Kidney Stones

Kidney Stones

Also indexed as: Nephrolithiasis, Renal Calculi, Urinary Calculi, Urolithiasis

Find the source and stop the pain of kidney stones. Hard masses that grow from crystals forming in the kidneys, they typically cause severe back pain that may radiate to the groin area. According to research or other evidence, the following self-care steps may be helpful:

    Drink plenty of fluids

• Water, lemonade, and most fruit juices can help dilute the substances in the urine that form kidney stones; avoid grapefruit juice and soft drinks

• Don’t eat too much animal protein
• Diets high in animal protein are linked to increased calcium in the urine, which contributes to oxalate stones

• Avoid foods with organic acids (oxalates) that can help stones form
• Limit your intake of spinach, rhubarb, beet greens, nuts, chocolate, tea, bran, almonds, peanuts, and strawberries, which appear to significantly increase urinary oxalate levels

• Protect yourself with vitamin B6 and magnesium
• Taking 50 mg a day of the supplement vitamin B6 with 200 to 400 mg a day of the mineral magnesium (preferably in the form of magnesium citrate) can inhibit oxalate stone formation

• Check out calcium
• If your healthcare provider has determined that you do not over-absorb calcium, take 800 mg a day of calcium (in the form of calcium citrate or calcium citrate-malate) with meals

These recommendations are not comprehensive and are not intended to replace the advice of your doctor or pharmacist. Continue reading the full kidney stones article for more in-depth, fully-referenced information on medicines, vitamins, herbs, and dietary and lifestyle changes that may be helpful.