Doctors are warning that dehydration is becoming a concern. Kidney stones complaints and occurrence has increased 63% in the past decade in the UK. In the US, the percentage of hospital stays for kidney stone related illness is up between 5 and 10% each year.
What doctors are specifically concerned about is the seeming lack of awareness of daily hydration needs. Proper hydration dissolves the small crystals that form in the kidney as sediment and are the 'seeds' of larger stones.
In many cases, people seem to not know or recognize the signs of dehydration, but generally there could be a trend toward substituting water for other drinks that do not provide hydration and exacerbated by the assumption of sugary drinks, caffeinated drinks and alcohol.
Another troublesome trend, is that children in ever younger age brackets, are substituting water for either sugary or acidic drinks, which are both contributors to kidney stones; the former because it causes higher excretion of fluids in the body to eliminate the sugar, and the latter because acidic drinks contributes to the growth of kidney stones.
The guidelines are to drink between two to three quarts a day if possible in those patients who are at risk of kidney stones or have already had one in the past.
Partial source : MNT 6.4.13
No comments:
Post a Comment