The Silent Stones in Your Body

5 min readJul 14, 2023

The stones in your body are a solid mass of crystals that are found in your kidneys and lie there growing silently within. They are formed through high levels of calcium, oxalate, cystine, or phosphate when not enough liquid is ingested to clear the excesses from your metabolism. There are different types of kidney stones. Calcium oxalate is the most common among them. It is caused by too much oxalate in the urine and too little liquid. The oxalate binds to calcium while urine is being made by the kidneys.

Oxalate is a natural substance found in many foods. After eating, the body uses what it needs and sends the waste products through the bloodstream to the kidneys where they are expelled through the urine. If there is too much waste and too little liquid, they start solidifying into crystals. Once they start crystallizing, the solid mass is referred to as a kidney stone.

Certain health factors may trigger the formation of calcium oxalate stones. These risk factors include:

1. Dehydration by not drinking enough fluid, particularly pure water.

2. A diet too high in sodium (salt), sugar (like high fructose corn syrup), protein, and oxalate.

3. Obesity.

4. Medical conditions like,

- Dent Disease: a rare genetic disorder that affects the kidneys.

- Hyperparathyroidism: a very high amount of parathyroid hormone in the blood that causes a loss of calcium.

Usually, calcium is needed to bind with the oxalate to be discharged from the body.

5. Digestive Diseases and Surgeries like Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) which includes Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn’s Disease, and Gastric bypass surgeries.

It is important to know that kidney stones are more common if you have IBD. These conditions affect your body’s ability to absorb fats properly. When fat is not absorbed the right way, it binds to calcium and leaves oxalate behind. The oxalate is then absorbed and taken into the kidney, where it may start forming stones. Similarly, following gastric bypass surgery, your body absorbs less calcium from your digestive system. Consequently, higher levels of oxalate are found in the urinary tract. The build-up of oxalate forms crystals, which lead to kidney stones.

If you have removed your kidney stones and they persistently recur, it is best to consult your doctor.

To mitigate your chances of developing these stones:

· Drink fluids frequently. The first thing you should do is to drink enough fluids, particularly water. Drinking enough fluids will thin out your urine and make it harder for chemicals to build up and form crystals.

· Avoid eating too much protein. Eating rich foods high in protein can also cause stones to develop.

· Reduce your salt (sodium) intake. A diet high in salt (sodium) causes calcium to build up in your urine. Too much calcium in your urine can lead to new stones. It can also cause your bones to weaken over time.

· Include the right amount of calcium in your diet. Some people think that by avoiding calcium they can keep stones from forming, but the opposite is true. Calcium is a nutrient that is found in dairy products, such as yogurt, milk, and cheese. You need to eat calcium so that it can bind with oxalate in the stomach and intestines before it moves into the kidneys. Eating foods with calcium is a good way for oxalates to leave the body and not form stones. It may appear easier to increase your calcium intake by taking a supplement, but the ideal way is through the natural foods you eat. Beware, calcium in the form of a supplement may raise your chances of forming new calcium oxalate stones.

· Avoid excess vitamin C supplements. Too much vitamin C can cause high amounts of oxalate in the urine.

· Eat less oxalate-rich foods. Limiting how many oxalate-rich foods you eat each day may help lower your chance of forming new stones. These are some foods you should avoid eating in excess: nuts, rhubarb, chocolate soy milk, All Bran® cereals, buckwheat flour like in pasta, Miso, Tahini like in Halva and Hommos, sesame seeds (used for Tahini), spinach, Swiss chard, sweet potatoes (not ordinary potatoes).

A common mistake is to cut out all foods that have oxalate, or all foods with calcium to keep stones from forming. This approach is unhealthy. It can lead to poor nutrition and may cause other health deficiencies. A better approach is to eat and drink calcium and oxalate-rich foods together during a meal. Doing this helps bind one to the other in the stomach and intestines before reaching the kidneys, making it less likely for kidney stones to form in the urine.

Apple cider vinegar contains acetic acid which helps dissolve these stones. It can be added to the water you drink, to provide flavor. In addition to flushing out the kidneys, apple cider vinegar can also decrease any pain caused by the stones. Water and lemon juice can also help flush the stones and prevent future kidney stones. The acetic acid in apple cider vinegar helps to dissolve any excesses. Mixing 2 tablespoons to 6–8 ounces of water and drinking it throughout the day eliminates other excesses in the body. Ideally, go for salad dressings with vinegar or lemon, rather creamy dressings.

Magnesium and magnesium citrate is effective for the prevention and treatment of kidney stones and inhibiting the type of crystals which form these stones. Magnesium keeps calcium dissolved in the blood so it will not bind into crystals.

MYTH: Drinking olive oil will help pass a stone with less pain is an old wives’ tale. It does not act as a lubricant in this case.

Low oxalate proteins include eggs, meat, poultry, fish, yogurt, cheese, milk, and butter. In addition to coffee, water, and freshly-squeezed fruit juice.

Low oxalate vegetables which are also low in calories include cabbage, chives, cauliflower, cucumbers, carrots, beetroot, endive, kohlrabi, mushrooms, radishes, and water chestnuts. Peas, which are legumes, are also low-oxalate. The amount is quite low in tomatoes and cannot lead to the formation of kidney stones: 100 grams of tomatoes contain only 5 grams of oxalate.

Moderate oxalate (10–25mg per serving) is found in grains such as white and red beans, oatmeal, etc.

High oxalate foods are described as containing between 10 and 50 milligrams of oxalates per serving, such as spinach and soybean.

What are the symptoms of high oxalate?

· Recurring kidney stones.

· Grainy-looking stools.

· Cloudy urine.

· Gum inflammation.

· Swollen, achy joints.

· Mottled skin.

· Poor circulation.

· Bone pain.

Acknowledgment: The Council on Renal Nutrition (03/2019)