Nutrition Recommendations to Prevent Kidney Stones: Realistic Dietary Goals and Expectations

-

There is no standard diet to prevent kidney stones because there are various types of kidney stones and risk factors associated with each one of them. In order to provide individualized nutrition therapy, dietitians need to look at the medical history, current/past dietary pattern, type of stone, 24-hour urine parameters, and medications.

The followings are some types of kidney stones:
·      Calcium oxalate stones (which is caused by: high urinary calcium excretion, high urinary oxalate excretion, low urinary citrate/magnesium excretion or low urine volume.
·      Calcium phosphate stone (which is caused by: high urinary calcium excretion, low urinary citrate excretion, high urine pH, or low urine volume)
·      Uric acid stones (which is caused by: genetic problem, or some diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and sickle cell disease. These might result in high urinary uric acid excretion, low (acid) urine pH, or low urine volume)
·      Cystine Stones (occur genetically where the kidney is unable to filter the cystine. May need to control the methionine in diet)

Dietitians need to check for excessive sodium intake, high acidic food, excessive calcium intake, magnesium deficiency, or medications that causes hypocitraturia. Dietitians also need to check contributing health conditions that might affect urine PH such as obesity or insulin resistance. Weather the stones resulted from dietary factor or not, diet plays important role in treating/preventing the occurrence/recurrence of kidney stones. It is essential for the RD to know the stone composition and the associated causes and risk factors.


A.K.B


Penniston, K. L. (2015). Nutrition Recommendations to Prevent Kidney Stones: Realistic Dietary Goals and Expectations. In Kidney Stone Disease (pp. 187-200). Springer International Publishing.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Are All Sugars Created Equal?

-
Image
Are All Sugars Created Equal?  I think one of the most confusing nutrition topics for people is sugar. With so many conflicting stories out there, it’s difficult to separate the facts from the fiction. Not to mention, the types of sugars are endless. How do we know what’s best for our bodies? White or brown sugar? Cane or raw? Should we just go with Stevia instead? Is it even okay to consume artificial sweeteners? Should we avoid foods with high amounts of natural sugar in them? Each answer only seems to lead to another question!  Let’s start off with distinguishing the purpose of sugar in the first place. Do our bodies even need it? The short answer is yes! Sugars are carbohydrates (what we commonly call “carbs”), one of the three main macronutrients that our bodies need for fuel to function and survive. One of the major ways to categorize sugar is by separating the “natural” sugars from the “added” sugars. Natural sugars are, well, naturally found in foods. They give us the energy th
Read more

Milk Mythbusters

-
Image
Just like with any nutrition topic, the facts about milk can become convoluted pretty quickly. Whether you drink milk for the protein, the nutrients, the flavor, or just like to switch it up, there are pros and cons to every kind. Here are some quick nutritional facts about each type to help you decide which is best for you. Animal-Based Milks  Whole Milk: The original diary drink. It gets a bad rap, but what whole milk has going for it, is that it’s in its proper nutritional form. Whole milk contains all of its original fat-soluble vitamins, A, E, D, & K, along with the fat to help you absorb them all. It also has the proper concentrations and ratio of polyunsaturated fatty acids, or your omega-3s and omega-6s, so that they are metabolized as they should be. The downside is that whole milk is calorically dense, meaning that a little goes a long way. You don’t need much to get what you need, so just don’t overdo it!  2% Milk: The fat content of 2% milk is about half of that in who
Read more