Preventing Kidney Stones
Our kidneys perform several jobs including removing wastes and extra fluid from your body, keeping a stable balance of salts and other substances in the blood, keeping bones healthy, controlling blood pressure and producing hormones that help build strong bones and form red blood cells. However, having an unhealthy lifestyle might damage your kidneys. And Kidney Stone is said to be one of the kidney ailments that affect millions of people worldwide.
So where do we get these kidney stones?
Kidney stones develop when chemicals in our urine form crystals. There are some factors that we shall consider in the stone formation. It can be certain conditions, such as gout, or even diabetes, and also obesity. Kidney stones can also be caused by lack of proper hydration or worse, a sedentary lifestyle. Take note, failing to exercise daily can make you more susceptible to kidney stones. Moreover, family history and genetics might also play in the game.
What are the symptoms of kidney stones?
Patients say that the main symptom of having kidney stones is the pain being felt in the abdomen, or even back where the stone is located. Also, another sign of having such is when there’s a blood in the urine or feeling a painful stream whenever attempting to urinate. Other symptoms include a desire to urinate frequently, nausea, vomiting and excessive sweating.
What to do now?
Undeniably, having kidney stones is really an uphill battle. Luckily, there are several natural remedies that a patient must consider. Some of them also help prevent stones from developing in the future. Here are some:
Apple Cider Vinegar
ACV is one of the best kidney flushers, proves to be very effective in helping patients get rid of the painful stones. ACV dissolves kidney stones by helping flush out the body from minerals that helps in developing the stone. However, consistency in taking this natural remedy is needed. Taking 2 tablespoons of ACV with an 8 ounce of water once a day until the stone is dissolved is a must.
Lemon
You can also simply drink lemonade, lemon juice or just water with a few slices of lemon in it. Citrus acid can help break-up calcium-based kidney stones due to its citric acid. Lemons are a highly citric fruit; they contain citrate, a chemical which is a main inhibitor of calcium stone formation. It can also break up small stones that might combine into bigger stones.
Grapes
Grapes have high contents of water and potassium salt and has very good diuretic value make it very effective home cure for kidney stones.
Watermelon
Among all fruits, watermelon has the highest water content. Thus, this will help you urinate more and being so, it will help in flushing out the stones in the kidney. It is also an amazing source of potassium, which is a mineral salt that can help to dissolve kidney stones allowing the residue to be passed.
Sambong
Sambong is known for its remarkable treatment for kidney stones. It is an herb that helps with kidney stones and in kidney cleansing in general. According to Medical Health Guide, the country’s Department of Health has been promoting Sambong herbal tea and tablets as a diuretic and for the dissolution of kidney stones. This herb has also been registered in the Bureau of Food and Drugs as medicine.
Water
Among the rest, drinking lots of water is a must to try. It helps flush out toxins that accumulate in the kidney. Aside from being an excellent preventive measure against the formation of kidney stones, it also prevents dehydration and growth of kidney stones, in case you already have one.
Keeping an active lifestyle will always be the number one key to healthy living; and always remember that prevention is better than cure.