FRIDAY, July 25 (HealthDay News) — Men over 40 may want to avoid iced tea and start hitting the lemonade if they wish to lower their risk of kidney stones, according to experts.
Kidney stones, crystals that develop in the kidneys or the tubes that carry urine from the kidney to the bladder, affect 10 percent of the U.S. population, and men run a four times greater risk than women of developing them. The chance of forming kidney stones rises steeply after the age of 40.
Oxalate, a key chemical in the formation of kidney stones, comes in high concentrations in iced tea.
“For many people, iced tea is potentially one of the worst things they can drink,” John Milner, an instructor in the department of urology at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, said in a news release. “For people who have a tendency to form kidney stones, it’s definitely one of the worst things you can drink.”
The failure to stay hydrated is a common cause of kidney stones. Summertime heat and humidity, which causes excessively sweating and dehydration, combined with an marked increase in iced tea consumption in the United States, raises the risk of kidney stones during this time of year.
The Tea Association of the U.S.A. reports that Americans consume almost 1.91 billon gallons of iced teas a year, a dramatic rise given the belief that the beverage is healthier than other alternatives such as soda and beer.
Milner said drinking water is the best way to stay properly hydrated. If one is prone to developing kidney stones, though, flavoring water heavily with lemon or drinking lemonade may help.
“Lemons are very high in citrates, which inhibit the growth of kidney stones,” Milner said. “Lemonade, not the powdered variety that uses artificial flavoring, actually slows the development of kidney stones for those who are prone to the development of kidney stones.”
Other foods containing high concentrations of oxalates that people prone to kidney stones should avoid include spinach, chocolate, rhubarb and nuts. Going light on salt consumption, reducing the amount of meat consumed, drinking several glasses a water a day, and eating foods high in calcium, which counteract any oxalates the body absorbs, also helps.
More information
The National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse has more about kidney stones.
— Kevin McKeever
SOURCE: Loyola University Health System, news release, July 22, 2008
Last Updated: July 25, 2008
Copyright © 2008 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.
Comments (5)
Why iced tea?
Is it the diuretic effect of the caffeine?
If so, I guess iced coffee or high caffeine colas or energy drinks would cause the same problem.
Or is there something specific to tea (black,white,green) that may lead to the formation of crystals
Ouch!!!
Thanks for the info. on kidney stones. My husband has kidney stones and we didn’t realize that tea he drank could hurt him. I know lots of people can use this info.
I would also like to know WHY and HOW iced tea can lead to kidney stones. I prefer iced to hot tea in the summer.
What about hot tea? Or tea that has been chilled without the use of ice?
I was told by my doctor that tea actually dehydrates the body, and to limit it in summer (and not to allow children to drink it a lot as they dehydrate even faster). I have several tea-addicted friends who have experienced painful kidney stones at an earlier age than usual. They were told that they needed to drink more water instead of tea – a few are still drinking the tea as they love it. I was also told if I was to drink tea, choose hot tea instead, and steer away from black tea as it is more dehydrating than the others. (I drink herbal teas which are NOT the same thing at all).