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Don't Give Your Kidneys a Jolt!!

People who are prone to kidney stones should limit their caffeine intake, new research suggests. When investigators gave people with a history of kidney stones a dose of caffeine equivalent to that found in 2 cups of coffee, they began to excrete more calcium in their urine, putting them at increased risk of forming kidney stones.

 

Researchers say that stone sufferers should limit themselves to fewer than two 8-ounce cups of coffee per day or a comparable amount of caffeine from other sources. A spike in urinary calcium increases the risk of stones because calcium is an important ingredient in kidney stones, the more there is, the more likely there will be stones. Previous research has shown that people who do not tend to form kidney stones also excrete more calcium in their urine after consuming caffeine.

 

As the investigators report in the Journal of Urology, after caffeine, the stone formers showed an increase in calcium, sodium, magnesium, and citrate in their urine. The same pattern also occurred in the people with no history of kidney stones.

 

The researchers explained that more calcium and sodium in urine likely increases the risk of kidney stones, while increases in magnesium and citrate appear to protect people from kidney stones.

 

Bean Research Funding Available

The dry bean industry recently announced that it is funding scientific studies to add to the growing body of evidence that its crops can help reduce the risk of various diseases prevalent not only in modern countries but also in the developing world. Researchers will explore the roles of dry beans in the prevention and treatment of such diverse diseases as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers, and even HIV/AIDS.

 

The dry bean industry, via the nonprofit Beans for Health Alliance (BHA), will fund research in both the United States and in Africa. The BHA is partially supported with a 2-year $1.5-million grant from the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

 

The announcement comes on the heels of the recently released results from the largest most comprehensive analysis to date of the antioxidant content of commonly consumed foods. According to the research, funded by the US Department of Agriculture, dried beans and peas are among the foods that contain the highest levels of these disease-fighting compounds. Check out http://www.beansforhealth.org for more information.