Dietary and lifestyle recommendations for preventing kidney stones
Kidney stones, also known as nephrolithiasis or renal calculi, are hard deposits of minerals that may develop in the kidneys due to a multitude of reasons. This condition can cause a lot of pain and pressure for the patient, but some may not experience any symptoms. However, not all kidney stones need to be removed. The treatment plan will depend on the type of stone, the severity of the condition, and symptom duration.
Symptoms such as fever and chills, nausea and vomiting, haematuria (blood in urine), and severe abdominal pain may occur as a result of kidney stones, requiring immediate medical attention. So, can you prevent kidney stones from occurring and what dietary changes or lifestyle modifications can you adopt to reduce your risk of getting kidney stones? Yes, you can reduce the risk of getting kidney stones and there are certain changes and practices that you can follow to lead a healthy, kidney stone-free life. Read on to find out more!
Dietary advice
When it comes to health and overall well-being, the diet plays an integral role in providing the required nutrition and energy to go about your daily routine as well as with helping to regulate the immune system to keep disease at bay. A well-balanced diet packed with all the necessary nutrients is also essential in slowing down or preventing the progression of several kidney diseases, including kidney stones. But in addition to a healthy diet, what other dietary changes should you follow? Let’s take a look!
Water
The first and most important thing you can do to prevent kidney stones from occurring is to drink lots of water. Adequate hydration helps by making the urine more diluted. Concentrated urine may lead to saturation of minerals, resulting in the formation of stones. Therefore, the more concentrated your urine is, the higher are your chances of developing kidney stones. Inadequate hydration, is in fact, one of the most common causes of kidney stones. This leads to the question of how much water one should drink each day. Well, while there is no definite number, it is estimated that an individual should drink at least 8-ounce glasses of water per day, but the required amount may change depending on factors such as gender, lifestyle (active or sedentary), weight, and health condition.
Furthermore, you can drink other fluids like green tea, coconut water, and other healthy beverages to prevent dehydration.
Dietary calcium
While calcium tends to get a bad name, it is not your enemy – this misconception may largely be due to the fact that many believe that calcium causes calcium-oxalate stone formation. But this is not true. Actually, inadequate calcium can increase the risk of kidney stone formation. So, try to incorporate sufficient dietary calcium such as dairy, tofu, kale, spinach, salmon, soybeans and many other options to lower the risk of calcium stone formation.
Having said this, it is important to make sure that you avoid taking any additional calcium supplements unless instructed by your physician.
Protein
While protein is an essential nutrient that is required for the structure, function, and regulation of body tissues and organs, excessive protein has been linked to the formation of kidney stones. Therefore, you must not overload your protein intake. Generally, individuals should not consume more than 80 grams of protein per day.
If you are suffering from kidney stones, your doctor may advise you to be more cautious of your daily protein intake.
Sodium
A diet that is high in sodium is more likely to increase the amount of calcium in your body. This can stimulate the formation of kidney stones, especially if you are susceptible to the condition. Therefore, it is advised that you try to keep your sodium intake below 2,300 milligrams per day. In addition, a low-salt diet is beneficial in lowering your blood pressure.
Sodium is a component of salt and can be found in an array of different foods, especially in processed food, certain meats, and condiments as well. So, try to avoid consuming such foods on a regular basis.
Oxalate
Many foods, including fruits and vegetables, nuts, legumes, grains and tea, contain oxalate. But this does not mean that you avoid these foods. A majority of kidney stones are formed when oxalate binds to calcium while urine is produced by the kidneys. So, if you consume more oxalate-rich food and calcium, they will bind to one another in the digestive tract before it reaches the kidney.
This will reduce the chances of the kidney from processing these compounds, thereby reducing your risk of kidney stone formation.
Meat
While excessive red meat isn’t great for your kidney health as well as overall well-being, other animal proteins, such as eggs, chicken, pork, and fish, must be consumed in moderate quantities. While you do not have to avoid eating meat, it is recommended that you limit your meat intake to about 8 ounces per day. You could also replace certain meat and animal protein with plant-based foods that are high in protein and low in oxalate.
However, if you are worried about your meat consumption, speak with a medical professional about how much protein you should consume overall and whether it should primarily come from animal or plant sources.
Fruits and vegetables
It is no mystery that fruits and vegetables contain a rich source of essential vitamins and minerals that can help in lowering the risk of many chronic diseases like hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and sometimes even cancer. A healthy diet with a good source of fruits and vegetables can also help with reducing the development of kidney stones.
This is achieved by enhancing the formation of urinary citrate, which helps prevent calcium from congregating in your urine.
Vitamin C
While it is recommended that you have a daily intake of 60 milligrams of vitamin C per day, you must refrain from exceeding a daily intake of over 1000 milligrams. This is because excess vitamin C can lead to the production of more oxalate in the body. However, these reference intakes are for external vitamin C supplements only. You may consume foods that are naturally high in vitamin C as they are more active and easily absorbed.
Foods that are rich in vitamin C include fruits such as oranges, kiwi, strawberries, lemon, and grapefruit and vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, kale, brussels sprouts, and various other cruciferous vegetables.
Lifestyle modifications
Certain factors, such as obesity, weight loss surgery, family history of kidney stones, some infections and health conditions, as well as excessive or insufficient exercise, can play a role in the formation of kidney stones. Therefore, maintaining a healthy weight while following an active lifestyle is crucial. If you have a kidney stone, carrying out low-intensity exercises like walking, jogging, swimming, or cycling may help with passing the stone easily from your urinary tract. However, for patients that have severe persisting symptoms or larger kidney stones, kidney stone removal may be advised.
There are a number of kidney stone removal options in Singapore, from medical kidney stone removal treatments such as MET (medical expulsion therapy) and oral chemolysis to surgical kidney stone removal options in Singapore such as shock wave lithotripsy (SWL), ureteroscopy (URS), and many more.
Contact Assure Urology & Robotic Centre – Meet with an experienced Senior Consultant Urologist
Would you like to learn more about kidney stones and kidney stone removal? Need more advice on how to prevent kidney stones? Get in touch with Dr Terence Lim – the Medical Director and Senior Urologist at Assure Urology & Robotic Centre. He has been involved in public health care for over 20 years and is a strong advocate for improving the lives of his patients with enhanced clinical outcomes coupled with secure technologies and clinical initiatives.
Reach out to the team at Assure Urology & Robotic Centre and get an appointment today.