People love Top 10 lists, like Billboard’s Year-End Top 10 songs, Listverse’s 10 Hilarious Historic Predictions of Life in the 2000s and Google’s Top 10 searched-for health topics of 2019.
This year’s Google 10 included topics we’ve covered recently, from how to lower blood pressure (No. 1), to how to get rid of hiccups (No. 3) and what causes them (No. 5). But No. 6 on the Google list was “What causes kidney stones?” That’s a topic we haven’t addressed since 2016, and clearly it’s a medical problem that’s on your mind!
In fact, according to Cleveland Clinic urologist Dr. Sri Sivalingam, “With the declining health of the American public [that’s the epidemics of obesity and diabetes] ... over the past five to 10 years, we’ve seen an increase in the prevalence of stones, with more rapid increases among women and kids.”
So, here are the causes of kidney stones, and the steps to take to avoid them:
• Obesity is a trigger. The solution? Maintain a healthy weight to avoid bodywide inflammation and diabetes, which is strongly linked to kidney stone formation.
• Ditto dehydration. The solution? The American Urological Association says that if you’re prone to or have had kidney stones, you should drink 84 ounces of fluid daily.
• Excess salt is another trigger. It causes an increase in calcium in the urine, which can lead to stones. The solution? Avoid fast food and canned or ultraprocessed foods.
• Added fructose/high fructose corn syrup is another culprit. The solution? Ditch foods with added fructose, sugars and syrups. For sweets, eat more citrus fruits; they help prevent stone formation.
Driving under the influence includes marijuana
As Adam Sandler wrote in his lyrics for the “Pot Heads Anthem” (sung to the tune of “The Star-Spangled Banner”): “Oh say I can’t see/Where the heck’s my Visine?/And my eyesight’s not keen/I hope you’re not driving.”
Unfortunately, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that during 2018, around 12 million U.S. residents 16 and older said that they’d driven while under the influence of marijuana. In June 2019, the AAA reported that almost 15 million drivers admitted that during the previous 30 days, they’d gotten behind the wheel of a car within an hour of using marijuana, doubling their risk for getting into an accident.
Now, that might not sound like a lot compared with the astounding 100 million folks every year who admit to driving under the influence of alcohol, according to the CDC. But it’s still a serious and growing problem, as more areas make the use of recreational marijuana legal.
People 21 to 25 are most likely to smoke and drive; those 16 to 20 are second most likely -- and they’re at greatest risk for accidents anyway because of their lack of experience. Many folks don’t realize that the impairing effects of marijuana can last for four hours or more, or that, according to the AAA, today’s pot is often 10 times more powerful than weed from the 1970s.
So, don’t make an unforced error that’ll cause you a lifetime of pain. No smoking (or munching) marijuana and driving. If it’s legal where you are, stay home! Watch your lava lamp.
Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. To live your healthiest, tune into “The Dr. Oz Show” or visit www.sharecare.com. (c)2020 Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
