Healthy diet ‘can prevent kidney stones’

People who eat a healthy diet to lose weight may be unaware that they are also reducing their risk of developing kidney stones.

Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Maine Medical Center found that a diet that is high in fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes, dairy products and whole grains but is low in sweetened drinks and red and processed meats can ward off kidney stones.

Called the dietary approaches to stop hypertension (Dash) diet, it is often prescribed to those with high blood pressure.

The research is soon to be published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology.

"We believe our results provide a strong rationale for a randomised trial examining the effect of a Dash-style diet on kidney stone recurrence," the authors wrote.

Those who want to lose weight and keep it off may want to increase their milk intake, as a recent study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that two glasses of the calcium-rich beverage helped people to lose an average of 12lb over two years.

Have you ever tried an eating regime similar to the Dash diet?