How to prevent urinary tract stones by diet?

  Urinary tract stones are one of the most common urological diseases. They are more common in men than in women, about 3:1. In the last 30 years, the incidence of upper urinary tract (kidney and ureter) stones in China has increased significantly. In many patients, after surgical or non-surgical treatment, the stones are temporarily removed. But soon, new stones are created and patients are in great pain. It turns out that stones can be formed in various parts of the urinary system, such as the kidney, renal pelvis, ureter, bladder, and urethra. The production of urinary stones is influenced by the acidity of the urine, the presence of obstruction in the urinary tract, the presence of foreign bodies in the urinary tract, and certain other diseases in the body. If patients do not take care of their lives, urinary calculi that have been cured can recur. Therefore, it is vital to do a good job of preventing stone recurrence.  Studies have shown that calcium oxalate is the predominant component of urinary stones, accounting for about 80%. In individual areas, uric acid stones are also not uncommon. These knots are mostly generated in an acidic urine environment. Other stones (such as calcium phosphate stones) are generated in an alkaline urine environment. Therefore, it is important to analyze the composition of stones naturally excreted or surgically removed by patients, and then artificially change the acid-base environment of urine through medication regulation or dietary modifications to prevent stone formation and treat stone disease.  Pay attention to the dietary structure of urine stone production and the structure of the diet have a certain relationship. Therefore, attention to dietary structure can prevent the recurrence of stones. Depending on the composition of urinary stones, different dietary regimens should be adopted. For example, patients with calcium oxalate stones should eat less foods with high oxalic acid content, such as spinach, tomatoes, potatoes, strawberries, etc.  In layman’s terms, we should have six notes: Note one: eat less animal protein, including animal meat and offal.  Note two: less salt, maintain a light diet.  Note three: eat less oxalic acid vegetables, such as spinach, beet and other dark green vegetables, because calcium oxalate is the main component of urinary stones.  Note four: do not drink strong tea, switch to clear tea or water.  Note five: drink more water, physical workers or high temperature work more people should drink more water.  Note 6: Annual physical examination plus urine test, keep 24 hours of urine for analysis, can foresee the possibility of urinary stones.  The original everyone can stay away from stone trouble!