Kidney stones and diet are intertwined. In fact, most stones can be prevented if you just follow a proper diet regimen. What I find most frustrating for a nurse like myself is that kidney stones are easily preventable, but the resources available to spread the word are insufficient.
Kidney stones form in the urinary tract when urinary concentrations of substances such as calcium oxalate, calcium phosphate, and uric acid increase. We call this supersaturation and it depends on the amount of substance, the ionic strength and the pH of the urine.
Urinary calculi account for about 328,000 hospital admissions each year. Urinary calculi occur predominantly in the third to fifth decades of life and affect men more than women. Approximately half of patients with a single kidney stone have another episode within 5 years.
Through these alarming numbers you see above, it’s only natural that we should discuss the relationship between kidney stones and diet. With this information in hand, we can follow this diet to prevent kidney stones and save us all a lot of trouble.
The best way to avoid having stones is to drink plenty of water. In fact, this is the main treatment for kidney stones. Unless contraindicated, any kidney stone patient should drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water daily. This is to keep the urine dilute and prevent supersaturation.
Another misleading information is calcium reduction. My advice is to restrict calcium in the diet unless directed by your health care provider. Reducing calcium intake will ultimately lead to more diseases, such as osteoporosis, and could increase the risk of oxalic acid stones.
It is recommended to reduce protein intake to decrease urinary excretion of calcium and uric acid. We want to decrease calcium excretion to prevent osteoporosis. A maximum of 6 oz of protein (in a normal healthy person) gives the body enough energy for the day. You have to consider the fact that protein doesn’t just mean meat, you can also get it from vegetables.
A healthy practice would be to have a “meat break” each week and select a day where you would only use beans, peas, and vegetables as your protein source. In this way, you will reduce the family’s red meat diet and increase complex carbohydrates.
Kidney stones and diet can also be used to reverse the progression of any kidney disease. If used correctly, it will save the lives of patients.