Actually even though the most common form of ks is calcium oxalate and it seems counterintuitive, low amounts of calcium in your diet will increase your chances of forming calcium oxalate kidney stones; the problem is oxalate and calcium binds with oxalates in the intestines preventing absorption by the body where they end up in the kidneys.
So if your ks is calcium oxalate you need to increase calcium and decrease oxalate (oxalate rich foods such as Spinach, Bran flakes, Rhubarb, Beets, Potato chips, French fries, Nuts and nut butters.) Best source of calcium is calcium rich foods and next best is calcium citrate supplements (which is highly absorbed, not calcium from oyster shells that are poorly absorbed - so by taking such you were actually not increasing absorbed calcium).
Another excellent form of calcium (that I take) is canned fish such as sardines, mackerel or salmon that have bones. The bones are soft, rich in calcium and easily absorbed. An added benefit is you get a lot of Omega-3's
Your doc may be able to do blood test to determine what is causing the stones. Try and get the stone when it passes. Talk to your doc. Do your research from legit sites.
If the stones are not the common calcium oxalate type then the diet info above is not relevant as far as calcium oxalate stones.
disclaimer: genius is not a medical type. Talk to your doc. Do your research from legit sites.
Thank you, Genius. That was very helpful. Definitely, I have learned from experience that oyster shell is not the best form of calcium. At one time it was a very common source in OsCal, an over the counter very common calcium supplement in every drug store. I believe the formula has been changed.
Some body builders have been known to throw the eggshells in their smoothies for free added calcium. Interesting to note, though, that oyster shell powder was traditionally added to the chicken feed because chicken-farmers found that there was less egg-breakage and a sturdier shell and less loss of profit when the hens ate calcium rich oyster shell.
Most of us don't get enough green vegetables like broccoli and dandelions which our ancestors ate in abundance and never had calcium problems and deficiencies.
Sardines are a powerhouse of nutrition and calcium (considered an aphrodisiac) but you should be aware that the one drawback of sardines is the natural presence of a high amount of purines which are quite conducive to kidney stones of the uric acid variety and are ill-advised if you are prone to gout.
Also, be careful in the quality of the can housing your delicious sardines (I am now salivating for some of those oily, salty delicacies now) as some contain a toxic chemical, biosphenol A, known as BPA. But you can search out more conscious companies that advertise the avoidance of that chemical.
The Koreans eat tons of sardines but not in the canned, heavily salted and packed in oil variety. (and far less tasty) Their markets have traditionally been filled with all sizes and all varieties of dried sardines and they reconstituted them with water for soups and side dishes.
But those bony structures of those little fish pack a powerful calcium boost. One of my Asian girl acquaintances, her father in his eighties, eating dried sardines all his life had perfect teeth and used to remove the metallic bottle cap off of beer bottles with his teeth after he had a few too many and could not locate the bottle opener.
That is a pretty impressive set of calcium rich teeth for a person of any age. But I am sure he ate lots of greens for calcium, too. You can often see Koreans foraging for dandelions and wild scallions in open fields, free organic vegetation.