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Kidney Stones Diet – What to eat and what not to prevent kidney stones
Kidney stones are crystalline deposits of certain minerals and compounds that are supposed to be removed from our body through urine. When these crystalline structures are not sent out, they just grow in size and become even harder to be expelled from the body.
Based on the chemical composition, kidney stones are classified into different types such as Calcium Oxalate stones, Uric acid stones, Struvite Stones etc. To know more about types of kidney stones, please visit
- Kidney Stones – Calcium Oxalate stones (link to https://urogynecology.in/types-of-kidney-stones-part-1-calcium-oxalate-stones/)
- Types of Kidney Stones – Part 2 (link to – https://urogynecology.in/types-of-kidney-stones-part-2/)
Can you avoid kidney stones or prevent from recurring?
You can avoid kidney stones and also reduce the frequency of recurrence by making simple changes in what you eat, drink and how much you drink. In order to reduce the recurrence, you must also know what kind of stones were diagnosed and removed for you previously. You should be able to see this information in your medical reports or your urologist should be able to tell you.
Drink lots and lots of water and liquids.
We don’t mean to say that you should drink gallons of water at once but you need to keep yourself always hydrated. Drink at least 3 to 4 litres of water a day. This is in addition to the water content that your solid food provides your body. It is ok if you have to visit the restroom a couple of times more in a day but it will save you from a whole lot of pain and medical treatment costs.
Drinking water helps in flushing out the waste from your body through urine. The chances of moving out any crystalline structures that might be forming in your kidneys will be higher with the increased frequency of urination.
Drink plenty of citrus juices
Lemons, Oranges, Amla (Indian Gooseberry) etc have a lot of citric acid content. Consuming more citrates means reducing the odds of formation of kidney stones. Drink lemon juice at least once every day, eat Amla raw or dried or in any other form. Oranges are seasonal, have as many as possible when you get them.
Increase your uptake of Calcium
By calcium, we mean the biologically available calcium from fruits and vegetables but not the calcium supplements. Consuming calcium supplements helps in the formation of kidney stones but the naturally occurring calcium does the opposite.
Natural sources of calcium:
- Milk, Cheese and other dairy foods.
- Green leafy vegetables such as Okra (ladies finger), spinach etc.
- Sardines and Pilchards, if you love sea food.
- Oranges, Pears, Kiwi fruit, berries, Guava, Papaya etc are rich sources of calcium.
Eat less sodium and added sugars
Salt, contains sodium. High levels of sodium in the body removes more calcium from the body that helps in the formation of kidney stones. Cut down on sodium intake. Especially avoid restaurant food, fast foods or readymade foods as they contain salt. If you have to eat out, check with the chef if you can be served food with less or no salt.
Added sugars are also bad for your kidney health. Added sucrose, fructose increases your risk of kidney stones. Put a tab on how much cola you drink, how much cake or artificial sugar drinks you consume. Corn syrup, honey laced with sugar, brown rice syrup must be avoided.
Eat less animal fat and substitute it with plant based protein
Protein from meat, pork, chicken, fish or eggs increases the amount of uric acid that is sent out from the body. As the concentration of uric acid increases, the chances of formation of uric acid stones also increase. As an alternative, go for plant based proteins such as lenthils, pulses, whole seeds etc. Care needs to be taken when consuming more plant based food too. You have to check with your doctor if you can eat foods that are sources of oxalates. If you are a victim of calcium oxalate stones, you will be advised to avoid foods that contain oxalate. Oxalates bind with calcium in the body and form calcium oxalate stones.
Foods that are high in oxalates are:
- Chocolate
- Nuts
- Spinach
- Sweet Potatoes
- Beans
- Beer
- Coffee
- Cranberries etc
If you don’t have kidney stones so far, that’s great, keep drinking more liquids and citric juices to prevent them. If you are diagnosed with kidney stones, don’t worry, we are here to help you out. But, for kidney stones not to return, you will need to take care in what you eat and drink as said. If you have any other questions, talk to our world class urologists at our Chennai Clinic.