The Armor Men's Health Show

Is Topo Chico No Bueno For Kidney Stones? Dr. Mistry Explains Why All Kinds Of Water Help Prevent Kidney Stones

• Dr. Sandeep Mistry and Donna Lee

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Thanks for tuning in to the Armor Men’s Health Hour Podcast today, where we bring you the latest and greatest in medical and urology care and the best urology humor out there.

In this segment, Dr. Mistry and Donna Lee answer a listener's question about kidney stones. He asks: "Dr. Mistry, does Topo Chico mineral water increase the chance of kidney stones forming?" Many of our local listeners will be familiar with Topo Chico branded mineral water, a beloved beverage here in Austin. Fortunately, Dr. Mistry reassures us that most acidic drinks actually have more a positive than negative impact on your kidneys. Dehydration is a major catalyst for stone formation, so anything that hydrates you helps prevent kidney stones. Once you already have a kidney stone, however, drinking dehydrating beverages like coffee or alcohol (in moderation) can help flush the stone out of the body by increasing urination. Lemon water, a common home-remedy for kidney stones, is actually only effective at preventing kidney stones, not treating them. Drinks with greater concentrations of citric acid, like Crystal Light lemonade or KSP Tablets dissolved in water, are even more effective at stone prevention. While drinking lemon water won't hurt you if you have a kidney stone, it only helps by hydrating, which regular water would also do. Reducing the amount of added salt you eat also helps prevent stone formation, so anti-inflammatory diets that reduce sodium intake to prevent systemic inflammation can be very helpful for those prone to kidney stones. Our in-house holistic nutrition specialists can help evaluate your dietary needs to prevent stone recurrence. If you or someone you love is suffering from kidney stones, please give us a call today!

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Dr. Mistry is a board-certified urologist and has been treating patients in the Austin and Greater Williamson County area since he started his private practice in 2007.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome back to the Armor Men's Health Hour with Dr. Mistry and Donna Lee.

Dr. Mistry:

Hello and welcome to the Armor Men's Health Hour. I'm Dr. Mistry, your host, here as always with my co-host and wonderfully technologically sophisticated partner in crime, Donna Lee.

Donna Lee:

Hello, everybody. Happy day! When you hear him say things like that, that means I've previously messed something up.

Dr. Mistry:

Just, just now screwed something.

Donna Lee:

But you wouldn't know that in, you know, listening land. They only know it when you call me out on it.

Dr. Mistry:

I'm Dr. Mistry. That is my real name. I'm a board certified urologist. This is a men's health show. We deal with a lot of issues that are urologic in nature, mainly because I'm a urologist. But we deal with hormonal issues. We have guests on often that talk about topics like orthopedics or plastic surgery or dermatology or ENT. Although we are very, very happy with our home here on news radio, KLBJ AM and FM where you hear the show weekly, you can download the episodes by podcast, wherever you get your podcasts.

Donna Lee:

That's right. We do know what an hour is, by the way. People I'm sure on the other side of the world are listening to the Armor Men's Health Hour and they get the 10 minute snippet. They don't know that...

Dr. Mistry:

Well, now that I'm a radio personality, I'm aware that we're just here to sell ads in between, and so, so you get 11 minutes of me talking...

Donna Lee:

And then an ad.

Dr. Mistry:

And then ads. I think there used to be jokes that Rush Limbaugh used to talk about where he was like,"Well, we gotta earn those, that ad money, you know?"

Donna Lee:

Oh, that's true. I recall hearing that.

Dr. Mistry:

We have a urology practice that is what is sponsors this show, NAU Urology Specialists. We're all throughout Austin, so if you're listening to the podcast, you know, in another state, none of these words make any difference to you, but we still love hearing from you. Donna, how do people see us and where do they see us and how do they get hold of us?

Donna Lee:

That's right. If you're in the Central Texas area, you can reach out to us at 512-238-0762, or even if you're out the area. If you'd like to see us though, we're in Round Rock, north Austin, south Austin, and Dripping Springs, Texas. Our website is armormenshealth.com, and our email address where we get these amazing questions that keep us fueled and going along and along is armormenshealth@gmail.com.

Dr. Mistry:

Your questions are what keep us going as a show. We love seeing you in our office as well. If you ever want a second opinion or any other kind of advice on your urologic health, we're happy to help. Donna, do we have a question?

Donna Lee:

We do. We have several, but I thought this was really interesting and it makes sense to me that he would ask this. When again is kidney stone season? One, that's my question.

