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Diet Increases Risk For Kidney Stones

By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Kidney stones are probably not a big worry for you-that is unless you have kidney stones. If that is the case you have experienced the intense pain associated with them.

One thing we are learning is that diet plays an important role in the development of kidney stones, especially in people who are predisposed to the condition.

Forty to 65 percent of kidney stones are formed when oxalate, a byproduct of certain foods, binds to calcium in the urine. (Other common types include calcium phosphate stones and uric acid stones.) And the two biggest risk factors for this binding process are not drinking enough fluids and eating too much salt; both increase the amount of calcium and oxalate in the urine.

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