December 31, 2011
What to Do With Kidney Stones
As one gets older, lifestyles get busier, priorities change, and new problems arise. Sometimes people forget to drink water, causing a buildup of sediments–often calcium–in their urine. When the sediments build up too much this causes kidney stones which can be painful to pass. To avoid these painful inflictions, drink lots of water, but once inflicted with them there are a few dietary steps to be taken in order to avoid making the problem worse.
Once diagnosed with kidney stones, one should consider staying away from a compound called oxalate. Oxalate is the primary ingredient that binds with the calcium to create solid matter in the urinary tract. It's naturally found in most plants and animals, including human beings. Some foods contain more oxalate than others. On this list includes beans, beats, and green peppers. Spinach is one of the higher foods in oxalate, but peanuts, cocoa, tea, and coffee are also on the list. Excessive red meats and soft drinks have phosphoric acid which also induces kidney stones. Salt should also be avoided since it excretes further calcium into urine, adding to the solution of sediments that would create bigger stones.
There are things to actively do in order to avoid and hopefully break up the kidney stones. Foods with potassium citrate are protective against kidney stones and prevent their creation. Any sort of potassium would do, and can be found in fruits and vegetables. It's recommended to get calcium, vitamin B6, and some protein, preferably all from foods rather than taken in tablet format. The protein should come from a little bit of meat such as poultry or fish, but not red meat. Potassium is abundantly found in bananas, and one can find calcium in broccoli.
Kidney stones are terrible plagues to deal with, but they are avoidable and treatable if one does get diagnosed with them. With plenty of water, avoidance of red meat and foods high in oxalate, and eating more foods that replenish the body with vitamins, kidney stones don't have to be a problem.
Filed under Kidney Stones by on Dec 31st, 2011. Comment.











