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Orange Juice Best at Stopping Kidney Stones
Mon Sep 4, 7:03 PM ET
MONDAY, Sept. 4 (HealthDay News) -- An independent study finds that
orange juice beats lemonade and other citrus fruit juices in helping
to keep kidney stones at bay.
Experts have long known that potassium citrate -- found in citrus
juice -- can slow stone formation in people with a history of the
condition.
But this study, by a team from the University of Texas Southwestern
Medical Center at Dallas, found that other components can affect a
juice's ability to prevent stones.
Thirteen volunteers (some with a history of kidney stones and some
without) took part in the multi-phase trial, which was funded by the U.S.
National Institutes of Health. For one week, participants drank
distilled water, for another week orange juice, and then lemonade for
another week. There was a three-week interval between each of these weeks.
During each phase, the participants drank 13 ounces of orange juice,
lemonade or distilled water three times a day with meals. They were
also put on a low-calcium, low-oxalate diet, which also helps cut
stone formation.
The study found that orange juice increased levels of citrate in the
urine and reduced the crystallization of uric acid and calcium
oxalate, the most common components of kidney stones. Lemonade did not
increase citrate levels.
"One reason might be the different constituents of various beverages,"
study lead author Dr. Clarita Odvina, assistant professor of internal
medicine at the Charles and Jane Pak Center for Mineral Metabolism and
Clinical Research, said in a prepared statement.
Odvina noted that the citrate in orange and grapefruit is accompanied
by a potassium ion while the citrate in lemonade and cranberry juice
is accompanied by a hydrogen ion. While hydrogen ions counteract the
beneficial effects of high citrate content, potassium ions do not.
The study is available online and was expected to be published in the
Oct. 26 print issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of
Nephrology.