Dear Healthy Friend,

Just the phrase "kidney stones" is probably enough to send a shudder through your body  – especially if you've suffered the anguish of this painful problem. And when you imagine this gut-wrenching pain being visited upon your child. Well… it sounds cruel beyond belief.

Read below to find out if your little angel is at risk and what you could do to prevent this unnessary evil inflicting itself on your child!

In the name of good health,

Pascale Barrow
Managing Editor of Nutrition & Healing

P.S. Everywhere you look and everything you read just screams recession and financial cut backs. Find out one way to still get the nutrients you need...

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Why your children could be at greater risk of getting kidney stones

Amanda Ross
Editor of Nutrition & Healing

Anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that more and more kids are becoming afflicted with the intense pain of kidney stones. And some doctors are blaming salty junk foods.

Kidney stones are formed when salts and other minerals found in urine become crystallised into solids. Stones block the urine flow until the body "passes" them through urination. The process of passing these stones – which can be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a golf ball (stones that large require surgery) – is excruciating. Some women say it's even more painful than childbirth.

Usually, kidney stones have been the exclusive domain of adults.

But hospitals have noted a small but significant rise in the incidence among kids. Calls about new cases each week is on the rise, while previously, there would be less than five cases each year.

Dr. Uri Alon, the director of Children's Mercy Hospital's bone and mineral disorders clinic in Kansas City, says most kidney stones in kids are calcium based, and come from a combination of bad eating habits and drinking too little water.

Another doctor claims to have seen a spike in paediatric kidney stone cases, including an infant whose mother discovered a kidney stone the size of a pea in her baby's nappy. I can only imagine the pain that baby must've experienced.

And here's the worst part for kids: Generally, doctors prefer to let the body expel stones the old fashioned and painful way. If the body doesn't succeed in passing the stones on its own, doctors insert a urinary tract scope to break up the stones and clear them away (makes me squirm just thinking about it...).

There is some question as to whether all these scattered reports represent an actual spike in paediatric kidney stones, or the illusion of more cases due to the fact that medical technology makes the stones easier to detect.

Either way, it's still a good idea for you to cut the sodium-laden processed foods out of both your and your child's diets!

An inexpensive alternative to fresh salmon

Dr Jonathan Wright
Nutrition & Healing

Q: I'm on a tight budget and can't always afford to buy fresh salmon…I am wondering if the canned varieties are okay?

Dr. Wright: The health benefits associated with eating fatty fish like salmon make it something that should be a staple in everyone's diet. But it's quite understandable that fresh seafood isn't something everyone can afford to buy on a regular basis, especially in these tough times! While fresh-caught salmon is best (and is something you should certainly treat yourself to when you're able to), canned is much easier on the budget and will allow you to get many of the same health benefits.