Posted on 08/01/2022 9:50:25 AM PDT by Red Badger
Kidney stones illustration. Mayo Clinic researchers found that enriching diets with foods high in calcium and potassium may prevent recurrent symptomatic kidney stones.
Diets Higher in Calcium and Potassium May Help Prevent Recurrent Symptomatic Kidney Stones
Not only can kidney stones cause excruciating pain, but they also are associated with chronic kidney disease, osteoporosis, and cardiovascular disease. If you’ve experienced a kidney stone once, you have a 30% chance of having another kidney stone within five years.
Typically, doctors prescribe changes in diet to prevent recurrent symptomatic kidney stones. Unfortunately, there is little research available regarding dietary changes for those who have one incident of kidney stone formation versus those who have recurrent incidents.
A kidney stone is a solid, pebble-like piece of material that can form in one or both of your kidneys when your urine contains high levels of certain minerals.
Therefore, Mayo Clinic researchers designed a prospective study to investigate the impact of dietary changes. According to their results, enriching diets with foods high in calcium and potassium may prevent recurrent symptomatic kidney stones.
411 patients who had experienced first-time symptomatic kidney stones and a control group of 384 people participated in the study. Dietary factors were based on a questionnaire administered to the participants, all of whom were seen at Mayo Clinic in Rochester and Mayo Clinic in Florida between 2009 and 2018. The findings, which will be published today (August 1) in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, show that lower dietary calcium and potassium, as well as lower intake of fluids, caffeine, and phytate, are associated with higher odds of experiencing a first-time symptomatic kidney stone.
Of the patients who had first-time stone formation, 73 experienced recurrent stones within a median of 4.1 years of follow-up. Further analysis revealed that lower levels of dietary calcium and potassium predicted recurrence.
“These dietary findings may have particular importance because recommendations for preventing kidney stones have been based primarily on dietary factors associated with first-time rather than recurrent stone formation,” says Andrew Rule, M.D., a Mayo Clinic nephrologist and senior author of the study. “Patients may not be likely to adjust their diet to prevent an incidence of kidney stones, but they are more likely to do so if it can help prevent recurrence.”
Fluid intake of less than 3,400 milliliters per day, or about nine 12-ounce glasses, is associated with first-time stone formation, along with caffeine intake and phytate, the study finds. Daily fluid intake includes intake from foods such as fruits and vegetables.
Drink plenty of water if you have kidney stones unless otherwise directed by a health care professional.
Low fluid and caffeine intake can result in low urine volume and increased urine concentration, contributing to stone formation. Phytate is an antioxidant compound found in whole grains, nuts, and other foods that can lead to increased calcium absorption and urinary calcium excretion.
“Changing your diet to prevent kidney stones can be very difficult,” says Dr. Rule. “Thus, knowing the dietary factors that are most important for preventing kidney stone recurrence can help patients and providers know what to prioritize.”
Low dietary calcium and potassium was a more important predictor than fluid intake of recurrent kidney stone formation, says Api Chewcharat, M.D., the article’s first author and a postdoctoral research fellow at Mayo Clinic at the time of the study. “This is not to say high fluid intake is not important. We just did not find benefits of increasing fluid intake among those patients with a history of kidney stone formation.”
The study concludes that diets with daily intake of 1,200 milligrams of calcium may help prevent first-time and recurrent kidney stones. That daily intake is in line with the Department of Agriculture’s daily recommended nutrition.
While higher potassium intake also is recommended, the USDA does not make a recommendation for daily potassium intake. The study also doesn’t recommend an intake level.
Dr. Chewcharat says the takeaway is that patients should add more fruits and vegetables that are high in calcium and potassium to their diets. Fruits that are high in potassium include bananas, oranges, grapefruits, cantaloupes, honeydew melons and apricots. Vegetables include potatoes, mushrooms, peas, cucumbers and zucchini.
Reference: “Dietary Risk Factors for Incident and Recurrent Symptomatic Kidney Stones” 1 August 2022, Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
DOI: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2022.04.016
Co-authors with Drs. Rule and Chewcharat are Charat Thongprayoon, M.D.; Lisa Vaughan; Ramila Mehta; Phillip Schulte, Ph.D.; Helen O’Connor; and John Lieske, M.D. — all of Mayo Clinic — and Erin Taylor, M.D., of VA Maine Healthcare System. Dr. Schulte reports personal fees from OxThera Inc. outside the work on this study. Dr. Lieske reports grants and/or other fees from pharmaceutical and related companies identified in the article — all outside this study and all paid to Mayo Clinic. The other authors report no competing interests.
I used this.
Stone Breaker Chanca Piedra – Natural Kidney Cleanse & Gallbladder Formula – Detoxify Urinary Tract, Flush Impurities, Clear System – Hydrangea & Celery Seed Extract – 60 Vegetarian Soft Capsules https://a.co/d/3DZt44r
Amazing!
Check for possible medication interactions first.
B6 and Magnesium will prevent kidney stones. Just remember to take the B6 in the morning. Taking B6 at night may cause nightmares.
I take it that this sentence means low fluid and high caffeine intake...
there’s several sources that say drinking fresh-squeezed lemon juice several times per day (ie. citrates) helps dissolve stones
I’m trying that now.
Drinking craft IPAs high in Vitamin P helps too.
Good luck!
(I’d buy stone breaker and have it shipped overnight. You’ll have relief quickly and Get rid of stones. You can keep drinking lemon juice while you do it.)
The magic elixir, drink plenty of water.
I will give Chanca Piedra a try also - any port in a storm!
A glass of cranberry juice a day ought to do the trick.
It’s like drinking a glass of acid (a kind which doesn’t taste too bad), and no stone is going to survive that.
I drink a fair amount of cranberry juice. Never had a kidney stone (that I know of).
It gives me serious heartburn when I drink it.
Is that the name of it, Stone-Breaker?
2 problems with the study : 384 patients is too few to draw a conclusion. Second problem - the study is authored by Api Chewcharat, a Thai national first year MD student. Clearly desperate to make a splash in the medical publishing world, from a country rife with corruption and unfamiliar with high ethical standards. For both of these reasons, take this with a huge grain of salt.
I haven't had any problems with kidney stones. Like I did before my daily shot.
I take Magnesium and a multivitamin..............
Chanca Piedra (stone breaker in espanol)
The natural health community has been saying that for decades, but noooooooo….
The “scientific” medical community knew better and told people to reduce calcium. Until about 10 years ago.
Guess who was vindicated after all…..
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