Kidney Stones in Children?

You may have heard that diabetes type 2, originally called adult onset diabetes as it didn't occur in children, is being diagnosed in children as young as age 4. But did you know that another supposed disease of adults is affecting more and more children? Hospitals in major metropolitan areas are now reporting children with kidney stones as often as once a week, where they once saw kidney stones in children once every few months. And they are seeing kidney stones in children as young as 5 or 6 years old.

Most all kidney stones are caused by too much salt in the diet and not enough water. There is a difference between water and other beverages. Water washes away excess salt, some beverages, such as Gatorade, soft drinks and some vegetable juices add to dietary salt. Excess salt is found in almost all canned and boxed soups as well as frozen entree foods. Be sure to check out the nutrition label. Any food that lists 20% of more %DV is high in sodium. The DV (daily value) percent lets you know the percent of nutrient one portion of this food provides. A box or can of food is usually more than one serving. So if a can of soup has 2 servings, and each serving is 20% of your daily maximum allowance of sodium, if you eat the whole can you have consume 40% of your sodium allowance for the day.

Other foods to beware of include salted snack foods, including nuts, crackers and baked goods. Bacon, salami, hot dogs and other sliced deli meats usually have a large amount of salt. Also be aware that olives, dill pickles and soy sauce are also high in salt. Small amount over the course of the day add up.

Let's keep our children healthy now and let them start adulthood with healthy bodies. We have the ability to shape their eating habits. Read the nutrition label no matter how healthy the product appears from its front label. Start now.