10 Effective Ways to Prevent Kidney Stones
Prevent Kidney Stones – Kidney stones are hard mineral which deposits the form inside your kidneys. This stone causes excruciating pain when this stone passes through your urinary tract.
Up to 15 percent of Americans and Europeans are affected by kidney stones. And once you have had one kidney stone, you are having 50 percent more chances to get another stone issue within the next 10 years.
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There is no sure way to prevent kidney stones, especially is there is a family history regarding this problem. A combination of lifestyle and diet when changes, also because of some medicines you can reduce the risk of stones.
Today I am going to share 10 natural and effective ways to prevent kidney stones.
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Staying Hydrated to Prevent Kidney Stones:-
Drinking more water is always the best option to prevent kidney stones. If you are not drinking enough water or any other fluid i.e fresh juices etc. then the output of urine became low and low urine output means your urine is more concentrated and less likely to dissolve the salts of urine which cause stones.
Orange juice and lemon juice are the good options as they both are filled with citrate, which prevents stones from forming in your kidneys or other places of the body. Drink at least 6-10 glass of water or other fluid regularly which can help you to pass 2 ltr. Of urine every day which also cleanses your body from inside.
If you doing a workout or exercise a lot regularly then you need to drink more water or fluids daily to cover the hydration in the body.
If you drink enough water regularly then you can see the urine color be like clear or pale yellow but if you drink less water your urine color would be as dark in color, and this is the sign by which you can know that you need to drink more water regularly.
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Eating more Calcium Rich Food to Prevent Kidney Stones:-
Calcium oxalate stones are the most common types of kidney stone and people think they need to reduce eating calcium but it is not true. Eating low calcium diets might increase the risk of a kidney stone or the risk of osteoporosis.
Avoid taking calcium supplements because they are the biggest of increasing bad calcium in the body and can cause stone in kidneys. If you still want to take supplements better to take it with the food (specific food). You can consult your doctor, nutritionist or dietitian about this.
Low-fat milk, low-fat yogurt, and low-fat cheese are filled with good calcium, you can take them rather than using calcium supplements.
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Eating Less Salt or Sodium to Prevent Kidney Stones:-
Eating food which has a high amount of salt or adding extra salt in food can cause and put you in the risk of calcium kidney stones. As per the Urology care Foundation, eating or taking too much salt can cause blood in the urine too. A high amount of salt can cause high urine calcium which can lead to stones in the kidney.
Eating less salt in the diet can help you to keep the lower level of calcium in the urine. Lower urine calcium means a lower risk of developing stones in kidneys.
Read the labels carefully while buying foods from the supermarket.
Food which is high in salt/sodium is:-
Canned soups and vegetables, meat, condiments.
Processed food like crackers, chips, etc.
Foods that contain monosodium glutamate, sodium nitrate, sodium bicarbonate (like baking soda).
It is better to use fresh herbs or salt-free herbal seasoning blends for giving flavor to food.
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Eat Lesser Oxalate Rich Foods to Prevent Kidney Stones:-
Some stones in the kidneys are made up of oxalate which is a natural compound founds in the food the binds the calcium in the urine which forms stones in the kidney. Eat these foods in limit can help you to prevent the stones from forming in the kidney.
High oxalates foods are:-
Chocolates, sweet potatoes, spinach, beets, coffee, tea, soy products, and wheat bran. You can eat these things, but try to eat them less in amount and not take them regularly. It is also better to avoid eating them at dinner or late at night.
Calcium and oxalate mixed in the digestive system before reaching the kidneys. It makes them harder and they start forming in the shape of the stone, so it better to avoid calcium-rich foods and high oxalate foods eating together.
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Avoid or Less Animal Protein in Diet to Prevent Kidney Stones:-
Those foods which are high in animal protein are highly acidic and can increase the urine acid (can create acidity, heartburn, and indigestion problem too). High urine acid might be able to cause both calcium oxalate and uric acid kidney stones.
You should avoid these foods or eat in limits. Do not eat them in dinner or on nights as it takes a lot of time to digest while sleeping it can cause serious health issues in the body.
Poultry products, fish, pork and beef are few of the products.
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Avoid or Reduce Vitamin C Supplements to Prevent Kidney Stones:-
Vitamin C is always good for health but taking vitamin C supplements are not good for health. It can cause kidney stones and most of the time it is harmful to men’s.
According to the study which is done in 2013, those men’s are taking a high dosage of vitamin C supplements are double in the risk of forming a kidney stone. Research also shows taking vitamin C from the food does not carry the same risk are vitamin C supplements take.
So it better to take vitamin C from fruits and vegetables rather than using vitamin C supplements. Lemon, orange, and Amla are the rich, natural source of vitamin C.
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Herbal Remedies are Good to Prevent Kidney Stones:-
There is a popular herbal remedy for kidney which is known as stone breaker i.e Chanca Piedra. This herbal product helps to prevent the calcium oxalate stones from forming the stone. It is also helpful in reducing the size of the already existed kidney stones.
Consult your doctor before using any products as sometimes these products are not well researched or well regulated for the treatment or prevention of kidney stones.
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Consult your Doctor Regarding Medicines to Prevent Kidney Stones:-
Sometimes a few medicines or medicines taking without consulting the doctors can cause kidney stones.
These types of drugs can cause kidney stones; if you find these chemicals in your medicine then it is better to consult the doctor before taking these types of medicines.
Those drugs are:- Diuretics, steroids, chemotherapy drugs, protease inhibitors, uricosuric drugs, decongestants, and anticonvulsants.
Taking these types of drugs can cause a high risk of kidney stones. Also, you should not stop these medicines before consulting your doctor. Understand the problem and situation can help you to away from this problem.
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Consult about Preventative Medications to your Doctor to Prevent Kidney Stones:-
If you are suffering from a particular type of kidney stone then you can take a particular type of medicine for the treatment of kidney stones. It can help you to control the amount of particular material which is presented in your urine. The type of medication prescribed by your doctor will depend on the type of stones you are usually getting.
Few of the examples are:-
If you are suffering from calcium stones then thiazide diuretics or phosphate may be beneficial.
If you are suffering from uric acid stones then allopurinol (Zyloprim) can help you to reduce uric acid in your urine or blood.
Again if you are suffering from struvite stones then long-term antibiotics might be useful in reducing the number of bacteria present in your urine
If you are suffering from cystine stones then Capoten (Captopril) can help in reducing the level of cystine in your urine
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Right Vitamins and Supplements to Prevent Kidney Stones:-
The wide range of natural health supplements and vitamins can help you to reduce the risk of kidney stones and those supplements are:- Pyridoxine supplements, Potassium Citrate, Fish Oil and Vitamin-B (Vitamin B also founds in mangoes, Avocados, bananas and in soybeans. Consult the doctor which one is good for you.
A kidney stone is very common these days. It happens because of our eating habits and our workout routine or some genetical problem from family history. There is no guarantee that this prevention method works, but I am dam sure they can reduce the size or pain of the stones in the kidney. It is better to always hydrates and makes some diet plan chart.
If you have a condition that increases your risk of kidney stones, such as persistent urinary tract infection, inflammatory bowel disease or because of obesity then you should talk to your doctor without wasting any time about ways to manage it to decrease your kidney stone risk.
If you already passed a kidney stone before, then consult your doctor and take proper treatment. Once you know from these tests that which type of stones are you suffering than can take proper target steps against those particular types of stone. Read our previous kidney stone related articles where all types of stone’s information written properly