A kidney stone is a hard mass developed from crystals that separate from the urine within the urinary tract. Normally, urine contains chemicals that prevent or inhibit the crystals from forming. However, These inhibitors do not seem to work for everyone, so some people form stones. If the crystals remain tiny enough, they will travel through the urinary tract and pass out of the body in the urine without being noticed.

What are the types of Kidney stones?

Here are a few types:

• Calcium oxalate stones are the most common type of kidney stone, occurring in about 80% of cases. Common sense has long held that consumption of too much calcium could promote the development of calcium kidney stones. However, current evidence suggests that the consumption of low-calcium diets is actually associated with a higher overall risk for the development of kidney stones. This is perhaps related to the role of calcium in binding ingested oxalate in the gastrointestinal tract. As the amount of calcium intake decreases, the amount of oxalate available for absorption into the bloodstream increases; this oxalate is then excreted in greater amounts into the urine by the kidneys. Calcium oxalate stones form when ingested oxalate combines with calcium present in the urine.

• Calcium phosphate stones are less common. The formation of calcium phosphate stones is associated with underlying health conditions such as hyperparathyroidism and renal tubular acidosis. They usually have a smooth surface, are hard and grow to a large size and can damage the kidneys.

• Uric acid stones are more likely to form when the urine is persistently acidic and there is excessive uric acid in the blood and/or in the urine, which may result from a diet rich in animal proteins and purines, substances found naturally in all food but especially in organ meats, fish, and shellfish. Other common causes of high blood uric acid levels are gout and certain metabolic disorders.

• Struvite stones are associated with urinary tract infections. Preventing struvite stones depends on staying infection free. Diet has not been shown to affect struvite stone formation. Women and children are more susceptible to forming these stones than men.

• Cystine stones result from a rare genetic disorder that causes cystine, an amino acid and one of the building blocks of protein, to leak through the kidneys and into the urine to form crystals.

What are the Symptoms of Kidney Stones?

Common symptoms include:

• Pain in your side and back, below your ribs,
• Episodes of pain lasting 20 to 60 minutes, of varying intensity,
• Pain "waves" radiating from your side and back, to your lower abdomen and groin,
• Bloody, cloudy or foul-smelling urine,
• Pain with urination,
• Nausea and vomiting,
• Persistent urge to urinate,
• Fever and chills (indicates an infection is also present).

What diet is recommended for Kidney stones?

Here are a few dietary modifications to help you fight Kidney Stones:

• Drink more liquids
  

  Drinking 8-10 glasses of liquid each day helps to keep the urine dilute - which reduces the concentration of stone forming minerals in the urine. At least half of the liquid should be water; the other liquids could be any beverages you like.

• Reduce the amount of salt you eat
  

  Reducing the salt (sodium) in the diet helps to reduce the amount of calcium in the urine that in turn reduces the tendency for calcium stone formation. Dietary salt reduction is best accomplished by not adding salt to your food and by avoiding those high sodium foods such as processed meats, salty convenience foods (regular, boxed or canned soups, noodle or rice mixes) and salty snacks.

• Be sure your diet contains adequate amounts of calcium
  

  Several years ago it was believed that dietary calcium should be restricted in patients with calcium kidney stones. At least two scientific studies now show that the inclusion of at least two servings of high calcium foods per day in the diet actually reduces the rate at which calcium-containing kidney stones form. People who form calcium oxalate stones should include 800 mg of calcium in their diet every day, not only for kidney stone prevention but also to maintain bone density. A cup of low-fat milk contains 300 mg of calcium. Other dairy products such as yogurt are also high in calcium.

• Avoid those foods which can increase the amount of oxalate or uric acid in the urine
  

  Oxalic acid or oxalate is found mostly in foods from plants. But only a few have been shown to increase the amount of oxalate in urine. They are rhubarb, spinach, strawberries, chocolate, wheat bran, nuts, beets, and tea. Avoiding these foods may help reduce the amount of oxalate in the urine. Eating foods containing calcium also reduces oxalate in the urine. Calcium binds oxalate in the digestive tract so it is not excreted into the urine.

• Vitamin C
  

  The body converts vitamin C into oxalate that increases kidney stone formation. Therefore, if the physician has recommended reducing oxalate in the diet, taking vitamin C supplements may not be a good idea. Doctors recommend no more than 500 milligrams each day for people who have had kidney stones. A person who has a tendency to form kidney stones should consult a doctor or dietitian before taking large doses of vitamins or minerals.

• Sugar and animal protein
  

  It has been found that too much of these may also aggravate the development of calcium or calcium oxalate stones. Some sugars occur naturally in foods and that is not a concern. However, people who get kidney stones may benefit from avoiding packaged foods with large amounts of added sugars, and from reducing sugars added in food preparation and at the table.

  Meats and other animal proteins - such as eggs and fish - contain purines, which break down into uric acid in the urine. Foods that are especially rich in purines include organ meats, such as liver. Nondairy animal proteins may also increase the risk of calcium stones by increasing the excretion of calcium and reducing the excretion of citrate (citrate prevents kidney stones) into the urine. Therefore, people who tend to develop kidney stones should avoid eating more protein than the body needs each day.

• Insoluble fiber
  

  Fiber is the indigestible part of plants. There are two types of fiber: soluble (dissolves in water) and insoluble. Both provide important functions in the body, but it is insoluble fiber (found in wheat, rye, barley, and rice) that may help to reduce calcium in the urine. It combines with calcium in the intestines, so that the calcium is excreted with the stool instead of through the kidneys. Insoluble fiber also speeds up movement of substances through the intestine, so there will be less time for calcium to be absorbed.

So make a habit of eating fruits and vegetable daily in your food. It will surely help you to cure the existing kidney stones as well as prevent you from future kidney stone problems.