Eat junk all day long, and your kidneys are going to have to work double
time trying to filter it all out. Eventually, they're not going to be able to
keep up anymore and -- POW! -- you're stoned… with kidney stones.
New numbers show that the percentage of Americans who can expect
to get kidney stones has practically doubled over the past 16 years, from
1 in 20 of us back in 1994 to 1 in 11 of us today.
We've also managed to get fatter than ever in that time, with obesity and
diabetes levels hitting all-time highs -- and you can bet a bacon-double
cheeseburger with fries and a cherry cola that these are all related.
Eat a lot of junk, and you'll get big, suffer diabetes, and get a firsthand
lesson in the agony of kidney stones. The new numbers from UCLA confirm
it too, as researchers say their study finds that obesity, diabetes, and gout
all increase the risk.
So how can you avoid the stones? First, avoid mainstream advice -- because
most of it's based on myths and half-truths, like the notion that the calcium
in dairy causes stones.
Sure, most stones are made of calcium oxalate -- but research has shown
that the dietary calcium in fresh diary can bind with the oxalate so it doesn't
get absorbed by the blood and never reaches the kidneys in the first place.
That means dairy can prevent stones, not cause them. In addition, healthy
fresh meats and proteins won't cause stones, either.
If you really want to avoid kidney stones -- and believe me, you do --
avoid sugars in all their forms: regular sugar, fructose, high-fructose corn
syrup, sodas, and even juices will all up your odds of stones.
Avoid all that, and you'll avoid obesity and diabetes as well.
Crushing stones,
William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.
