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Kidney stone prevention
My sister has just recovered from a very painful kidney stone. Can you tell us what foods she should now be eating or avoiding to prevent a recurrence? She is a big fan of the Atkins diet.
If there is one eating regimen your sister must now not even consider it is the Atkins diet which, as she will know, promotes a high intake of meat and thus, inorganic phosphorous which has been linked by researchers with a higher risk and incidence of renal stones.
Ironically, the organic phosphorous in more natural foods, such as beans, wholegrains and corns, can actually help prevent kidney stones since it is converted, in the urine, into phosphorylated inositols which act in the body to inhibit the formation of stones.
Researchers first suggested this significant role of the right type of phosphorous in the diet as long ago as the 1970s when doctors working in Cape Town noted noted there were almost 500 times as many admissions for renal stones among the white population as among the black; and concluded the heavy meat-based diet of their white patients must be to blame.
If your sister is interested in using a herbal remedy to further help reduce the risk of a recurrence, she should investigate using one of the rainforest herbs I was fortunate enough to see for myself growing on the stony banks of the Amazon river several years ago.
Quebra Pedra (pronounced Ke-bra Ped-ra) which means stone-breaker, has anti-inflammatory and anti-spasmodic properties too and so is useful for anyone still suffering from painful kidney stones as well.
You simply use the dried herb (as directed on the packet) to make a tea which you can sweeten with honey and drink three times a day if you have a stone you want to get rid of, and once a day to prevent recurrence. It costs £12.99 for 150g, plus £1.50 p&p from Brazilian herb specialists, Rio Trading (01273 570987)