Kidneys help filter the blood, and also eliminate toxins through urine. There are many chemicals present in urine which at times crystallizes forming hard substances.
These substances found in the urinary tract are known as kidney stones. The size of these stones differs from person to person. While in some cases it can very small just like a sand grain, in other cases it can also be big enough like golf balls.
If you are suffering from the problem of kidney stones you need to follow a proper kidney stone diet, and some great diet tips are given below.
Avoid protein rich food
If you are having uric acid stones, then you need to avoid foods that are rich in protein, particularly red meat like beef and pork.
You should also limit your intake of other protein rich food like eggs, fish and other meats. It will be best if you limit your protein intake to 0.8 grams per kg of your body weight.
Drink lots of fluids
To remove the existing kidney stones from your body, you should drink as much of fluids and water as possible. This will not only flush out the stones but make sure that they do not accumulate again.
Drink a minimum of 8 oz of water each hour. You should also drink plenty of healthy fruit juices. Make sure you avoid the consumption of coffee, tea and alcohol.
Avoid chocolates
This can be really difficult for chocolate lovers, but you need to avoid chocolates completely as they can promote formation of kidney stones owing to their high oxalate content.
All veggies and fruits are not good
Every dietician will recommend you to have lots of fresh vegetables and fruits, be it for weight loss, or for controlling various health conditions.
However, there are many vegetables and fruits rich in oxalate like spinach, eggplant, beans, sweet potatoes, nuts, some types of berries and so on, and you should completely avoid them.
Keep a check on your sugar, sodium and calcium intake
Not only oxalates, calcium deposits together with other substances in your kidney can form kidney stones. Thus your kidney stones diet should not have excess of calcium.
Calcium, however, is important for your bones, so you should not avoid it completely, but just have it as much as your body needs, which varies generally between 1000-1200 mg for adults.
You need to avoid too much of sodium. Processed foods are rich in salt so you need to avoid them. Salt will make your body lose calcium, and thus calcium will deposit in your kidney. Your sodium intake should thus be not more than 2400mg each day.
Kidney Stone Diet Plan:
You can follow this diet plan to get rid of your kidney stones and to avoid it forming again.
- Start your day with a glass of warm water.
- For breakfast you can have one glass of carrot juice, which should have 50% water.
- In the morning have a bowl of fruits, and continue having it every five hours.
- For lunch you can have buttermilk, steamed vegetables and whole wheat tortilla and one glass of water.
- In between meals you can drink a glass of coconut water or carrot juice.
- For dinner you can have fresh juice, fresh vegetable salad and one glass of water.
If you follow these diet tips and diet plan strictly you will easily be able to flush out kidney stones out of your body without depending on any medication. This is applicable if the size of the stone is small.
Even if you have a bigger stone, following these diet tips together with the medications will be of great help.
Jasmine Delaney is a practising herbalist and active health blogger. Her work has appeared in many health sites around the internet including http://homeremedieslog.com where you will find other natural methods for kidney stone treatment.