There is a long list of reasons to avoid high-sugar foods, and a new study may add another reason for kidney stones.
Researchers found that among more than 28,000 adults in the United States, those with a lot of sugar in their diet were more likely to develop kidney stones, reports Al-Rai daily.
According to the study, which was led by Dr. Shan Yin of the Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College in China, and its results were published in the Frontiers in Nutrition magazine, people in the group that ate foods rich in sugars were 39 percent more likely to develop stones in the kidneys, compared to those who ate foods rich in sugars.
Kidney stones are common, affecting about 10 percent of people at some point in their lives, according to the US National Kidney Foundation.
Often, stones can pass and leave the body through urine. But if large stones are causing a blockage in the urethra or causing unbearable pain, doctors may need to remove them.
Kidney stones form when the normal chemistry of urine is abnormal. There may be too much of one chemical, not enough of another, or too little fluid in the urine to dilute it.
General advice on preventing kidney stones includes drinking plenty of water and limiting sodium, as it causes the kidneys to excrete more calcium in the urine. It is also beneficial to reduce the intake of animal proteins, due to their effect on urine chemistry.
The study recommended increasing the intake of water to prevent the formation of kidney stones, especially at high temperatures.
