Kidney stones are small, hard, pebble-like crystals that can become stuck in the kidneys or the tube that carries urine from the kidneys to the bladder called the ureter. These stones can be very painful and are sometimes hard to medically treat. There are multiple causes of kidney stones, some of which are inherited and others of which can be controlled. One main controllable cause of kidney stones is a high-salt diet.
Symptoms of Kidney Stones
A high-salt diet directly influences your kidneys because the kidneys are the organs that remove salt from the body. There is also a definite link between high-salt diets and kidney stones, which in some cases do not cause symptoms. However, some kidney stones can cause severe pain in the kidneys or in the ureter, which may feel like lower back pain or pain near the bladder. Kidney stones can also cause blood in the urine or can even block the flow of urine.
Salt and Calcium Stones
There are four main types of kidney stones: calcium, struvite, uric acid and cystine. When your body excretes the salt you eat in urine, calcium is excreted as well. Thus, the more salt you eat, the more salt and calcium will be excreted in urine. When calcium levels in the urine become too high, the calcium molecules precipitate out of the urine and form kidney stones with sharp edges that may lodge in the kidney or ureter.
Salt Recommendations
The University of Maryland Medical Center recommends that people susceptible to calcium stones limit salt intake to 3g of salt per day. However, they recommend maintaining normal calcium intake as this mineral is important for maintaining strong bones and preventing the bone disease osteoporosis. Additionally, limiting calcium intake does not reduce the incidence of calcium kidney stones. In contrast, limiting salt intake does effectively reduce calcium kidney stones.
Tips to Limit Salt Intake
Limiting salt intake is easier said than done, as this seasoning is present in many foods, especially processed foods. The first straightforward tip is to remove the salt shaker from the dinner table. Additionally, salt is often present in excess levels in processed foods, such as lunch meats, canned soups, and snack foods like chips and pretzels. Before you purchase processed foods, study the nutrition label and gauge whether a particular type of food can be included in your low-salt diet. Lastly, making meals from scratch ensures you know the amount of salt in each meal; add herbs and other no-salt seasonings to add flavor instead of salt.
