Eat vegetables in moderation to prevent kidney stones, says urologist

The urologist recommended the consumption of a lot of water.

Celsus Undie, a Urologist with Kelina Hospital, Abuja, on Wednesday advised that vegetables such as cabbage and lettuce should be eaten in moderation to avoid kidney stones.

Mr. Undie said that kolanuts, tea, coffee, cocoa based drinks and coke should also be taking in moderation to avoid stone formation in the kidney.

He explained that these food items contained oxalic acid which is a main component of stone formation in the kidney.

Oxalic acid is a chemical substance which becomes poisonous when consumed in high concentration.

“Most stones contain calcium oxalate and most food items we eat contain calcium, especially bones and food of animal origin.

“But calcium is not the problem. The real problem is the oxalic acid. We all need vegetables and fruits to be healthy, but these are the main sources of oxalic acid.

“Calcium excreted in urine, combines with oxalic acid to form calcium oxalate, which easily precipitates in the urine to form stones,” he said.

Mr. Undie said that Vitamin C also turns to oxalic acid in the body and should also be taken as prescribed.

According to him, most adults do not need more that 70mg of vitamin C, which is less than the 100mg single standard tablet daily dose.

He urged doctors to advocate that people should drink a lot of water as a preventive measure.

“The more water you drink, the less concentrated your urine will be.

“Water is good so that the sediment in their urinary tract can get flushed out with the urine to prevent build-up of kidney stones,’’ he said.

The urologist said that people who were predisposed to kidney stones were those who had urinary tract infection.

“Urinary tract infection results in change in PH of the urine and calcium phosphate which tends to build-up in infected urine to form phosphate stones,” he said.

Mr. Undie added that another category of people who were likely to develop stones were men with enlarged prostrates or people who suffered from narrowing in the urinary tract.

“People who find it hard to pass urine such as people who have spinal injury can easily form stones also,” he said.

He said that kidney stones were very common but due to unavailability of imaging studies or failure of doctors to request for the right studies, the stones were usually not discovered early.

“Many of these stones are missed and many doctors pass the patients on as having urinary tract infection.

“Stones are easier to prevent than to treat, so early and proper diagnosis of a patient is preferred,” he said.

(NAN)