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Essential Kidney Stone Diet and Lifestyle Choices
That Prevent Reoccurrence
Once you experience the pain of kidney stones, you certainly do not want to
ever feel it again especially after undergoing one of the various treatments
available to remove them.
Review of the Best Kidney Stone Removal Treatment or
Try it
This article discusses a number of choices that can be made both in diet and
how you live which can ensure that kidney stones do not come back. Being
aware and informed of certain health benefits is the best type of
preventative “medicine.”
Making the Right Nutritional Choices
There are a number of nutritional choices that you can make as part of a
kidney stone diet. These include:
Drink a lot of fluids. To keep kidneys clean and functioning properly,
frequent urination can help filter out substances. The only way to achieve a
higher percentage of urination is to drink a lot of fluids. And the drink of
choice for a kidney stone diet is water.
Adding plenty of water to your body on a daily basis will help reduce high
levels of calcium that your kidney will have to filter. As part of a kidney
stone diet, the recommended daily dose of water is approximately 2.5 liters
of water. Those that drink this much and more water per day have experienced
nearly a 40% decrease in their chances of developing a kidney stone versus
those who drank less.
People who have or previously experienced calcium, cystine or uric acid
kidney must consume a minimum of between eight and ten glasses of fluids
regularly throughout the day and night. To fulfill this amount would mean
having a glass with each meal as well as through the evening hours. All you
have to do is take a look at your urine to see if you are drinking enough
fluids each day. You know you have had enough to drink if it appears pale and
almost watery. If it is dark and yellow, it could indicate that you may need
to take in more fluids.
There are specific situations with a kidney stone diet where the fluid intake
must be increased from the aforementioned recommended amount. These include
people who stay physically active, live in warm climates, and/or suffer from
exertion and stress.
And it is not only about the quantity of water in a kidney stone diet; it
also involves the quality as well. Compared to bottled water, which is
softer, tap water tends to be hard - also depending on where you live - and
has a much higher level of calcium. People who drink mineral water as part of
their kidney stone diet - despite these having calcium and magnesium - have
the ability of possibility reducing their risk for calcium and uric acid
kidney stones.
To raise citrate levels in the urine, a protector against calcium stones, a
half cup of pure lemon juice taken daily is recommended as part of a kidney
stone diet versus orange juice which, although it raises citrate levels as
well, also increase oxalate levels and does not lower calcium quantities.
Avoid carbonated beverages. Soft drinks do more harm than good and it
is best to exclude them, if possible, from a kidney stone diet regimen. The
phosphoric acid in these beverages increases the risk for kidney stones and
the other ingredients dramatically decrease citrate in the urine, which the
body needs to protect itself from kidney stone formation. Studies have
concluded that that even three cans of soda per week could significantly
raise their chances.
Eat food rich in fiber. Fiber is an essential component of a kidney
stone diet. While both kinds of fiber are important - soluble and insoluble -
the second type seems to help reduce calcium in the urine. Found in
ingredients, such as rye, wheat, barley and rice, insoluble fiber is known to
have phytate, a compound that seems to halt the formation of calcium salt
crystals. Insoluble fiber goes tow work in the intestines by combining with
calcium and forcing it out of the body as a waste product in the stool. While
this type of fiber never comes into contact with the kidney, it does help it
by increasing the speed of which substances move through the intestine,
offering minimal time for calcium absorption. That way, the calcium has
little chance of ever making it to the kidney and slowing down long enough to
start forming a kidney stone.
Try fish oil. In addition to the many recommended features of a kidney
stone diet previously mentioned, some researchers believe that the fatty
acids found in fish oil and supplements made out of it can reduce the
probability of forming calcium stones. However, there may not be enough
substantial evidence yet to make this claim.
To learn more about how diet plans, vitamin consumption, fluid and fiber intake
make a dramatic difference on changing your body’s susceptibility to kidney
stones, read a feature article on
kidney stones diet. |