Acidity a Major Culprit in Kidney Disease

Kidney health is vitally important for the health of the body. The health of the kidney is going to be significantly impacted by the pH of the urine. This is particularly the case with kidney stones and is something that is often neglected.

The following extract from the excellent book “The Acid Alkaline Balance Diet” by Professor Felicia Drury Kliment gives a very succinct overview of the problem.

“Kidney stones are usually composed of calcium and oxalic acid. (Urates from uric acid and sulphates from sulphuric acid have also been found in stones). What most people with kidney stones don’t know is that oxalic acid, like calcium is vital to metabolic function. Ninety- eight per cent of oxalic acid in the body is produced internally and is used for moving food through the digestive tract by peristalsis (the contraction and expansion of muscles). Oxalic acid also aids in the absorption of calcium into the cells. 

Leftover oxalic acid, along with excess calcium, is removed from the blood by the kidneys and passes into the urine. Calcium oxalate permeates the urine generally, but only in those people whose urine is overloaded with acidic waste does it form stones.

It would seem therefore that the way to prevent kidney stones would be to alkalinize the urine. But urologists, unaware apparently that the acid-alkaline pH factor in the urine determines whether or not stones are formed, recommend reducing the levels of calcium and oxalic acid in the diet. Kidney stone patients are instructed not to eat any green vegetables, especially broccoli, which is high in calcium, and spinach, beet greens and chard because of their high oxalic acid content. By doing so, doctors are depriving their patients of valuable nutrients, one of which calcium, actually prevents kidney stones by alkalinizing the urine.

It’s probably a good idea for anyone who has a tendency to form stones to avoid cooked spinach, beet greens and rhubarb the only foods that are extremely high in oxalates (although oxalates from these foods constitute only 2% of the oxalates in the body, hardly enough to be considered responsible for creating stones0. They can however use these greens in salads”.

We very much recommend that if anyone has a tendency towards kidney stone formation that they follow a more alkaline diet, and drink plenty of alkaline antioxidant water. That is best supplemented with a good concentrated greens product such as Green Vibrance Powder and healthy organic cold pressed omega oils such as Flax Seed Oil. In addition use good salt such as Himalayan Crystal Salt which is a great source of natural salt with a wide spectrum of trace minerals.

According to Dr Batmanghelidj in his book “Water and Salt” “Salt is vital for the kidneys to clear excess acidity and pass the acidity into the urine. Without sufficient salt in the body, the body will become more and more acidic.”