How to Prevent Development of Kidney Stones

Anyone who had prior kidney stone will likely form another in the future. However, there are ways to prevent this from happening, as commonly said, prevention is way better than cure. One way to prevent the development of kidney stone is to make life style changes and the food that we take.

Lifestyle Changes You Should Adapt to Prevent Kidney Stone:

• Drink 8 to 13 glasses of water a day. Dehydration ie not drinking enough water when doing manual labor or indulging in sport, and family history are just a few of the reasons why stones occur. Drink enough water to avoid kidney stone formation in you kidneys, bladder or urethra.

• Control or limit the intake of calcium and oxalate-based foods. These food include apples, black pepper, chocolate, coffee, cheese, grapes, ice cream, vitamin C, yogurt, tomatoes and oranges, to name a few. Limit the intake of food high in calcium such as milk and dairy products.

• Control or limit the amount of animal protein eaten. This is to avoid the formation of uric acid stones. Uric acid stone are caused by eating too much animal protein particularly innards which are delicacies in some culture. That said, avoid foods that are high in uric acid.

• Limit salt intake. This is self explanatory. Salt is a component in the formation of some kidney stones.

• Limit supplemental intake of vitamin C and D. Consult the doctor before taking vitamin supplements.

• Limit alcohol consumption.

Consult your Doctor for further guidance. Do NOT arbitrarily reduce the calcium in your diet without talking to your doctor first! Studies show that limiting calcium in your diet may not stop kidney stones from forming and may harm your bones.

Type of Kidney Stones

It is best to find out what type of stone you got, so it can help which and what food to avoid, or limit. There are four main kinds of kidney stones. Each type has a different cause. Each may need a different kind of treatment or prevention. The four types are:

• Calcium-Oxalate: These are the most common kidney stones. They can be caused by eating too much calcium or vitamin D, some medicines, genetics and other kidney problems. Talk to your doctor about ways to stop these stones from forming. Do NOT limit calcium unless your doctor tells you to.

• Struvite: These stones affect women more than men. They can grow very large and may harm the kidneys more than other stones. Having kidney infections often may cause struvite stones.

• Uric Acid: These stones may be caused by eating too much animal protein or by genetics. To prevent uric acid stones from forming, try eating less red meat.

• Cystine: These stones are very rare. They are caused by cystinuria, a genetic kidney disease.

Ask your doctor about what kind of stones you have.

Source: www.kidneyfund.org, Photo courtesy of asktonythegardener.com