Preventing Kidney Stones Through Diet
Recent studies have shown that foods high in
calcium, including dairy products, may help prevent calcium stones. However, taking calcium supplements may increase the risk of developing stones. Therefore, doctors often advise patients to avoid food with added vitamin D and certain types of
antacids that have a calcium base.
People prone to forming calcium oxalate stones may also be told to cut back on certain foods, such as:
- Beets
- Chocolate
- Coffee
- Cola
- Nuts
- Rhubarb
- Spinach
- Strawberries
- Tea
- Wheat bran.
People should not give up or avoid eating these foods without talking to their doctor first. In most cases, these foods can be eaten in limited amounts.
In order to prevent uric acid stones, your doctor may recommend that you eat less meat, fish, and poultry, which increase the amount of acid in the urine.
(Click Gout Diet for more information about foods high in uric acid.)
Suggestions for Kidney Stones Prevention
- Drink 12 full glasses of water every day, which will help to flush away the substances that form stones in the kidneys.
- Limit your coffee, tea, and cola intake to one or two cups a day. Caffeine may cause you to lose fluid too quickly.
- Changes in your diet may be needed to prevent calcium and uric acid stones.
- Medicines may be needed to prevent calcium and uric acid stones.
- A family history of stones or a previous history of them may increase your risk of forming kidney stones.
- If you are at risk for developing stones, your doctor may perform certain blood and urine tests to determine how to reduce your risk.
- People with chronic urinary tract infections and kidney stones will often need to have problem stones removed. Patients must receive careful follow-up visits to be sure that the infection has cleared.
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