A new study suggests that the DASH diet, in addition to helping to lower blood pressure, can significantly reduce the risk of developing kidney stones. The DASH diet consists of whole grains, fruits and vegetables, low and nonfat dairy, lean meat, seeds and nuts, as well as low sodium foods.

The dietary habits of people were followed and those that followed diets with the highest DASH scores were more than 40% less likely to develop kidney stones than those with the lowest DASH scores.

The reason may be that increased fruit and vegetable consumption increases urinary citrate, which prevents calcium stone formation. In addition, high calcium, low animal protein, low sodium diets decrease the risk of stone formation.

While it is still a good idea for those with kidney stones to avoid some foods high in oxalate such as spinach and almonds, the data suggests that for most people, restriction of oxalate to prevent stone formation is not a good idea, especially if it means lowering consumption of fruits, whole grains and vegetables.

This is a very promising discovery, and the DASH diet may be a better alternative for kidney stone prevention, due to the side effects that accompany existing medical treatments for the condition.