Herbal corner: Can green tea prevent kidney stones

Red, black and green tea (Photo credit: mat.teo)

tea is more than a wonderful soothing beverage.....

Nephrolithiasis otherwise known as kidney stones are responsible for a very significant number of health issues. The lifetime risk of kidney stone formation is approximately 13% in men and 7% in women. The yearly economic cost of kidney stones has been estimated at 5.3 billion in the United States alone.

Anyone who has had a kidney stone knows it is not a pleasant occurence and would do almost anything to prevent them from recurring. Unfortunately most people are unable to comply with the large volume of water intake required to prevent stone formation. And drug therapy has provided mixed results, with some of the drugs intended to prevent stone formation causing different types of stones themselves.

Green tea has multiple health benefits but does it increase or decrease the risk of kidney stone formation?

A study published in the journal of urology has found that green tea reduces the formation of calcium oxalate stones which are the most common form of stone. It is though that this is brought about by the antioxidant effects of green tea. These finding are very similar to findings of other investigators.

How many cups of green tea should you drink, how hot should the water be, is there a difference in green teas obtained from China or Japan. There are no satisfactory answers to these questions yet. However in populations studies from the east it is proposed that the benefit of green tea particularly in prevention of cancer is approximately 5 to 6 cups per day. If the mechanism of this effect is the same then antioxidant effect may be maximal or near maximal at this dose. This should therefore be a reasonable starting point.