kidney stones?
i was speaking to someone today who mentioned that tea can cause kidney stones, i was not aware, but after a quick search i found that this is true. due to an ‘oxalate’ content that is found in tea.. i was wondering what is the risk to daily tea drinkers?
please note: that if you drink green tea your in the clear, as green tea contains far far far less then more oxidized teas.
I drink tea all day every day and haven’t had a problem. My husband has issues with kidney stones all the time as his kidney function is poor (he drinks soda and not enough water, but try telling him that! UGH) Fortunately, though, I’ve not had any problems.
I’ve never heard that before. And, since you brought it up, not long before I began to drink tea (mostly green) I would occasionally have pains about where my kidneys would be. I can’t remember the last time I felt any pain in the area (I’m not saying drinking tea helped, but it certainly didn’t seem to exacerbate whatever pain I was having, either).
As a kidney stone sufferer I can attest to the truth of this statement (that oxalate content can increase the risk of stones – though I don’t know if I’d go so far as to say cause them . . .).
HOWEVER . . . I do believe you have to be drinking copious amounts of tea, along with having a poor diet, being dehydrated (and yes, tea drinkers still should have plenty of fresh, pure water each day too!), and general other diet and lifestyle choices that cause your kidneys to not want to process and get stones.
I drink multiple cups of tea almost daily. Haven’t had a stone in ages. I also drink plenty of water (at least 32 ounces daily, on top of tea), have a diet filled with fresh fruits, veggies, and leafy greens, and when not 8 months pregnant, I also biked long distances 3-5 times per week, yoga, walks, other exercise, etc.
Your body will start making stones when it’s not being treated properly (barring cases where there is some sort of genetic or other issue – like a medication you take causes them – but you would know if you fall into that category!). Balance is always important. Drinking tea daily shouldn’t cause stones unless something else is out of whack and/or you aren’t being healthy in general.
A co-worker mentioned this to me in reference to a news story making the rounds. Apparently drinking large quantities of iced tea can increase the risk of kidney stones. Hot tea has oxalates also, but people tend to drink much greater quantities of iced tea per diem than they do hot tea(ahem — aside from us Steepsterites.)
I found this article on Medline: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_128013.html
Other articles, like this ABC news story, quote the researchers as saying, basically, go ahead and enjoy your iced tea but drink lots of water too: http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/health&id=8765997
Just like Rebecca said!
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