Kidney Stone Diet – Reduce and Eliminate Kidney Stones

There are many disease conditions out there that can be prevented easily. Most of them are even self induced conditions which are caused by a sedentary lifestyle, bad dietary choices, and bad habits. With these preventable conditions, they actually come with consequence of discomforts and a lot of pain. Kidney stones or renal calculi is one medical condition which is primarily caused by the above mentioned. Kidney stones are classified differently based on its composition. There are actually five types of kidney stones and they are, calcium oxalate stones, struvite (magnesium-ammonium) stones, calcium phosphate stones, uric acid stones, and cystine stones.

Renal calculi can present itself with bloody urine and a whole lot of pain. A person with these type of stones will have to be treated with analgesics for pain and a change in dietary intake. Kidney stone diet may differ from one patient to another based on the type of stones they have. For those that have calcium oxalate stones, the goal of the diet should be to reduce dietary oxalate and increase hydration. Their dietary management would be acid ash diet including meats, whole grains, eggs, cheese, plums, prunes, and cranberries. The client is instructed to avoid foods high in oxalate such as spinach, tomatoes, celery, parsley, beets, asparagus, rhubarb, cabbage, okra, chocolate, tea, instant coffee and peanuts. Clients with calcium phosphate stones should reduce dietary calcium and this can be managed with dietary change by avoidance of foods high in calcium such as milk and other dairy products. For struvite (magnesium-ammonium phosphate) stones the goal of therapy is to control infection and the surgical removal of the stone.

The diet for these clients must be to avoid all foods which are very high in potassium such as red meats, organ meats, dairy products, and whole grains. Patients with uric acid stones should direct their therapy at reducing urinary concentration of uric acid and make urine more alkaline through the compliance of eating alkaline ash foods such as tea, milk, vegetables, fruits except plums, prunes and cranberries. Avoiding foods containing purine such as organ meats, boned fish, whole grain breads, red wine, and pastries should be observed. The client should then be encouraged to increase fluid intake to 2500-3000 milliliters per day. Lastly for cystine stones, the client should eat alkaline ash foods such as most fruits except for plums, prunes, cranberries, and vegetables. The client should always avoid foods that results in acidic urine to prevent the formation of future stones.

These are very detailed dietary instructions that a person with kidney stones should follow. Seeing the food types and restrictions can make you think that not all fruits and vegetables are healthy for people like these. Their dietary intake might differ but what they all have in common is the intake of adequate water daily. It is best to write all restrictions and recommendations in a list and refrain from eating in restaurants and fast foods. Since diet is a major concern for this condition, food should be prepared by someone who knows about the restriction because eating to the heart’s delight may ultimately end in a painful experience.