Dr. Pallavi patri, Head of the Nephrology Department at Manipal Hospital, Sarjapur, Bengaluru (India), said that if the body does not get enough calcium (1,000 - 1,200 mg/day depending on age), the body will start to dissolve bones to release calcium, helping to maintain the necessary calcium levels in the blood.
This leads to excessive excretion of calcium through urine and crystallization into kidney stones.
kidney stones are quite common and although some people are genetically susceptible to kidney stones, risk factors that may change such as a diet high in salt, low in fluids and high in oxalate and uric acid also contribute to the formation of kidney stones.
Calcium from the diet compared to calcium supplements
According to Dr. Pallavi patri, about 70-80% of kidney stones are formed from compounds such as calcium oxalate, calcium phosphat (15%) and other compounds of uric acid.
Since most kidney stones are related to calcium, many people think that limiting calcium in the diet will help reduce the risk of kidney stones.
"However, studies have shown that a diet rich in calcium is actually associated with a lower risk of stones, even lower than calcium supplementation," says Dr Pallavi patri.
This happens because calcium in food will bind to oxalate in the diet right in the intestines, helping to reduce the absorption of oxalate and excretion through stool. Therefore, it reduces the excretion of oxalate through urine, thereby reducing the risk of kidney stone formation.
Conversely, if calcium tablets are only supplemented without eating the same food, calcium from drinking tablets cannot be bound to oxalates in the intestines, leading to both calcium and oxalates being absorbed and excreted in urine, easily forming crystals and stones.
Therefore, if you supplement calcium, combine it with nutritious meals to ensure the amount of calcium absorbed into the body.
If you have a history of kidney stones, calcium citrate salt will be a good choice because citrate has the effect of inhibiting the formation of natural stones.
Reasons for dehydration are a greater risk factor
When the body lacks water, urine becomes thick, creating conditions for minerals and salt to crystallize and combine together to form kidney stones.
To prevent this, make sure to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day, unless your doctor has another prescription due to medical conditions.
In addition, you should also reduce the amount of salt and caffeine in your diet because they increase calcium excretion through urine.
Drinking lemon water is also beneficial, because the citrate in lemon water helps reduce the risk of kidney stone formation.
