Kidney stones

I got one, I got one!

I was visiting a friend in the hospital some years ago when I heard the ringing voice of a young candy striper as she quickly ran down the hall. It was a small hospital and she had been put in charge of straining the urine of kidney stone patients in the hopes of catching a passed stone. The odds were slim, she had been told, that she would be lucky enough to find a stone. She was a determine tee, however, and was diligent in her duty. So when she noted a small irregularly-shaped whit stone at the bottom of the strainer, she immediately ran it to her superior, excited that she would be responsible for the discharge of her patient, who could go home now that his stone had passed without incident.

It is estimated that one in every thousand adults per year is hospitalized with kidney stone. About 60 percent of them will have another stone episode within seven years.

Out of every 10,000-hospital admission 7 to 21 are admitted for kidney stone problems. Almost 80 percent of kidney stone are composed mainly of calcium oxalate. They occur when oxalic acid binds in the urine to form stones instead of being excreted.

Because of this oxalic acid connection, doctors may mistakenly (more about this later) recommend patients with chronic Kidney stones avoid eating foods high in oxalic acid. One food, however, is said to counter this effect. Asparagus contains a substance that can break up oxalate crystals.

Symptoms include pain originating in the middle back, which radiates around the stomach toward the genitalia, increased urine, which may contain blood or pus, nausea and vomiting. Urinary tract infections may be caused by lodged stones that accumulate bacteria.

It appears that our diets have much to do with the prevalence of this often-painful affliction. Cases of Kidney stone have increased in Europe and the United States since the latter part of the 19th century and have been increasing steadily in Japan since the latter half of this century.

Researchers suspect that the dietary changes occurring with industrialization-the advent of processed food and more meat in the diet- play a significant role.

In one study, the daily dietary habits of 241 male kidney stone patients were evaluated over seven year period. It was found that among the kidney stone patients, protein and carbohydrate intake was higher, as was calcium. The most telling fact?

Those who formed kidney stones had low amounts of magnesium, and they ate large meals consisting of animal protein at dinnertime and late evening.