Tuesday Sept 27, 2016 (foodconsumer.org) -- Kidney stones do not sound like as scary as pancreatic cancer. But this health condition in certain cases may need to be corrected through surgical procedures like percutaneous nephrolithotomy or extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy.
The best thing to do with kidney stones is to prevent its formation in the first place. The best prevention may be taking a potassium citrate supplement, according to a new study published this year in the Journal of Urology.
The study was intended to test and see if potassium/magnesium citrate in a dose fo 42 mEq potassium, 21 mEq magnesium, 63 mEq citrate per day could reduce the risk of kidney stones in people who needed to have five weeks of restrict bed rest. Best rest is a known risk factor for kidney stone, particularly, calcium oxalate and uric acid stones.
Involved in the double-blind, placebo controlled study were 20 normocalciuric subjects who were randomized to either placebo or potassium-magnesium citrate before and during five weeks of strict bed rest. Subjects in both groups ate the same diet and bet rest in both groups rapidly increased secretion of urinary calcium to about 50 mg per day.
The study reveals that subjects in the study group (treated with potassium - magnesium citrate) significantly decreased the relative saturation of calcium oxalate and the concentration of undissociated uric acid, compared with those controls. The number of kidney stones was not reported in either group.
Both potassium-magnesium citrate treatment and placebo decreased immunoreactive parathyroid hormone, serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, and intestinal calcium absorption, but there was no difference in these parameters between the two groups.
The study concludes that potassium magnesium citrate can effectively reduce the risk of kidney stones associated with immobilization.
Potassium citrate has been proved in early studies to be able to dissolve kidney stones. (David Liu)
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