Islander
05-07-10, 08:08 PM
From: "Healthier Talk" <healthiertalk@healthiertalk.com>
May 6, 2010
Dear Reader,
I’ve talked about antibiotic overuse before. Now there’s yet one more reason to be concerned. And this time it’s our kids being affected.
The stone belt is an area of the USA that stretches from Virginia to Florida to Texas, where there is a particularly high incidence of adult kidney stones. Now, in at least one of the stone belt states, South Carolina, kidney stones are on a meteoric rise.
But this time, alarmingly, it’s our children who are suffering with the excruciating pain of the stones. Were talking a 400% increase between 1996 and 2007!
In fact pediatric urologists are reporting a steep rise in younger patients all across the country. It turns out that the overuse of antibiotics may be killing off bacteria in the gut that normally consumes the minerals that form kidney stones. This, combined with the dehydrating sodium-packed American diet, is creating a perfect storm of sorts. And our kids are the ones caught out in the rain.
So how do we go about reversing this troubling trend?
Avoiding unnecessary antibiotics is, of course, a great start. Changing our children’s diets can also make a big difference.
It’s amazing how much salt they are sneaking into our children’s food these days. With kid-favorite go-to foods like Kraft Macaroni and Cheese at 561 milligrams of salt a serving and McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets with 404 milligrams in a 4-piece serving, it’s easy to see how the hidden sodium can start to add up. Instead try replacing the pre-packaged meals with make-at-home versions where you can control the contents.
Also few kids drink enough water. And since dehydration is a big contributing factor to stones forming skip the Gatorade, which slips 110 milligrams of sodium into an eight-ounce serving and encourage your children or grandchildren to try water instead.
And the common misconception that milk is bad for kidney stones is off the mark. In fact a lack of dairy in our children’s diets may be contributing to the problem. Dietary calcium binds with oxalate before it’s absorbed by the body and preventing it from getting into the kidneys and binding with the calcium in urine to form stones.
Shining a spotlight on sodium,
Alice Wessendorf
May 6, 2010
Dear Reader,
I’ve talked about antibiotic overuse before. Now there’s yet one more reason to be concerned. And this time it’s our kids being affected.
The stone belt is an area of the USA that stretches from Virginia to Florida to Texas, where there is a particularly high incidence of adult kidney stones. Now, in at least one of the stone belt states, South Carolina, kidney stones are on a meteoric rise.
But this time, alarmingly, it’s our children who are suffering with the excruciating pain of the stones. Were talking a 400% increase between 1996 and 2007!
In fact pediatric urologists are reporting a steep rise in younger patients all across the country. It turns out that the overuse of antibiotics may be killing off bacteria in the gut that normally consumes the minerals that form kidney stones. This, combined with the dehydrating sodium-packed American diet, is creating a perfect storm of sorts. And our kids are the ones caught out in the rain.
So how do we go about reversing this troubling trend?
Avoiding unnecessary antibiotics is, of course, a great start. Changing our children’s diets can also make a big difference.
It’s amazing how much salt they are sneaking into our children’s food these days. With kid-favorite go-to foods like Kraft Macaroni and Cheese at 561 milligrams of salt a serving and McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets with 404 milligrams in a 4-piece serving, it’s easy to see how the hidden sodium can start to add up. Instead try replacing the pre-packaged meals with make-at-home versions where you can control the contents.
Also few kids drink enough water. And since dehydration is a big contributing factor to stones forming skip the Gatorade, which slips 110 milligrams of sodium into an eight-ounce serving and encourage your children or grandchildren to try water instead.
And the common misconception that milk is bad for kidney stones is off the mark. In fact a lack of dairy in our children’s diets may be contributing to the problem. Dietary calcium binds with oxalate before it’s absorbed by the body and preventing it from getting into the kidneys and binding with the calcium in urine to form stones.
Shining a spotlight on sodium,
Alice Wessendorf