What Should You Eat for Kidney Stones?

Anyone that suffers from kidney stones understands how painful this condition can be. Although there are a few different types of kidney stones, the most common are calcium oxalate deposits that are formed when your body is not properly filtering out waste. Once you have kidney stones, you can try to pass them naturally or you may need to have surgery to remove them. However, you can definitely reduce your chances of getting kidney stones by making some changes in your diet.

Reducing Sugar and Sodium Intake

• Diets that are high in sugar and sodium can increase the likelihood that kidney stones will develop. While eating foods that contain natural sugar (fruit, for example) is generally fine, if you eat a lot of high sugar processed foods or foods high in sodium, you may be putting yourself at increased risk of getting kidney stones. Of course, it is healthier to reduce processed sugar foods and salty foods, so this is something to keep in mind for your overall health.

Proper Fluids

• Another effective way to reduce your chances of getting kidney stones is to drink enough water. Water will help dilute your urine in order to prevent the stones from forming. If you know that you are prone to kidney stones, you may need to drink more than the generally recommended eight, eight-ounce glasses of water per day, moving up to 12 glasses daily.

The Effect of Calcium and Oxalate on Kidney Stones

• Monitoring calcium intake isn't high on most people's list of health priorities. Calcium is very beneficial to your body's health and efficiency, however if you suffer from kidney stones you may want to monitor your intake. One good tip is to combine foods high in calcium, especially dairy products, with other foods. Because the high-calcium food is not eaten by itself, the body does not have to digest it on its own and this helps to decrease the formation of calcium-based kidney stones.

  In addition, it is important to limit your consumption of high oxalate foods, including chocolate, nuts, beans, berries and spinach among other foods. While these are healthy foods, they can aid in the development of kidney stones.