Drinking This Tea May Protect You Against Kidney Stones, New Study Says
Just the idea of a kidney stone might make you cringe in discomfort—especially when you consider that 10% of people will experience a kidney stone at some point in their lives, according to the National Kidney Foundation. To help you avoid being part of that statistic, one research team has discovered that a popular kind of tea may help keep the development of kidney stones at bay.
Past research has shown that drinking an excess of coffee and soda can sometimes lead to kidney stones, because "anti-nutrients" in these drinks may impact how effectively the body can absorb some nutrients.
In a review that was published last month in the peer-reviewed World Journal of Urology, a team of researchers in France and the U.K. set out to analyze how coffee and tea may relate to kidney stone formation.
After reviewing 13 past studies, the researchers concluded that drinking appropriate amounts of both coffee and tea might have protective effects against the formation of kidney stones. This is because consuming caffeine increases the urinary excretion of calcium, sodium, and magnesium.
However, the researchers specified that a particular kind of tea may play the best defense against the development of kidney stones. "The current available literature supports in general, a potentially protective role for tea against stone formation, mainly for green tea," the study authors write.
The water the tea is steeped in helps the body produce urine, which facilitates the release of an excess of minerals, the researchers note. They also suggest that tea's antioxidants may have a preventive effect.
More investigation is necessary before the scientific community can definitively assert that coffee or tea prevent kidney stones. However, if you already have some green tea in the cupboard, this study may be great inspiration to fire up the kettle.
If you're a coffee drinker, researchers also recently found there's a certain amount that may lower your fatal heart disease risk.
Sign up for our newsletter!
