Kidney stones are a painful experience that affects millions of people each year. The older we get the more likely we are to develop kidney stones due to a myriad of reasons. Our diet, medications, weight, genetics, ethnicity, and lifestyle are all involved with a person’s risk. And for those of you working with seniors, the chance of developing a kidney stone gets higher with age. Men who are 50+ years old have the highest risk of developing kidney stones, making it important for those working with that population to be the most prepared.
A lot of what determines whether we may experience stone development or not are things we cannot change, such as age or ethnicity, diet and lifestyle factors are controllable factors. Because of this, it is important we focus on things we can change that will positively impact our prevention of kidney stones, as well as what to do if they become a problem.
Kidney stones are typically made of Calcium Oxalate. Which makes it ironic that studies have shown those with low calcium intakes are more prone to developing kidney stones. Also, once kidney stones are present, it is recommended to not alter calcium intake naturally found in foods. Any calcium supplementation needs to be evaluated by a medical professional before continuing. This article in The Chicago Tribune Health talks about some other dietary factors that have an impact on kidney stone formation, including dehydration and high sodium intake.
These findings show that it is incredibly important that we continue to include menu items that are high in calcium and use recipes that call for various dairy products for our customers. One example is SureQuest’s Recipe for Creamed Spinach, packing close to 200 mg calcium in just one serving!
This recipe, and thousands more, can be found on SureQuest’s Recipes OnDemand™, Recipe Management Software. Recipes OnDemand is a part of Menus OnDemand™ Menu Management Software and ThreeSquares® OnDemand, our premier foodservice management software suite.
Posted in:Food Service, Menus, Nutrition in the Older Adult, Nutritional Analysis, OnDemand
