There are basically 4 types of kidney stones:
- calcium oxalate
- uric acid
- Struvite
- Cystine
These are formed by the reaction of various foods and chemicals that you intake daily. Either you can avoid these harmful food items, take necessary precautions or seek help from a medical practitioner.
Does your food contain stone-forming chemicals, i.e. oxalate, calcium, urate, xanthine, cystine, and phosphate? Then, it’s time to find out.
- Junk Food: We almost have these every day, and the list includes canned foods, packaged meats, fast foods, etc. These food items contain a lot of sodium or salt, which keeps them fresh for days. An abnormal amount of calcium in your urine and extra oxalate reacts to form stones in the kidneys.
- Black Tea: Yes, you read that right. The cup of beverage that you have every morning can lead to kidney stones. It is rich in oxalate, which, if consumed in heavy amounts, gets restricted within the body. And thus lead to stone formation.
- Chocolate: The list begins with dark chocolates, cocoa powder, cocoa beans, which contain an anti-nutrient called oxalate. As discussed above, this chemical is not favourable for the body if you intake it in high amounts.
- Animal Protein: Having too much animal protein can affect uric acid in your body, which is one of the prime compositions of kidney stones. The food list that you need to avoid includes red meat, pork, poultry, eggs, dairy products, sea-shell and every type of seafood. Further, animal protein is also responsible for the reduction in urinary citrate level. This chemical helps to prevent stone formation and thus increases the risk.
- Food items such as Strawberries, Spinach, Soy Milk, certain nuts (such as almonds, cashews), soybeans: These contain high amounts of calcium and sodium (the rate varies within each food). These react with oxalic acid and form calcium oxalate and calcium phosphate. Now, the body tries to drain these harmful chemicals, but when it reaches the utmost capability and fails to process, the result is kidney stone.
Recent studies have even shown that people who intake high doses of vitamin C (maybe in the form of medicine or supplements) are more prone to getting affected by kidney stones. Based on recent reports, the prevalence of kidney diseases, particularly kidney stones is about half a million globally, every year.
Other possible reasons for the formation of kidney stones are drinking inadequate amounts of water, obesity, and family history. These are directly proportional to kidney stone formation. Last but not least, you can also try following the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, which has proven to reduce the risk of kidney stones.
