I'm getting conflicting information about vitamin C and kidney stones, please straighten me out!?

Question

This one said it causes kidney stones

http://www.walgreens.com/library/contents.jsp?doctype=10&docid=000081

This one said it does not

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris/2005/11/08/excessive_vitamin_c_consumption_does_not_cause_kidney_stones.htm

Answer 1

The study that says it does is from 2005, the one that says it doesn't dates from 1999.

Moreover, note that the 2005 study mentions risk in *men*; while the 1999 talks about *women*.

A normally balanced diet should already have enough vitamin C so that supplement are not required. But selling that stuff is a multi-billion $ industry. I'd be interested to see if a study shows any benefit from taking vitamin C supplement, as opposed to only risks.

If you don't need it, don't take it.

Answer 2

Read this below. I think it can help you

FOODS THAT MAY CAUSE KIDNEY STONES:

In many cases wrong food habits are one of the main reasons that trigger the formation of kidney stone. Many people are under the impression that the excessive intake of soft drinks will result in obesity and indigestion alone. But it is a prime factor for the formation of kidney stones. The acidity and mineral imbalances in soft drinks will increase the risk of kidney stone development.

Eating lot of meat will cause uric acid stones in kidneys. Excessive sugar intake will cause not only diabetes but also kidney stones. Sometimes high protein diet may also result in stone formation. Red meat, fish and poultry should be taken in lesser quantity and in less frequency. Coffee, soda, cocoa, tea should be avoided or take one or two times daily. White flour should be avoided to control stone formation.

Though scientists have specified that there is no direct connection between food and kidney stones, you should avoid any food that may cause allergies. Food allergies tend to cause ingestion and that in turn may cause inflammatory bowel disorders. This again will cause kidney stones.

Uric acid may cause kidney stones. It is present in food like sweet bread, liver and kidney. Therefore such foods should be avoided. Spinach may also be avoided as it increases the risk of promoting kidney stones.

A dairy diet can be replaced with vegetable protein diet like beans and soy to be more beneficial. Of course, check with your family doctor first before any dieting is done.

You can avoid the above foods and diets that may increase the risk of kidney stone development. Again, check with your family doctor first about the right diet for you and your family.

Drinking plenty of water can help prevent kidney stones. In fact, small stones will be dissolved if you take in more water regularly.

Lemonade is proven to be a good remedy for dissolving kidney stones. Generally kidney stones are formed when the urine lacks enough substance to prevent them. Such substance mainly includes citrate. Normally doctors will prescribe potassium citrate in pill form to remove small stones in kidney. Instead of taking pills, taking adequate lemonade will help you in passing kidney stones in a natural way. Always remember natural ways do not have any side effects.

You can include calcium in your diet. Initially you could consume vegetables and fruits which have a natural calcium content in them instead of taking calcium supplements. Green peas, pumpkin, tomatoes, cauliflower, cabbage etc can be included. Fresh fruits like guava, water melon, papaya, pine apple etc can also be taken.

Answer 3

Hey Bigboy.  You can see by the answers you have received that this is a very confusing issue!

The reason you can find opposing opinions on Vitamin c and kidney stone risk is because there are opposing findings in various medical studies!  Thus, the topic is 'controversial' - which means there is not a definitive scientific answer at this time.

Some studies have found an increase production of oxalate from high intakes of vit. C.  Oxalate is the molecule that 'drives' the formation of the most common forms of kidney stones.  So, an increase in oxalate formation "might" increase the risk for stone formation.  I don't believe there are any studies that actually have shown stone formation by high intakes of vit. C - most of the studies are 'theoretical'.  

Vitamin C is metabolized in numerous ways in the body.  One biochemical pathway converts Vitamin C to oxalate.  However, only a subgroup of the population appears to use this pathway to any significant degree.

Numerous studies indicate that other factors (than vit. C) play major roles in the risk for stone formation.  Calcium, Magnesium, Vitamin B6, Citrate, and Phytate intakes can impact on stone formation.  These factors (most of which are deficient with the Standard American Diet - SAD), may be far more important than high doses of vitamin C.

Additionally, gut health and function can play a critical role in the risk of stone formation.  A "Leaky Gut" allows excessive absorption of oxalates from the diet.  Again, it is high levels of oxalates in the urine that drive the formation of most kidney stones.   Leaky Gut Syndromes can result from use of NSAID drugs (Advil, Motrin, Aleve, etc.) and various inflammatory bowel diseases - especially Celiac Disease.

I am a chronic kidney stone former because I have Celiac Disease that was NOT diagnosed by the numerous medical docs I have seen in my life.  I had to make the diagnosis myself, several years ago.

I have not formed any new stones since making the correct diagnosis of my own health issues (after 25 years of constant stone formation!), even though I take high doses of Vitamin C, as well as intravenous doses of C.  I consume supplements of Calcium, Magnesium, B6, citrate, IP6 (phytate) etc. to assist in preventing stones.

Hope this wasn't too lengthy to be helpful for you.

Best wishes and good luck.

p.s. if you are a chronic kidney stone former, I would argue that it is Medical Malpractice to not automatically test you for the very common, but rarely medically diagnosed Celiac Disease.