Dr. Mistry:

Oh.

Donna Lee:

Not his.

Dr. Mistry:

It's the summer months.

Donna Lee:

Summer. That's right when it's hot out there, think about this. But this particular gentleman said,"Dr. Mistry, does Topo Chico mineral water increase the chance of kidney stones forming?"

Dr. Mistry:

That's a great question. There there's been a lot of mythology out there about what can and can't cause...

Donna Lee:

Because of the word mineral water?

Dr. Mistry:

Mineral, right. I think, I think it's the idea that there are rocks, like...

Donna Lee:

In the water.

Dr. Mistry:

In the water.

Donna Lee:

Oh, that makes sense. Okay.

Dr. Mistry:

But then the question is whether or not carbon dioxide in the water or that kind of acidic water can contribute to stone formation in the body.

Donna Lee:

Gotcha.

Dr. Mistry:

I'm gonna give you the end of that answer quickly, and then we'll go through some of the conversation.

Donna Lee:

Okay.

Dr. Mistry:

So the end of it is it's better to hydrate and not worry too much about the acid base of the, of the fluid. Similar with people who swear by drinking alkaline water. Have you heard of that? Alkaline water?

Donna Lee:

There's commercials for it.

Dr. Mistry:

You understand that you drink the water in your mouth. It goes one foot into the most acidic environment on earth--your stomach. You know what I'm saying? It's like saying that my water a little colder is gonna quench the fire maybe a little quicker. The alkaline water is going to immediately be ac-, acidified in the stomach, so unless you're taking an acid blocker...

Donna Lee:

That's called good marketing.

Dr. Mistry:

And by the way, if you want NAU Urology Specialists branded alkaline water, we have that in the office. We're gonna start selling it for two bucks.

Donna Lee:

Great. Okay.

Dr. Mistry:

No more free water in the office. And so, but, but in this particular case, although you could, you could surmise that carbon dioxide dissolved in water could contribute to a more acidic kind of fluid that you're intaking, the hydration well, you know, the, the fact that you're drinking fluid that ultimately gets in your body and dilutes the chemicals and crystals that form stones is overwhelmingly more positive than anything that could, could occur in the, in the fluid. So...

Donna Lee:

Benefits outweigh the risk.

Dr. Mistry:

But I think that's a great lead in question into what can we do as an individual to alter our risk of stone formation? And this hits us close to home. I had to deal with your husband's kidney stone on his wedding day.

Donna Lee:

In Las Vegas.

Dr. Mistry:

In Las Vegas.

Donna Lee:

That was a good time.

Dr. Mistry:

There's lots of, kind of home remedies people have come up with, like drinking a beer or drinking lemon water. And then I tell people to jump up and down on a trampoline.

Donna Lee:

I think you told my husband to jump up and down and drink a beer.

Dr. Mistry:

That's right.

Donna Lee:

Which was something I video recorded.

Dr. Mistry:

Best doctor ever. So...

Donna Lee:

It eventually passed.

Dr. Mistry:

Because, you know, once you have the stone, once you have it, now it's just a mechanical process. It's just a piece of sludge in a pipe and you gotta get that thing out of there.

Donna Lee:

Gravity.

Dr. Mistry:

So what do we do? We drink things that cause us to have lots of urine. That's diuretics. Sometimes coffee will work. Sometimes alcohol will work. Now alcohol's a problem because if you drink too much of it, you just get dehydrated and you end up being in the other problem. So, you know, adding a beer to lots of water is one thing.

Donna Lee:

But you get a buzz.

Dr. Mistry:

Only drinking beer is probably not the right way to get rid of a stone. And when you end up in the ER, all drunk, people are gonna ask about you.

Donna Lee:

Right? Or in AA."I was just trying to get rid of a kidney stone."

Dr. Mistry:

Alcohol, you know, in very small amounts might increase urine flow. We like to some degree coffee, but just straight up water, whether it's Topo Chico or something else is also really great to help push the stone out. Jumping up and down on a trampoline or walking also can help because the ureter, which the stone is stuck in, sits on a muscle called the psoas muscle, and that psoas muscle's what helps us with walking. And so, it helps us bend our knee up.

Donna Lee:

You look like a logo just now. The logos, when they walk with their little hands.

Dr. Mistry:

That's why we don't do this video.

Donna Lee:

It was a great visual.

Dr. Mistry:

I don't need people making fun of me. And so walking and, and being active can help that stone get away. Because what the stone wants to do is put you in pain and put you in the ground in a corner. So you get more dehydrated because the stone's your enemy.

