It usually starts in the middle of the night.Sharp pain in the back or sides that doesn’t go away, then it starts moving to the abdominal area. Then, off to the emergency room, where the physician tells the patient what countless other patients have been told before: It’s a kidney stone.
If it’s small, you’re often sent home with one instruction. Drink water and wait. That’s when people start searching for natural remedies for kidney stones, hoping there’s something they can do besides sit there in pain.There is, honestly. It just takes some sorting to figure out what’s backed by anything real and what’s just one blog copying another.
What are kidney stones?
These are hard lumps that develop due to the clumping of minerals from the urine inside your body instead of being flushed away as required. Most are calcium. Some form from uric acid instead. Anything smaller than about 5 millimeters roughly a grain of rice usually works its way out on its own. Much bigger than that, and your body probably needs help.
Nobody warns you about the pain part until it happens. It’s not a dull ache. People who’ve had a kidney stone and given birth will often tell you the stone was worse, and doctors don’t argue with them.
Home remedies for kidney stones that are worth trying
Not everything floating around the internet has real evidence behind it. But a handful of home remedies for kidney stones keep showing up in actual medical guidance, and there’s a reason: more water, less salt, and calcium from food rather than restricted calcium.
That last one throws people off. Cutting calcium sounds logical if calcium is what’s forming the stone, but doing that can backfire and raise your risk instead of lowering it which honestly surprised me the first time I read it too. Salt is the bigger culprit anyway.The excess sodium in your diet will increase the loss of calcium in the urine, and forgoing the salty takeout food for a couple of weeks may do much more than you expect. Canned soups, deli meats, and frozen foods contain large amounts of hidden sodium.
How to pass kidney stones naturally
Water. That’s basically the whole answer to how to pass kidney stones naturally, and it’s not a satisfying one. Doctors generally want urine pale yellow, which for most adults means somewhere around 2 to 3 liters a day.Walking helps move a stone along. Lying on the couch, which is what everyone wants to do when the pain hits, tends to slow things down instead.
Add citrus drinks on top of your water intake, don’t swap one for the other. According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, it makes sense to include citrus fruit along with plain water in order to avoid new stone formation, which is one of the reasons that lemon and orange juice are mentioned quite frequently here.
Foods that help dissolve kidney stones
Nothing dissolves a stone that’s already formed, no matter what a headline claims.Food that dissolves kidney stones is actually food that prevents the next stone from forming, which is a less exciting statement but a true one. At the top of the list is citrus fruits, due to their high content of citrate, which will bond with calcium in the urine before forming a stone.
The watermelon is also listed due to its water content and high levels of potassium. Magnesium can be found in green vegetables, legumes, and whole grains.Some studies have shown the relationship of magnesium with reduced risk of stone formation, though not conclusive.
Lemon juice for kidney stones: does it really work?
Lemon juice for kidney stones is something that everybody has heard about, but it’s actually true. The fact is that lemons have quite a lot of citrate in them, and citrate prevents the formation of calcium clusters. The traditional way is to drink water with added lemon juice one to two times a day.This will not dissolve an existing kidney stone, nor is it a way out if the stone is too big to pass through on its own. As a small daily habit stacked on top of drinking enough water, though, it earns its reputation. We break down more of these natural remedies and how each one works on our full remedies guide.
Kidney stone prevention diet
Kidney stone prevention diets rarely entail avoiding any food, and this comes as a shock to many who expect such a lengthy list of food restrictions. As per National Kidney Foundation guidelines, strict reduction in oxalate-rich foods like spinach and almonds is not recommended, due to the fact that, apart from oxalate content, these foods also have nutrients that help prevent stone formation.
Salt, animal proteins, and fluid intake outweigh oxalate by far.Cutting back on red meat helps. So does easing up on the salt shaker. Getting enough calcium from dairy or fortified foods helps too, which sounds backwards until you remember calcium isn’t really the enemy here—all three point in the same direction. The National Kidney Foundation recommends at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, and it’s one of the easiest habits on this whole list to keep.
Natural ways to prevent kidney stones long-term
Anyone who’s passed one stone already knows the odds of a repeat are uncomfortably high. Long term, it comes down to the same handful of things: drink enough water, keep salt in check, and don’t let your diet swing to extremes in either direction.
Weight plays a role here too, though nobody likes hearing it. The presence of excess body weight makes it more likely that you will develop stones, so losing weight slowly might be helpful, but trying to achieve it within a week sets you up for failure. This is something that takes time and requires no glamour at all. In fact, I would say that those who manage not to have any stones are those who simply get bored with doing it.
When natural remedies aren’t enough
They have real limits. A stone too large to pass, one bringing a fever, or one paired with pain that just won’t let up needs a doctor, not another glass of lemon water.
Blood in the urine, chills, or vomiting alongside the pain are signs to call a doctor rather than wait it out. Passing a stone naturally is realistic for plenty of people.This is not always the best option to follow with every stone. Otherwise, what would have been a minor issue can become an absolute emergency.Everyone who struggles with recurrent stones must consult a doctor before establishing a regimen using natural remedies for kidney stones.
FAQ
Can you dissolve kidney stones naturally?
Not once they’ve already formed. Natural remedies can prevent the formation of new kidney stones and ease the passing of a small existing stone, but they cannot dissolve a pre-existing one.
Does lemon juice cause any help for kidney stones?
Lemon juice consists of citrate, thus preventing the possible formation of calcium. Taking lemon juice is a good practice, but it doesn’t help in shrinking a stone.
When should you consult a doctor concerning kidney stones?
The moment you feel painful symptoms that do not go away, as well as fever, chills, blood in urine, or vomiting. In addition, if the stones are too big, medical intervention is necessary.
Does diet by itself prevent recurrence of kidney stones?
Diet is important but it is not everything when it comes to the prevention of kidney stones. Genetic factors and types of stones matter too, which is why doctors may sometimes recommend urine tests for optimal prevention of kidney stones.