SHARED FROM
HOW TO PREVENT KIDNEY
STONES
1. Drink water, then drink some more
Kidney
stones are typically made up of calcium and either phosphate or oxalate,
minerals absorbed from food and normally excreted through urine. When urine becomes too concentrated, those
minerals can crystallize to form stones, causing severe pain as they pass from
the kidneys to the bladder and out.
Tips: Aim for
six to eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day to keep your urine diluted.
2. Swear off soda
A
recent study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital found that people who drink at
least one sugar-sweetened cola per day have a 23% higher risk of developing
kidney stones than those who down less than one a week. Fructose increases calcium, oxalate, and uric
acid excretion, which contribute to stone formation.
3. Amp up your calcium intake
Since
kidney stones usually form from calcium, doctors used to think that avoiding
this mineral could prevent them. Now,
the opposite is true: Dietary calcium may actually help protect against stones
by binding with oxalate in the intestines and preventing it from reaching the
kidneys altogether.
4. Enjoy a morning cup o' joe
People
who drank at least one cup of caffeinated coffee had a 26% lower risk for
kidney stones, 16% for decaf devotees, and an 11% lower risk for tea drinkers,
according to a study in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of
Nephrology.
5. Watch those minerals
If you
tend to form oxalate stones—ones made of calcium caused by urine that is too
acidic—consume only moderate amounts of anything with a high concentration of
dietary oxalate. Foods high in dietary
oxalate include spinach, chard, rhubarb, berries, beets, nuts, and chocolate.
Look out for this syndrome
Metabolic syndrome
is a serious condition associated with heart attacks, diabetes, and even death.
It's marked by at least three of these
five traits:
- excess abdominal fat,
- high blood triglycerides,
- low HDL (good cholesterol),
- high blood pressure, and
- impaired glucose tolerance
And it ups your odds of
developing kidney stones by 54% if you have two of the aforementioned traits, and 70% if you have three.
BRENDA’S STORY
(How To Conquer Metabolic Syndrome By
Pamela M.
Peeke, MD, MPH at http://www.prevention.com/fitness/fitness-tips/how-conquer-metabolic-syndrome)
Brenda’s
lack of exercise led to weight gain. Suddenly
two of Brenda's dearest friends were stricken with life-threatening conditions:
one with heart disease, the other with diabetes. Brenda, a computer software specialist, was
no athlete and she made every excuse to avoid exercise. She married a great guy who had no interest in
moving either, once he got home.
Brenda
had developed signs of what medical experts once called Syndrome X and now
refer to as metabolic syndrome: a condition that occurs when too much fat accumulated
inside the abdomen leads to an increased risk of heart disease, high blood
pressure, stroke, diabetes, and cancer. As
her estrogen levels began to decline during her 40s, it became easier to pack
on pounds deep inside her tummy, overwhelming the liver's ability to keep
cholesterol and insulin levels under control.
During her checkup, Brenda got a stern warning from her doctor that her
blood sugar was now borderline elevated, and her blood pressure was on the
rise.
Becoming
physically active is the best natural alternative to taking drugs to control
blood sugar and hypertension.
So Brenda bought a pedometer and set a
goal of
- 10,000 steps per day, or about 4.5 miles, to lower her blood sugar and pressure.
- 5- to 10-minute movement breaks after every 45 minutes on her computer.
- Soon, she was walking a mile in 15 minutes, and after 3 months, she walked a 13-minute mile.
Her
perimenopausal symptoms were finally under control, and the metabolic syndrome
symptoms vanished. She was down two dress sizes and wearing real belts again.
Brenda was already filling out the entry form for another 5-K, and a 10-K in
the fall was looking mighty attractive.
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