A recent study has made headlines by proclaiming that Vitamin C causes kidney stones—but a closer look shows that the study was flawed, and that there’s more research showing Vitamin C helps prevent kidney stones instead.
The argument against Vitamin C is that it causes oxalate production, increasing your risk for the most common type of kidney stones—calcium oxalate stones. And that’s a little true, Vitamin C does cause a slight increase in oxalate production, but it does a lot more that actually prevents kidney stones (as well as being good and important for you in numerous other ways!).
You actually get far more oxalate from your diet. Foods like dark tea, coffee, chocolate, leafy green veggies and soy can all increase the risk for calcium oxalate kidney stones if taken in more than moderation (even collectively).
Vitamin C works to dissolve phosphate kidney stones by increasing the acidity of urine. Â For preventing calcium oxalate stones, Vitamin C helps stop calcium and oxalate from bonding, as well as has a slight diuretic effect, lowering the time urine’s in the body/kidney stones have a chance to form.
Traditional treatments for kidney stones have included cherries and juices—both good sources of Vitamin C (contradicting the idea that Vitamin C would increase kidney stones!).
Another key mineral is also important at preventing kidney stones: Magnesium. Magnesium deficiency is common for anyone on a typical American diet, and is worsened by many of the same causes of kidney stones.
Magnesium helps Calcium get absorbed into the bones, preventing it from becoming kidney stones. It also helps keep Calcium from solidifying, even when you’re dehydrated (on top of all the other good things Magnesium does, like convert Vitamin D into its active form—which also helps move Calcium where it’s needed).
Combining Magnesium with B Vitamin Complex can help prevent calcium oxalate stones.
You can get Magnesium from green veggies, beans and nuts—but it’s also a good idea to get it in supplement form to make sure you have enough (especially if you have a history of kidney stones). Any Magnesium supplement you take needs to be in a form that’s easily absorbed, otherwise it will act as a laxative. Welltrients brand supplements focuses on quality, part of which is making sure the nutrients they contain are easily absorbed and used by the body.
There are other causes of kidney stones as well: dehydration, being overweight, and a diet high in sugar.
What do you do to prevent the causes of Kidney Stones?
