According to the National Kidney Foundation, more than half of a million people visit emergency rooms due to kidney stone problems each year. An estimated one in every 10 people will experience a kidney stone at some point in his or her life. This common malady can cause excruciating pain on either side of your lower back, persistent achiness in your stomach, nausea, vomiting, fever, chills, and bloody urine. To prevent kidney stone formation, consider doing the following things.
Drink Water
Drinking lots of water is the best way to ward off kidney stones. Failing to consume enough H2O causes your urine output to be low. When urine output is diminished, your urine is more concentrated. It’s less likely to dissolve the urine salts that create stones.
Strive to drink the recommended eight glasses of water each day. If you work out frequently, are prone to sweating, or have a history of cystine kidney stones, you should drink more than the suggested eight glasses of water a day. To gauge if you’re consuming enough water, look at your urine. If it’s not clear or pale yellow, you’re not drinking enough.
Avoid Oxalate-rich Foods
Some kidney stones are produced from oxalate. When combined with calcium in your urine, this natural compound found in foods can form kidney stones. Reducing your intake of oxalate-rich foods may help prevent the formation of agonizing kidney stones.
Foods containing substantial amounts of oxalates include spinach, chocolate, coffee, sweet potatoes, beets, rhubarb, peanuts, soy products, and wheat bran.
Boost Calcium Intake
The calcium oxalate stone is the most prevalent kind of kidney stone. The name of this stone often causes people to believe they’re consuming too much calcium. Surprisingly, the exact opposite is true. Besides elevating your risk of suffering from osteoporosis, consuming a low-calcium diet can also increase your chances of developing a kidney stone.
Reduced fat milk, cheese, and yogurt are all excellent sources of calcium. While obtaining your calcium from foods may lower your chances of getting a kidney stone, taking calcium supplements might increase them. Although, consuming calcium supplements with a meal may diminish the added risk.
Avoid Taking Vitamin C Supplements
Taking vitamin C supplements might raise your risk of getting a kidney stone, especially if you’re a man. A 2013 study conducted by Laura D. K. Thomas et al. and published in JAMA Internal Medicine discovered men who consumed high dosages of vitamin C supplements doubled their chance of developing a kidney stone. Fortunately, researchers don’t think the vitamin C occurring naturally in food poses this risk.
Curb Salt Consumption
According to the Urology Care Foundation, too much sodium in your urine thwarts calcium from being reabsorbed from your urine to your blood. This phenomenon results in elevated urine calcium and may cause kidney stone development. Consuming less sodium helps you control urine calcium levels. When possible, avoid eating sodium laden foods such as chips, crackers, processed lunch meats, canned soups, and condiments.
Eat Less Animal Protein
Eating too much animal protein increases your levels of uric acid, which might lead to the development of kidney stones. Consuming copious amounts of popular animal proteins such as red meat, eggs, poultry, and seafood also diminishes your body’s levels of citrate. Citrate is a chemical in your urine that helps to prevent kidney stones from forming.
Take Chanca Piedra
Chanca Piedra, also referred to as the “stone breaker,” is an herbal folk treatment for kidney stones. It’s believed to be able to both prevent calcium oxalate stones from developing and decrease the size of any existing stones you might have. Before starting a new herbal regimen, consult with your physician.
Be Wary about Taking Certain Medications
Taking certain over-the-counter and prescription medicines can boost your likelihood of suffering from a kidney stone. These medications include decongestants, diuretics, steroids, anticonvulsants, protease inhibitors, uricosuric drugs, and chemotherapy drugs. Your risk of developing a kidney stone increases when you take these medications for a prolonged length of time.
If you’re currently taking any of these medicines, you may wish to talk with your physician about alternative therapies. But, you shouldn’t cease taking any prescribed medications without obtaining your doctor’s stamp of approval first.
The discomfort resulting from a kidney stone can be intense. Thankfully, in many cases, these unusual deposits can be prevented. To safeguard against kidney stones in the future, consider the aforementioned natural approaches.
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