WASHINGTON—A healthy diet including fruits, vegetables and less salt helps prevent kidney stones from forming, according to a study published online Aug. 13 in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
Fruits, vegetables, nuts, low-fat dairy products, and whole grains, while limiting salt, red and processed meats, and sweetened beverages are effective ways to ward off kidney stones, according to the study. Because kidney stones are linked to higher rates of hypertension, diabetes, increased body weight, and other risk factors for heart disease, the findings have considerable health implications.
Researchers conducted a large study to determine the effects of healthy eating habits on the formation of kidney stones. The investigators collected information from individuals enrolled in three clinical studies—the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (45,821 men followed for 18 years), the Nurses’ Health Study I (94,108 older women followed for 18 years), and the Nurses’ Health Study II (101,837 younger women followed for 14 years).
The team assigned a score to each participant based on eight components of a DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) style diet—high intake of fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes, low-fat dairy products, and whole grains and low intake of salt, sweetened beverages, and red and processed meats. Individuals with higher DASH scores consumed diets that were higher in calcium, potassium, magnesium, oxalate, and vitamin C and lower in sodium.
A total of 5,645 incident kidney stones developed in the participants in the three studies. In each study, participants with the highest DASH scores were between 40 percent and 45 percent less likely to develop kidney stones than participants with the lowest DASH scores. The reductions in kidney stone risk were independent of age, body size, fluid intake, and other factors.