Kidney stones are tiny stone like structures present in kidney. These stones develop when minerals such as calcium, phosphorus and oxalate gets excessively concentrated in urine. Human body needs food as energy source to perform various functions. Once the nutrients that are needed by the body are used, the waste excreted from it is released as urine.
It is found that certain foods play an important role in development of kidney stones in susceptible persons. At the same time the same foods may not form stones in a person who is not susceptible to it.
Kidney stones are found in four major varieties. The first and most common variety is calcium stones. They can be made up of calcium oxalate or calcium phosphate. The second variety of stones is called uric acid stones. Those susceptible persons whose diet consists of excess amount of protein, the risk of developing kidney stones are higher. The other forms of stone are struvite and cystine stones.
It is important to know the type of stone present so that the food particularly triggering stone formation should be avoided.
In order to verify which type of stone is present in kidney, the doctor may send the stone that has come out during urination for chemical analysis. The other way is to remove the stone surgically. Urine and blood test may also help to determine the type of kidney stone.
Foods To Avoid With Kidney Stones
The following are list of foods to avoid with kidney stones.
- Beans and Legumes
- Beet greens, Beetroot and Beets.
- Blackberries, Black Raspberries and Strawberries.
- Carob powder
- Celery
- Chard
- Cocoa, chocolate and chocolate drinks
- Dark leafy greens and Spinach.
- Draft beer
- Eggplant
- Endive
- Excessive amount of meat products.
- Fruit cake
- Gooseberries
- Green peppers
- Grits or white corn
- Leeks
- Nuts and nut butter
- Okra
- Parsley
- Peanuts and peanut oil
- Pralines
- Red currants
- Rhubarb
- Salt
- Soy products
- Summer squash
- Sweet potatoes
- Swiss chard
- Tea
- Wheat germ
Diet To Prevent Kidneys Stones
- Drink plenty of water since you have to dilute and pass toxins and unnecessary chemicals from your body. Drinking plenty of water would flush out waste products in your body and ultimately cleanse it.
- Have a diet that is low in fat and animal protein.
- You should also cut back on table salt and other forms of salt especially those that are included in your meals.
- Eat foods that are rich in calcium but avoid calcium supplements.
- Avoid eating sugary foods because they leech out calcium from the body.
- Avoid drinking alcoholic beverages, coffee, and tea since they are known to seep out water and calcium from the body thereby increasing the risk of kidney stones formation.