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Cold tea can promote the formation of kidney stones
Last reviewed: 17.10.2021
Cold tea is the most popular drink in the summer. However, its use is not so safe for human health. Lonola University Medical Center Urologist John Milner warns: tea can promote the formation of kidney stones due to the high content of oxalates (salts and esters of oxalic acid).
Approximately 10% of the US population suffers from urolithiasis, the most common urological disease. "For people who are prone to the formation of kidney stones, ice tea is the most harmful drink," says D. Milner. According to him, active consumption of tea, excessive sweating and dehydration in summer increase the risk of urolithiasis.
"People recommend drinking more liquid in the summer, most of them choosing cold tea, since it contains fewer calories and tastier water, but they are doing themselves a disservice from the point of view of the risk of kidney stones," says Milner. Compared to women, men are 4 times more likely to form kidney stones. It is known that the risk group includes people aged 40 years and over, women with low estrogen levels, as well as those who are in the postmenopausal period, and to whom the ovaries have been removed.
Kidney stones are small crystals of salt and minerals that usually accumulate in the ureters - narrow tubes that transport urine from the kidneys to the bladder. Usually, the kidney stones are so small that they do not do any harm. However, sometimes they increase in size, "get stuck" in the ureters, causing pain and discomfort.
D. Milner recommends in the summer to give preference to water or homemade lemonade. "I advise you to drink water with lemon, which is rich in citrates - substances that interfere with the formation of kidney stones," the doctor notes. According to him, people prone to the formation of kidney stones should reduce the consumption of certain products containing a large number of oxalates, including spinach, chocolate, rhubarb, nuts, meat. He advises to reduce the intake of salt, drink several glasses of water a day and eat foods rich in calcium - they reduce the release of oxalate.
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