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The Kidney Stone Page |
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DIET
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When you read the usual recommendations on kidney stone diet, such as Dr. Peter Lim Huat
Chye’s excellent information located at http://www.sfcs.org.sg/urology/stone2.html, you
may dismiss it as just more health-food hype. You may be surprised, though — this kind of info is well supported
by medical studies.
 Whole Grains
Consider, for example, eating whole grain
bread and adding bran to your food. More
hype from the health nuts? Not
so. . . .in a study conducted at the Baylor College of Medicine Department
of Urology, researchers found that adding wheat bran to the diet resulted
in a dramatic decrease in stones. Click here
to read the abstract.
Veggies
This doesn’t necessarily mean that wheat bran is a cure-all. In fact, other studies suggest that most kidney stone sufferers
don’t get adequate dietary fiber—and whole grain products supply that,
but it can come from other sources as well. As researchers in University Hospital, Berne, Switzerland, point
out, stone patients typically have poor urine output (not enough water
again!) and low vegetable fiber intake. They recommend eating more veggies to help prevent stones.
Click here to read the abstracts. In other words,
whole grain products can help, but since fiber is
part of what you’re after, you can get it from vegetables, too. And, as this research infers,
most kidney stone patients aren’t eating enough vegetables.
Salt
You’ve heard the Great Salt Debate—some insist that salt is bad for you, others say that
everybody needs more of it. Common sense says that humans, along with other mammals, have
a natural craving for salt and need salt in the diet. You need to choose good salt, though, and follow the simple
practice of salting to taste—in other words, cook without salt and then
add salt at the table, to taste. Studies of the Hunzas showed that when they changed to refined salt, their good
health deteriorated. Examples of good salt? Unrefined sea salt and RealSalt
from a natural, unrefined salt source from ancient Lake Bonneville in Utah
(available at health food stores or from www.realsalt.com).
Medical research shows that people who overuse salt (which we would assume to be common table salt)
increase their risk for kidney stones. Click here to see the abstract
Seriously, you won't believe how good RealSalt tastes!
You'll become a fanatic if you try it once
Meat
In the same study that suggested eating more vegetables,
researchers found that reducing meat intake moderately helps reduce
stones. This doesn’t mean
going whole-hog vegetarian (pun intended), but rather it means eating a
moderate amount of meat and animal products, including eggs and dairy
food. Dr. Anthony J. Chichoke, in The Complete Book of Enzyme Therapy,
recommends that kidney stone sufferers should eat a diet comprised of
about 60% vegetables and fruits. In practical terms, if you look at your dinner plate, you should see almost
¾ veggies and whole grains, and a small helping of meat. That may mean a real lifestyle change for some of you, but the
research bears it out. Click
here to see the abstracts.
Sugar
You know by now that on the Standard American Diet, most people eat
up to 40% of their calories in sugar—sucrose—in all sorts of foods. We’re used to sweet stuff. But you may not
know that there are many studies which point to sugar as a very important risk factor for kidney stones.
The conclusion? To reduce stone formation, cut down, or even eliminate sugar. This may mean a huge lifestyle
leap for you! You’ll have to start reading labels (since lots of packaged foods contain added sugar); reducing
fast food (lots of sugar there; some writers call soda pop “liquid candy”); and getting used to things not
tasting quite so sweet. To get over the hump, you can try natural sweeteners in your food—honey, pure maple
syrup, maybe even brown rice syrup. . . For people who want to avoid sugars in general, for weight loss or
diabetic control, a wonderful alternative is the white powdered herbal extract Stevia, available at most health
food stores. Click here for studies about sugar and kidney stones.
Beverages
As you’ve read everywhere, you need to take more liquids in your
diet, especially water. Most kidney stone patients simply don’t
drink enough. Many say that they forget to drink because they don’t get thirsty. In that case, you
need to actually schedule your liquid intake to make sure you get enough.
In addition, research studies point to certain beverages as being
helpful in preventing stones:
Lemonade
For example, studies have shown that drinking two 16-ounce glasses
of homemade lemonade every day can help reduce stone formation. Many stone patients are told to drink
potassium citrate and
citric acid supplements every day to help prevent stone recurrence, but
after tasting one dose, very few actually do it! If you’ve tasted the
stuff, you may agree. Some can’t afford the ongoing cost, as well. However, the research shows that daily
lemonade can accomplish the same thing, and people will follow through with the lemonade. In the study,
kidney stone patients made the lemonade with reconstituted lemon juice from the grocery store, in a mild
dilution of a half-cup lemon juice (about a lemon and a half) to about two quarts of
water. In the study, patients did not sweeten the lemonade, but you
can add a little natural sweetener. Pure maple syrup tastes good with the lemon.
Click here to read the abstract about lemonade therapy.
Beer and Wine
Okay, this may sound like pure folklore, but scientific studies
point out that each bottle of beer you drink per day is estimated to
reduce kidney stone risk by 21-40%, depending on the study you cite. The reason? "Alcohol
suppresses [the] hormone that keeps the body from urinating," so you
urinate more often, according to Dr. Gary C.Curhan of the Harvard School
of Public Health in Boston. Wine
works just as well, he said: each
daily glass decreased the likelihood of stone formation by an average of
39%. In addition, each daily
8-ounce cup of decaffeinated or regular coffee reduced the likelihood of a
stone by 10%. This was the study that suggested that grapefruit juice might
increase kidney stones, but the results were not conclusive. Of course, your basic, everyday
beverage will be pure water. Click here to read the article.
Essential Fatty Acids
Research has shown that kidney stone sufferers are not getting enough
essential fatty acids. That seems highly likely—because most Americans
aren’t getting them in the diet. The ones you need (the omega-3
EFA's) occur in fish, cooked beans, and flaxseed—probably foods you
don’t eat a great deal. Evening primrose supplements have them,
too. A 1995 (animal) study showed that supplementing with fish oil
and evening primrose oil helped reduce stone formation. Click
here to see the research.
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This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
If you need medical attention, consult your health care professional.
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