An apple a day keep the doctor away…now that’s an old grandma’s secret. The latest is that a glass of orange juice a day, can keep the recurrence of kidney stones away, as discovered by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
The study reveals that orange juice can help prevent the reappearance of kidney stones better than other citrus fruit juices such as lemonade.
The researchers said that although many people assume that all citrus fruit juices help prevent the formation of kidney stones, not all have the same effect.
If the recurrence of kidney stones has to be medically treated, it requires dietary and lifestyle changes as well as treatment such as the addition of potassium citrate, which has been shown to lower the rate of new stone formation in patients with kidney stones.
However since some patients can’t tolerate potassium citrate because of gastrointestinal side effect, dietary sources of citrate such as orange juice may be considered as an alternative to pharmacological drugs.
Dr. Clarita Odvina, study’s lead author said, “Orange juice could potentially play an important role in the management of kidney stone disease and may be considered an option for patients who are intolerant of potassium citrate.â€
When the urine is too concentrated, it lead to the formation of kidney stones. This further causes minerals and other chemicals in the urine to bind together. Eventually, these crystals combine and grow into a stone.
According to researchers, orange juice enhanced the levels of citrate in the urine and reduced the crystallization of uric acid and calcium oxalate – the most frequently found ingredient in kidney stones.
But lemonade did not increase the levels of citrate, an important acid neutralizer and inhibitor of kidney stone formation.
“One reason might be the different constituents of various beverages,” Dr. Odvina said.