Kidney Stones and Diet: How Much Protein Do You Really Need When On A Kidney Stone Diet?
Kidney stones and diet are intertwined. In fact, most stones can be prevented if you only follow a proper diet regimen. What I find most frustrating for a nurse like me is that kidney stones can be easily prevented, but the resources available to disseminate the information are insufficient.
Kidney stones form in the urinary tract when urinary concentrations of substances such as calcium oxalate, calcium phosphate, and uric acid increase. We call this super saturation and it depends on the amount of substance, the ionic strength and the pH of the urine.
Urinary stones represent around 328,000 hospital admissions each year. The appearance of urinary stones predominantly occurs between the third and fifth decades of life and affects men more than women. About half of patients with a single kidney stone have another episode within 5 years.
Through these alarming numbers you see above, it is only natural that we should discuss the relationship between kidney stones and diet. With this information in hand, we can follow this diet to prevent kidney stones and save ourselves a lot of trouble.
The best way to avoid stone formation is to drink plenty of water. In fact, this is the main treatment for kidney stones. Unless contraindicated, any patient with kidney stones should drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day. This is to keep the urine dilute and prevent supersaturation.
Another misleading information is the reduction of calcium. My advice is to restrict calcium in your diet unless directed by your healthcare provider. Reducing your calcium intake will eventually lead to more diseases like osteoporosis and could increase the risk of oxalic acid stones.
Reducing protein intake is recommended to decrease urinary excretion of calcium and uric acid. We want to reduce calcium excretion to prevent osteoporosis. A maximum of 6 ounces of protein (in a normal healthy individual) gives the body sufficient energy throughout the day. You need to consider the fact that protein doesn’t just mean meat, you can get it from vegetables too.
A healthy practice would be to have a “meat break” each week and select a day when you would only use beans, peas, and legumes as a protein source. In this way, you will reduce the family’s red meat diet and increase complex carbohydrates.
Kidney stones and diet can also be used to reverse the progression of any kidney disease. If used correctly, it will save the life of the patient.
