Your kidneys (most people have 2) make urine, and your bladder stores the urine. Your urine contains minerals that can form crystals and stones in your kidneys. These are kidney stones. If they grow large enough, they can block the tubes that carry urine.

Depending on their size, kidney stones can affect the flow of your urine and your kidney function. You may have to pee more often. And urinating might be painful.

Some stones pass on their own. But many people wind up needing medical care for kidney stones.

Kidney stones can cause severe pain in your abdomen or lower back. They can also cause a fever, nausea, and vomiting.

People often miss work, school, or other obligations because of kidney stones. Severe symptoms can interfere with your life. Some kidney stones are severe enough that they require surgery.

Also, if you’ve had kidney stones once, you’re more likely to develop them again. In fact, people who’ve had stones have a 90% chance of recurrence within 10 years. But you can lessen that risk with dietary and lifestyle changes.

Recurring stones don’t just put a damper on your life; they also put you at risk for more severe kidney problems. Over time, you can start to lose kidney function. In fact, kidney stones can be a sign of overall health concerns.

At Carilion, we see many people with recurring kidney stones. We offer all the latest treatments, but we also counsel about prevention.

At Carilion, we can help you make lifestyle and dietary changes to reduce your risk for kidney stones. Here are some of the suggestions we often make. 

Focus on hydration

When you sweat a lot, your body doesn’t make as much urine. The urine you do make is more concentrated with minerals, which makes them more likely to form into stones.

Drinking enough water is important for everyone. If you tend to sweat a lot, it’s even more important. With the rise of activities like hot yoga, hydration is key.

Notice the color of your urine. If you’re well hydrated, it should be pale yellow. (Note that taking certain B vitamins can make urine bright yellow.) 

Watch your sodium

The average recommended amount of sodium is 2,300 mg. Most people eat far more than that.

This matters because sodium makes the kidneys pass more calcium into your urine. People prone to kidney stones should aim to reduce their sodium intake. 

A great first step is reading labels to learn how much sodium you’re eating. However, in most people who eat too much sodium each day, the highly processed or preserved food, including fast food, is the main culprit.

Eat more tart fruits

Tart fruits like lemons and limes have potassium citrate. Citrate, or citric acid, helps prevent calcium from binding into crystals.

Lemonade, limeade, and other tart fruits like grapefruit and cranberries have citrate. Try to add these foods and drinks to your diet as you’re able.

Pair calcium-rich foods with oxalate-rich foods

One of the minerals in your urine is calcium. Oxalate is the most common thing that binds with calcium. Calcium and oxalate form the most common type of kidney stones. Oxalate is naturally in many foods.

For some people, eating oxalate-rich foods never causes a problem. But for others, oxalate can build up in the urine and form crystals that grow into stones.

Avoiding calcium doesn’t help prevent kidney stones and may harm your bone health. For some people, limiting high-oxalate foods can help. When you do eat oxalate-rich foods, pairing them with calcium-rich foods is a helpful strategy.

If you form calcium oxalate stones, try to eat calcium-rich foods at the same time as oxalate-rich foods. When eaten together, calcium is more likely to bind to oxalate in the intestines. This prevents oxalate from being absorbed into the body and eventually passes in the urine. This allows the intestines to pass the calcium and oxalate in the stool rather than your urine.

• Foods high in oxalate: Spinach, Swiss chard, beet greens, almonds, peanuts, chocolate, rhubarb
• Foods high in calcium: Milk, cheese, yogurt, kale, bok choy, sardines (with bones), fortified plant milks (such as almond or soy)

Your urologist can test your kidney stones and urine to see if you’re at risk for calcium oxalate stones and whether this approach may help you.

Avoid or reduce purine

Most kidney stones are calcium stones. But uric acid can also cause stones.

Purine is in some forms of animal protein, mostly seafood (shrimp and shellfish) and red meat. Too much purine can cause uric acid stones. 

If you’re having uric acid stones, aim to eat less animal protein and more fruits and vegetables.

If you have a problem with recurring kidney stones, Carilion urologists can work with you. We’ll learn about your stone history, including past episodes and treatment. Then, we’ll help develop a prevention plan, which may include:

• Ordering labs, including 24-hour urine collection
• Making specific dietary suggestions
• Reviewing any medicines you take to make sure they don't increase your risk of forming kidney stones
• Helping with hydration strategies

We’ll help to coordinate all of your care, including urology surgery for kidney stones.