Donna Lee:

Isn't it God's way to teach men that childbirth hurts?

Dr. Mistry:

I don't think God teaches lessons that way.

Donna Lee:

I think he does.

Dr. Mistry:

He has books and parables, not stones.

Donna Lee:

Oh, well I'm Buddhist. So who knows?

Dr. Mistry:

So if you have an active kidney stone being well, hydrated is the most important. Now whether it's lemon water or regular water, doesn't make a difference. The Lemon's not doing nothing.

Donna Lee:

Why do people think Lemon's doing something?

Dr. Mistry:

Because if you're trying to prevent stones, one of the most common things that we prescribe is citric acid.

Donna Lee:

Oh.

Dr. Mistry:

Because citric acid it inhibits the formation of kidney stones.

Donna Lee:

Okay.

Dr. Mistry:

And so it is the case that we want people to drink lemon water to prevent kidney stones.

Donna Lee:

For prevention.

Dr. Mistry:

So that's just, when you're just walking around out there every day, you should take something with a high amount of the citric acid. One of my favorite ones is that Crystal Light lemonade. It has like, it packs a punch when it comes to, to citric acid. In the, in the clinic, we use a supplement called KSP, K-S-P tabs. So you can buy them on Amazon. They're tablets, they're like, you know, the old Alka-Seltzer are tablets that you just put in water. So it kind of helps in both ways. One, you gotta drink 16 ounces of water twice a day, at least. And the other one is that it has high amounts of magnesium and citric acid. And so that's where some of that kind of, home, home remedies have kind of come from is the idea that they've kind of combined the fact that we use citric acid for long term prevention. But we want you to drink lots of water to get rid of the stone that might be hurting you in passing right away. Other dietary things that can affect, we are, we're really big into anti-inflammatory diets here in the clinic. We have ways of measuring that inflammation, in fact, here in the clinic. And then we can look at your urine chemistry and tell you what you need to change in your diet. And the most common thing that causes stones? Too much salt in the diet. And it's because biologically, when you eat salt...

Donna Lee:

It forms?

Dr. Mistry:

...your body has to pee the salt out. It really doesn't want too much sodium in your body, tight, it controls sodium very, very tightly. To the point that your body would rather kill you than have the wrong sodium level, you know? Like it really wants a good sodium level.

Donna Lee:

Your body is your enemy.

Dr. Mistry:

If you eat salt that's too high and it's in your urine, then your body will also excrete calcium along with the sodium, and that's what leads to stone formation is that increased calcium in the urine.

Donna Lee:

So preventatively, you should drink...

Dr. Mistry:

You have to cut your salt.

Donna Lee:

Cut the salt[inaudible] down and drink lemon water.

Dr. Mistry:

Crystal Light lemon water.

Donna Lee:

Okay. Crystal Light sponsor you?

Dr. Mistry:

They are not a sponsor. Neither is KSP Tabs. We should really start working on...

Donna Lee:

Can we just buy Crystal Light and just put a little label over it and call it Urology Specialists water?

Dr. Mistry:

And lime flavored Topo Chico at your local convenience store.

Donna Lee:

I'm making the labels right now.

Dr. Mistry:

And so if you're, if you have a history of kidney stones, if you are wanting a deeper dive into what has led to them, you will find no better practice than ours. I, I will tell you that as a, as a, you know, just how things work, urologists kind of don't like doing what we call metabolic stone management because there's no surgery involved. It's a lot of talking, you know? And, and that's not what a surgeon does. Okay?

Donna Lee:

Right.

Dr. Mistry:

But, but in our practice, we love metabolic stone management because we love preventing stones. And it's exactly within our DNA to kind of give you advice that you need. We have nutrition-trained physician assistants go through it and give you the tools you need to prevent stones, and there's no time like today to prevent stones. So, Donna, how do people get ahold of us?

Donna Lee:

That's right. Our new PA, her name is Lee, and we'll have her on some future episodes talking about just this stuff. Our phone number's 512-238-0762. And you can reach out to us through armormenshealth@gmail.com. You can send your questions there anonymously. They will be answered, and our website is armormenshealth.com. Check out our podcast wherever you listen to free podcasts. Thank you, Dr. Mistry!

Dr. Mistry:

Thank you, Donna.

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The Armor Men's Health Hour is brought to you by Urology Specialists. For questions, or to schedule an appointment, please call 512-238-0762 or online at armormenshealth.com.