Kidney stones are hard mineral deposits that form inside your kidneys. They cause excruciating pain when they pass through your urinary tract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Up to\u00a012 percent\u00a0of Americans are affected by kidney stones. And once you\u2019ve had one kidney stone, you\u2019re\u00a050 percent more likely\u00a0to get another within the next 10 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s no one sure way to prevent kidney stones, especially if you have a family history of the condition. A combination of diet and lifestyle changes, as well as some medications, may help reduce your risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Making small adjustments to your current diet and nutrition plan may go a long way toward preventing kidney stones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Drinking more water is the best way to prevent\u00a0kidney stones. If you don\u2019t drink enough, your urine output will be low. Low urine output means your urine is more concentrated and less likely to dissolve urine salts that cause stones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lemonade and orange juice are also good options. They both contain citrate, which may prevent stones from forming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Try to drink around eight glasses of fluids daily, or enough to pass two liters of urine. If you exercise or sweat a lot, or if you have a history of cystine stones, you\u2019ll need additional fluids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can tell whether you\u2019re hydrated by looking at the color of your urine \u2014 it should be clear or pale yellow. If it\u2019s dark, you need to drink more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The most common type of kidney stone is the calcium oxalate stone, leading many people to believe they should avoid eating calcium. The opposite is true. Low-calcium diets may increase your kidney stone risk and your risk of\u00a0osteoporosis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Calcium supplements, however, may\u00a0increase your risk\u00a0of stones. Taking calcium supplements with a meal may help reduce that risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shop for calcium supplements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Low-fat milk, low-fat cheese, and low-fat yogurt are all good calcium-rich food options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A high-salt diet increases your risk of calcium kidney stones. According to the\u00a0Urology Care Foundation, too much salt in the urine prevents calcium from being reabsorbed from the urine to the blood. This causes high urine calcium, which may lead to kidney stones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eating less salt helps keep urine calcium levels lower. The lower the urine calcium, the lower the risk of developing kidney stones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To reduce your sodium intake, read food labels carefully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Foods notorious for being high in sodium include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To flavor foods without using salt, try fresh herbs or a salt-free, herbal seasoning blend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some kidney stones are made of oxalate, a natural compound found in foods that binds with calcium in the urine to form kidney stones. Limiting oxalate-rich foods may help prevent the stones from forming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Foods high in oxalates are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oxalate and calcium bind together in the digestive tract before reaching the kidneys, so it\u2019s harder for stones to form if you eat high-oxalate foods and calcium-rich foods at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Foods high in animal protein are acidic and may increase urine acid. High urine acid may cause both uric acid and calcium oxalate kidney stones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You should try to limit or avoid:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) supplementation may cause kidney stones, especially in men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to one\u00a02013 studyTrusted Source, men who took high doses of vitamin C supplements doubled their risk of forming a kidney stone. Researchers don\u2019t believe vitamin C from food carries the same risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chanca Piedra, also known as the \u201cstone breaker,\u201d is a popular herbal folk remedy for kidney stones. The herb is thought to help prevent calcium-oxalate stones from forming. It\u2019s also believed to reduce the size of existing stones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Use herbal remedies with caution. They\u2019re not well-regulated or well-researched for the prevention or treatment of kidney stones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In some cases, switching up your dietary choices may not be enough to prevent kidney stones from forming. If you have recurrent stones, talk to your doctor about what role medication can play in your prevention plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taking certain prescriptions or over-the-counter medications can result in kidney stones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re prone to certain types of kidney stones, certain medications can help control the amount of that material present in your urine. The type of medication prescribed will depend on the type of stones you usually get.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kidney stones are common. There\u2019s no guarantee that prevention methods will work, but they may reduce your risk. Your best bet for preventing kidney stones is staying hydrated and making certain dietary changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you have a condition that increases your risk of kidney stones, such as\u00a0inflammatory bowel disease, persistent\u00a0urinary tract infection, or\u00a0obesity, talk to your doctor about ways to manage it to decrease your kidney stone risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019ve passed a kidney stone before, ask your doctor to have it tested. Once you know what type of stone you\u2019ve had, you can take targeted steps to prevent new ones from forming.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kidney stone prevention Kidney stones are hard mineral deposits that form inside your kidneys. They cause excruciating pain when they pass through your urinary tract. Up to\u00a012 percent\u00a0of Americans are affected by kidney stones. And once you\u2019ve had one kidney stone, you\u2019re\u00a050 percent more likely\u00a0to get another within the next 10 years. There\u2019s no one\u2026 Read More »<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unionline24.co.za\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}