Renal Calculi

[pilch]

Has anyone any info about renal stones association with LCHF. I'm one year in and bingo !

 

[GrantGam]

Has anyone any info about renal stones association with LCHF. I'm one year in and bingo !

Do you eat a lot of salt?

Do you eat a lot of protein?

Do you keep yourself hydrated?

Are you obese?

Are your BG's on target?

http://www.uhs.nhs.uk/AboutTheTrust...of-obesity-related-kidney-stone-timebomb.aspx

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3027906/How-low-carb-diets-causing-kidney-stones.html

I never like to post links from the Daily Mail, but it was from this guy - who is the lead Consultant Urological Surgeon at Royal Free NHS London.

http://www.londonurology.org.uk/consultants/mr-leye-ajayi/

 

[DCUKMod]

Hi @pilch - From time to time we see posters report they have kidney stones, but I don't recall masses of threads on the topic.

Looking at the usual NHS/Mayo clinic sites, for example, they seem to suggest there are numerous potential reasons, and often multiple reasons why kidney stones might develop. One the list of potential reasons is a high protein diet, but I can't find that they define or describe what exactly that means.

Looking at the Daily Mail link @GrantGam posted, it states that 1 in 10 will develop a kidney stone, so they seem to be pretty common, and far more common that those eating to LC lifestyles.

My personal experience is that I have been eating a reduced carb diet for almost 4 years and have never experienced kidney stones. I know @Kristin251 has had kidney stones in the past.

I'm sure others will come along over the course of the day to comment.

 

[Grateful]

I had a kidney stone two months after starting LCHF and greatly increasing physical exercise. The consensus of the health-care professionals is that it may have been caused by exercising without enough hydration (i.e. nothing to do with the diet). Since then, I have made sure to drink at least 1 liter of water during exercise, and another half-liter during the rest of the day. I have also added a glass of water with a half-lemon squeezed into it, to my lunch (there is apparently some evidence that lemon juice can help).

Apparently there is also a random element to kidney stones, so it's hard to say anything definite.

 

[KetoWolfLady]

I'm prone to kidney stones and so have to make sure I include the following strategies in my day:

• Drink between 2-3litres of water daily flavoured with a bit of lemon or lime juice (keeps kidneys flushed but also the citrus juice raises citrate levels in the blood which apparently helps prevent minerals crystalizing in the urine) Anything which compromises hydration, such as hyperglycaemia, presents a kidney stone risk for prone individuals (this is probably at least part of the reason why diabetics are more prone to them.)
  
• Ensure I eat enough potassium-rich foods (potassium with the citrate helps prevent stone formation - I ensure I eat such as pumpkin seeds, coconut and leafy greens daily. If in doubt a bit of Lo-salt can be added to food, which is potassium-based - don't overdo it though as hyperkalemia is as dangerous a hypokalemia!)
• Ensure enough calcium in the diet. Because my asthma prevents me from eating dairy I have to include such as tinned fish with the bones in, leafy greens and flax etc in my diet daily (Calcium binds with the oxalates in certain foods which are the compounds found in the vast majority of kidney stones which sufferers manage to filter out from their urine and have analyzed in a lab. The bound oxalates can then be passed out of the gut rather than entering the blood stream and passing through the kidneys where they can build up and form stones.)
• Keep dietary oxalates to a minimum - I avoid altogether top offenders oxalate-wise such as spinach, rhubarb, swiss chard, white/sweet potatoes, almonds, pine nuts and brazil nuts. I use lower oxalate low carb baking flours such as coconut and flax, and replace almond flour with hazelnut flour (half the oxalates but like most nut flours still fairly high so I keep it to a minimum). Also, such as cocoa and cinnamon are pretty high in oxalate but I tend to consume only small amounts so they're not such an issue. Macadamias are a pretty low oxalate nut, also pumpkin seeds are pretty reasonable.
  
• Don't overeat protein ( a bit more of a controversial point here but for some people overcomsuming protein can present issues with stone formation in kidneys and other body tissues.)

Of all these points the hydration is the key issue which the medics all agreed on when I ended up in hospital with the worst pain of my life and large stones in both kidneys (some docs seem doubtful about the role of diet since some people can eat a tonne of oxalates and protein and never suffer from stones of any kind - ? it depends on many individual metabolic variables, like a lot of other things.) I've been symptom free for years following these guidelines and so fingers crossed they're working!