Stuff in your life that may be
contributing to your stones . . .
Whenever someone asks why kidney stones form, the stock answer is, “Nobody knows.” However, you may be surprised to find out that
certain things about your lifestyle may be contributing to your stones.
Stress
For example, several recent studies have suggested that stress in your life actually increases the chemicals in your urine that
form stones—calcium, oxalate and uric acid.
To test this, two hundred people with kidney stones—and two hundred without—were asked about stress in their lives. The stone sufferers
experienced much more significant stress—highly stressful events that inflicted intense emotions with apprehension and distress for at
least one week—than the non-kidney stone people. Click here for details.
Body Size
How big your body is may make you more vulnerable to stones as well. Researchers started to wonder why men get more stones
than women do. They noted that men are generally bigger than women, and they get three times more stones than women do. So they
mailed questionnaires to a large population of both men and women asking about body size, kidney stones, and other variables. The
results turned up a definite pattern: those with a bigger body size had more stones. This particularly showed up with women, although
it was true for both genders. Height didn’t affect stone incidence, but weight did. However, the study didn’t reveal whether
weight loss reduced a person’s chances of getting stones. Click here to see the abstract.
Protein Intake
The amount of protein you eat may directly influence how you form stones. This can be discouraging if you’re used to
the standard American meat-and-potatoes diet, but you probably ought to know it anyway. Researchers in Italy suggested that high protein intake
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high protein intake increased one’s risk of stones because it increased urinary output of calcium—as well as other factors.
They wondered if reducing protein intake might reduce stones. They studied 18 patients, ten men and eight women. After
cutting back on protein, the patients all had less urinary calcium output, less uric acid, and less oxalate. They also had
increased urinary citrate, a healthy sign. Most importantly, restricting the protein reduced the risk of stone recurrence.
Click here to read the abstract.
Dehydration
As we point out in our section on water, many of us walk around dehydrated, even though we’re not aware of it.
This can cause many health troubles, and it’s a particular problem with kidney stones, which form from highly concentrated
solutions of chemicals in the urine. Statistics have shown that people in the southern United States get almost twice as many
stones as those from the northwest—because of dehydration in a consistently hot climate. (Soucie, J.M. et al, 1996). Even
though you may not be aware of being thirsty, please, please follow the recommendations on drinking plenty of water and other
fluids. Also see lemonade.
Cola drinks
In another recent study, cola drinks were implicated as a possible culprit in kidney stone formation. A group of
men who were heavy cola drinkers (at least 5 1/3 ounces a day), who had suffered a previous bout of kidney stones, cut their
consumption of colas to less than half, they were almost one third less likely to experience a recurrence of stones.
Sleep Position
A recent study looked into sleep patterns of kidney stone patients. The researchers thought they would find that kidney stone
patients moved less in their sleep, contributing to stone formation. They were surprised to find that stone patients slept more
on their stomachs. The doctors still suggest that sleep movement affects stones, but they're not sure yet.
Click here to read
the abstract.
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