RECIPES FOR KIDNEY STONE PATIENTS
As much as diet causes kidney stones, diet change prevents them. Not diet in general, of course, too vague to matter. Thus far decent science identifies only seven components of diet as affecting stone formation: calcium, sodium, refined sugars, potassium, protein,...
OUR DIET PROMOTES STONES AND BONE DISEASE
I have summarized the scientific evidence that low intakes of diet calcium and potassium and high intakes of refined sugar and sodium and protein raise risk of stones and loss of bone mineral. I have pointed out that the recommended US diet specifically seeks to...
HOW TO EAT THE KIDNEY STONE DIET
Recently we presented what we think of as The kidney stone diet, meaning a unitary diet platform suitable for idiopathic calcium stone formers in otherwise good health. The story of that diet and the implications it has for stone prevention deserve perhaps a bit more...
HYPERCALCIURIA
This is a foundational article for the site. High rates of urine calcium excretion (hypercalciuria) will raise calcium concentration at any given urine flow rate, and therefore raise supersaturation with the calcium stone forming salts. Genetic (‘idiopathic’) hypercalciuria, simply the upper end of the normal range, is greatly over-represented among stone formers, and idiopathic hypercalciuria (IH) is a main focus of treatment for stone prevention. As well, people with IH, stone formers or not, are at risk for bone disease. This article introduces hypercalciuria: IH itself and a few of the less uncommon named diseases that cause hypercalciuria like primary hyperparathyroidism, renal tubular acidosis, and sarcoidosis. It mentions confusing disorders such as normocalcemic primary hyperparathyroidism, secondary hyperparathyroidism, and familial hypocalciuric hypercalcemia. It also offers evidence linking specific levels of urine calcium excretion to risk of stones, a very important matter in deciding what needs to be treated.