Vinegar and kidney stone recurrence in people and rats
What it found
In a small randomised trial in people who had formed calcium oxalate kidney stones, daily vinegar was linked to fewer stones coming back and to changes in urine citrate and calcium.
Rat and lab studies suggest acetic acid in vinegar works through epigenetic changes.
What they found
Studies in people
Urine chemistry in people
Adults who consumed more than 15 ml of vinegar daily had higher citrate and lower calcium in their urine than those who did not. They also had higher urine pH and lower uric acid and creatinine.
Human kidney tissue
Kidney tissue from 18 people who consumed vinegar daily showed weaker NADC1 and CLDN14 signals and stronger histone acetylation than tissue from 17 people who did not. The three microRNAs were also higher.
Stone recurrence in people
In a randomised trial, people who took vinegar had a lower rate of stones coming back on imaging than those who took water. More people in the vinegar group also had improved urine citrate and calcium.
Animal and lab studies
Kidney crystals in rats
Rats given vinegar or 5% acetic acid for 4 weeks had more citrate and less calcium in their urine, and fewer calcium oxalate crystals in their kidneys. Their kidney function markers also improved.
How acetate works in cells
In rat and human kidney cells, acetate increased acetylation of histone H3 at two sites. This turned on three microRNAs that suppress the Nadc1 and Cldn14 genes, which control citrate and calcium handling.
What the authors conclude
- They conclude that vinegar prevents calcium oxalate kidney stones by influencing urinary citrate and calcium excretion through epigenetic regulation.
- They say that vinegar consumption is a promising strategy to prevent the occurrence and recurrence of calcium oxalate kidney stones.
How it was done
A survey of over 9000 people found that daily vinegar intake was linked to a lower risk of kidney stones, but no one knew whether vinegar could actually prevent stones or how it might work.
They compared urine from 61 adults who consumed vinegar daily with 61 who did not, gave vinegar or acetic acid to rats with induced kidney crystals for 4 weeks, and ran a randomised trial in 79 people with a history of calcium oxalate stones who took 5 ml of mature vinegar three times a day or plain water.
What it can’t tell you
- The randomised trial was small and only followed people for a limited time, so it cannot show whether vinegar prevents stones over many years.
- The rat and cell studies cannot prove that the same epigenetic changes happen in people who take vinegar.
- The study did not test different doses of vinegar or compare it with standard stone prevention measures.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, China; People's Hospital of Changzhi, China; University of Rochester Medical Center, USA
The paper
- Title
- Dietary vinegar prevents kidney stone recurrence via epigenetic regulations
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Zhu W, Liu Y, Lan Y, et al (2019). Dietary vinegar prevents kidney stone recurrence via epigenetic regulations. EBioMedicine. doi:10.1016/j.ebiom.2019.06.004Free full textPubMed 31202812DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error