Q. Hi Natalie, my mother and father have both suffered from kidney stones in the past. Which foods should I avoid if I have a tendency to get kidney stones? A. Two of the four types of kidney stones are related to diet: calcium stones and uric acid stones. Different foods also form different types of stones. You can begin by reducing your salt intake. Salt causes extra calcium to be excreted into the urine, where it can combine with oxalate or phosphorus to form calcium stones. Check how much of your diet is of processed foods because they tend to be high in salt.Try to cut back on hot dogs, canned food, frozen meals, tomato juice and fast food. If there’s a tendency or history of calcium oxalate stones, you should reduce the amount of oxalate-rich foods you consume. Oxalate is found in squash, wheat bran, rhubarb, tomato soup, tea, currants, canned fruit salad, sweet potatoes, instant coffee, strawberries, spinach, beets, leeks, tofu, nuts and chocolate. Too much animal protein from meat, fish and poultry can increase your risk of both calcium and uric acid stones. According to the NKUDIC, those who form uric acid stones should limit their meat consumption to 6 oz. a day. To avoid uric acid stones, limit foods which are high in purine. These include organ meats such as liver or kidneys, alcohol, herring and anchovies. Spinach, asparagus and yeast are also quite high in purine.Oxalate, or oxalic acid, is in plant foods and combines with calcium to form calcium-oxalate stones. Research suggests that oxalate, which is in plant foods, combines with calcium to form calcium-oxulate stones. If one has a medical history of this it’s recommended to consume less than 50mg of oxalate a day and limit foods high in oxalate. The foods with the most oxalate and known to aggravate kidney stones include chocolate, wheat bran, nuts, rhubarb, spinach, beets, tea and strawberries. Other oxalate foods include bran cereals, berries, figs, citrus peels, kiwis, tangerines, green leafy vegetables, olives, beans, parsley, zucchini, potatoes and sweet potatoes, peppers, eggplant, marmalade and soy sauce.This column is brought to you as general information only and unless stated otherwise is not medical advice nor is it based on medical experiments. This column is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for specific medical conditions. For more information about specific problems, please contact a doctor.Ask Natalie: If you have a health query and would like an alternative answer then email Natalie with your question at nateopath@gmail.com.
Natalie runs a clinic both in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem offering a wide range of natural treatment. Healing is achieved using homeopathy, reflexology, massage, flower remedies and nutritional wisdom.
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