A kidney stone is a hard mass developed from crystals that separate from the urine and build up on the inner surfaces of the kidney. Kidney stones may contain various combinations of chemicals. The most common type of stone contains calcium in combination with either oxalate or phosphate. These chemicals are part of a person's normal diet and make up important parts of the body, such as bones and muscles.

If you have a tendancy to develop these types of stones, changes in your diet, described below, may help to reduce your chances of developing an calcium oxalate kidney stone.

Drink lots of liquids. Try to drink at least 10 to 12 glasses every day. This is the most important thing you can do to keep your kidneys from making stones. At least half of your liquids should be water. You can drink other liquids for the other half, but try not to use grapefruit juice.

Consume a moderate amount of calcium. Try to include 2 or 3 servings of dairy foods or high-calcium foods every day. Stones are usually made of calcium, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't eat much calcium.

Oxalate is in many foods, and it binds to calcium in your body. It's good if they bind together in your stomach or intestines, because then they will pass through your body and not get into your kidneys. But if oxalate doesn't find calcium to bind with in your stomach, it will get into your kidneys, find calcium to bind with there, and form stones.

It is better for your calcium to come from food than from calcium supplements. If you do take calcium pills, take them with meals.

Many foods have oxalates in them, but only a few will add oxalates to your urine. Try to cut down on these foods:

• Tea
  
• Strawberries
  
• Nuts and peanut butter
  
• Beets
  
• Chocolate
  
• Spinach
  
• Wheat bran
  
• Rhubarb

Cut down on sodium (salt). Do not use many convenience foods, fast foods, or processed foods.

Limit foods high in salt like:

• Most processed meats such as bologna, hot dogs, and sausage (even if these items are made from chicken, turkey, or beef, they are still very high in salt)
  
• Dry soup mixes and most canned soups
  
• Pickles and sauerkraut
  
• Convenience mixes like Hamburger Helper®, Shake 'N Bake®, Rice-A-Roni^TM

Don't eat too much meat. We need about 2 or 3 servings each day. Each serving should be about the size of a deck of cards.

Don't use too much Vitamin C. We need about 75-90 milligrams (mg) each day, but some people take more in vitamin pills. If you do take a supplement, make sure you're not taking more than 500 mg of Vitamin C each day.

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