How not to get Stoned

During this season, very often, patients arrive with a severe case of colic. Radiological investigations may not reveal anything significant. However, microscopic examination of the urine samples of such patients tend to show crystals, which are really tiny stones. These crystals composed of stone material are, in many individuals, naturally formed within the body and are supposed to be just as naturally expelled. It is these individuals who are prone to stone formation and they need to watch out in the summer months particularly.

What causes the occurrence of such stones? The chief culprit is the heat. And along with it, dietary changes and some attendant neglect.

The stones are made up of what we eat. They are generally composed of or derived from calcium, phosphorous, uric acid and oxalates.

Sweating is the kidney stone8217;s best friend. In the summer heat, sweating increases and as a compensatory mechanism, the urine gets concentrated.

Crystal formation in the body thrives under such conditions. The situation gets worse when we neglect to quench our thirst in a timely manner. And the problem gets compounded further when we imbibe undesirable fluids as thirst quenchers. This is the ideal milieu for a stone to form anywhere in the urinary tract.

Why is the occurrence of stones not a desirable condition?

For one, stones can cause extreme pain. Those who have experienced pain due to a urinary tract stone describe it as excruciating. Women describe the pain intensity to be worse than labor pain. The urinary tract is a nerve-rich tract and any pain experienced in this area is likely to be intense. Sometimes, the stones could be lodged in a patient8217;s kidneys or urinary bladder and this generally requires surgical intervention.

What can one do to avoid such a condition? To prevent the occurrence of stones the following measures are helpful:

8226; Increase water intake. Nothing is as effective as the water prescription. Water should be consumed with consistent regularity, not in binges, but two glasses every 4 hours. It is important that the output of urine is 2 litres, which means that intake of fluids should be more than three litres a day. Of the 3 litres, half should definitely be plain water. I would like to assert that instead of bottled mineral water, RO reverse osmosis water that balances the mineral content with water purity should be used.

8226; Once again, vegetarianism comes to the rescue, since it helps prevent the formation of stones. For the stone prone individuals, the benefit occurs through many mechanisms. For one, the vegetarian diet maintains a better PH in the urinary tract, thus avoiding the formation of stones.

8226; Sodium is quite a villain in this situation. It is advisable to stay away from packaged namkeens and chips, which are loaded with salt. The summer heat and the heavily salted meals are a sure recipe for stones. Remove the salt shakers and pickles from the dining table.

8226; Good amounts of potassium in the diet helps to keep the calcium suspended, thus preventing the formation of crystals. An urologist will, for this reason, prescribe potassium citrate to stone-prone individuals. Good dietary sources of potassium are coconut water and bael juice, watermelon and musk melon.

8226; Avoid Vitamin C supplements. In the body, Vitamin C is broken down to oxalic acid. Oxalic acid is one of the commonest of materials found in body stones. Grapefruit juice and citrus juices should be avoided. It is a good idea to cut back on oxalic acid rich foods, spinach and amaranth cholai, green banana, gooseberry amla, chocolates, peanuts, almonds, sesame til, tea, cocoa and draught beer.

For those who are prone to kidney stones, quite often, the dietary advice tends to be very confusing. The generally accepted wisdom is that once the urine is analysed and the chemical composition of the stone is determined, the dietary advice could be made very specific. However, when this is not possible, a cocktail prescription is generally the best option.

Animal proteins are not advocated as they increase the excretion of calcium, uric acid and oxalic acid. These three chemicals are culprits involved in the formation of stones.

Alcohol, in a similar way, increases the concentration of calcium, phosphorous and uric acid, the stone forming material, in the urine. Those on antacids should verify with the physician about the formula suitable for them.

Sugars and refined carbohydrates are also not the best things in the diet, for they tend to increase the formation of insulin in body. Insulin in turn increases the concentration of calcium in urine and this can cause the formation of stones. The best way to counter this is to ensure that the diet is rich in fibre, since this controls the release of insulin as documented scientifically.

While there are so many restrictions, it is noteworthy that the intake of calcium should not be curtailed. In fact, such a restriction is unwarranted and is actually detrimental. So two to three servings of milk or cheese are essential. An interesting dietary inhibitor of urinary stones is tamarind imli. Just ten grams of tamarind in the daily diet has been reported to exert an inhibitory effect on the formation of urinary stones. Good enough reason to have sambhar and imli chutney regularly!

Such simple dietary precautions can cut the risk of stones by more than half! You can then sit back and enjoy your mangoes and melons and Summer Wine 8212; the Nancy Sinatra-Lee Hazlewood all time hit!