Drinking beer won’t cause urinary stones? 3 Tips to Stay Away from Threats

The summer heat wave is the peak season for urinary stones. The Internet has gone viral: "Drinking beer won't cause urinary stones?", which has caused a lot of discussion among "alcohol lovers". Doctors point out that alcohol does have a diuretic effect, but it will increase uric acid levels and damage the liver. In addition, it is high in calories and can easily lead to obesity, so drinking too much is not good for you. The best way to prevent urinary stones is to "drink less alcohol and more water."

Dr. Wang Jiongyun, director of the Urology Department of Enzhugong Hospital, pointed out that urinary stones are more common in summer, including kidney stones, ureteral stones, bladder stones and urethral stones. It is one of the common urological diseases. If the 5% prevalence rate in the United States is extrapolated, the number of people with urinary stones in Taiwan may exceed one million, and the incidence rate in men is 1 times higher than that in women.

Risk factors for urinary tract stones

Many factors can cause urinary stones, including climate, genetics, diet, water intake, levels of stone inhibitors in the body, and hot working environment; studies have found that stones are also related to bacterial infections. In addition, gout, diabetes, hyperparathyroidism, hypertension, etc. will also increase the incidence of urinary stones.

In addition, parents with stones (the incidence of stones increases by 3 times), a low-magnesium and low-calcium diet, structural abnormalities of the urinary tract system (such as renal diverticula, ureteral stenosis), too much calcium urate and calcium oxalate in the urine, too little citrate, and vitamin A deficiency are also risk factors for urinary stones.

Does drinking milk cause urinary stones? In fact, eating more calcium-rich foods, such as milk, does not increase the risk of stones.

Do not neglect the treatment of low back pain and hematuria

Dr. Wang Jiongyun emphasized that urinary stones are mainly uric acid, calcium oxalate and calcium phosphate. The initial symptoms are low back pain, hematuria or urinary tract infection, occasionally accompanied by fever, chills, abdominal distension, vomiting, etc. In addition to detailed medical history and physical examination, blood, urine tests and X-rays are the most basic diagnostic steps for urinary stones.

Treatment recommendations will be based on the patient's symptoms, stone size, location, urinary tract obstruction (severity of renal edema) and urinary tract infection. Generally, for stones smaller than 0.5 cm, patients will be advised to drink more water and exercise more. For stones larger than 0.5 cm, active treatment is required depending on the symptoms.

Drinking milk regularly will not cause urinary stones

In addition, the outpatient clinic often finds that people have wrong myths about urinary stones. The most common one is "Does drinking milk increase the risk of urinary stones?" In fact, eating more calcium-rich foods, such as milk, tofu, etc., does not increase the risk of stones. On the contrary, insufficient calcium intake causes the bones to release calcium, leading to an increase in blood calcium concentration, which increases the chance of stones.

Prevention is better than cure. Remember these three tips

• 1. Drink water: For patients with urinary stones, water intake is the most important thing. The calculation method for water intake is "body weight x 40 = amount of water consumed in a day", and the daily urine volume must be maintained between 2 and 3 liters. For example, for a 65 kg male, the daily water intake is 65X40=2.600cc, which is the reasonable daily water drinking range.

• 2. Diet: Reduce the intake of animal protein to no more than 52 grams a day. Do not eat too salty food (2.5 grams of salt per day) or eat too many foods containing oxalic acid (such as spinach, beets, chocolate, nuts, wheat bran, soybeans, soy beans and strawberries, etc.). Eating too much vitamin C will also increase the oxalic acid content in the urine and increase the chance of stones.

• 3. Food: Foods that prevent urinary stones include: oranges, tangerines, and grapefruits contain a lot of citric acid, which can reduce the formation of calcium oxalate stones. Drinking cranberry juice can reduce urinary tract infections, and supplementing female hormones for menopausal women can also reduce the recurrence of infectious stones.

【Intimate Reminder】：

The public is reminded that prevention of urinary stones is always more important than treatment. Proper water intake is the only way to avoid stones. Food control and paying attention to urine pH are also essential. In addition, people with urinary stones also need regular outpatient follow-up (every six months or one year) to stay away from lower body pain.