All You Need to Know About Kidney Stones

August 17, 2024

We generally take care of our external organs, such as our skin, while ignoring the condition of our internal organs, which is equally important.

Do you know we ignore the symptoms that our body is giving to ask for help? For example, your heart, kidney or liver maybe. But we just ignore it.

Let me remind you of the most common ignored symptom. Answer me this.

Do you feel pain when you urinate?

If yes! Then I’m sure, some of you must be ignoring the pain and taking it casually. Stop Ignoring! As it could be a sign of a major kidney problem or kidney stones.

How am I so sure about this? Because 12% of the people in India suffer from kidney stones? [1]

Kidney stones can be extremely painful and drain your energy. You're probably aware of it if you've ever had kidney stones.

Kidney stones are certainly not something you want to encounter when on vacation, caring for family, or at any other time. Furthermore, people usually think that they need to go through painful surgery in order to do kidney stone treatment; that is not the case. You can avoid the surgery by following some home remedies. I have had my own personal experience where one of my family members who had kidney stones got rid of it without a surgery.

So, if you believe you are in higher danger, continue reading. In this blog, I'll discuss some strategies for avoiding them or passing them through urine.

What are Kidney Stones?

Kidney stones are one of the most common urinary tract problems.

Kidney stones are formed by the mineral (mostly calcium) and salt deposits that occur inside your kidneys.

You feel severe pain while urinating because this stone gets stuck in the pipe carrying urine from kidney to urinary bladder.

What is a urinary bladder? It is the urine container- as it stores your urine until you empty it.

Therefore, when the store gets stuck in this pipe, the urine cannot reach the bladder. Hence, this blocked urine flow causes severe pain.

Calcium is thought to make up approximately 80% of all kidney stones. They can cause swelling and pain in your bladder and urine to become excessively cloudy with minerals as they collect and cannot be passed. These kidney stones come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colours.

Whatever the underlying cause, there are steps you can do to improve kidney health and reduce your risk of kidney stones.

Males are more likely than females to have kidney stones. [2] A kidney stone affects one in ten persons at some stage of their lives.

Types of Kidney Stones

Calcium Stones – The most common type of stones found in the kidneys.

Your risk of getting this kind of stone can be decreased by consuming less meals high in oxalate. Foods that causes kidney stones and are high in oxalate include:

Potato Chips
Peanuts
Chocolate
Spinach

You can also take a Vitamin D+K2 Supplement for better absorption of the calcium, so that it cannot get deposited at the wrong place. As Vitamin D and Vitamin K2 directs the calcium to go and absorbs at the required places in the body.

Vitamin D+K2 Supplement

Uric Acid Stones – Uric acid stones account for 5% to 10% of kidney stones. These stones are formed when your urine contains too much acid. Overeating any type of meat or fish can cause this.

Struvite Stones – A urinary tract infection (UTI) can lead to the development of struvite stones. These stones develop when the urine becomes more alkaline. These stones can grow quickly and cause a significant amount of pain.

Cystine Stones – Stones called cystine stones are less common than other types because they are linked to the genetic condition known as cystinuria. The cystine amino acid enters the urine as a result of this disease, resulting in cystine stones.

Kidney Stones Symptoms

Since kidney stones come in a variety of sizes and forms, some of them may be as small as a grain of sand and others may be so large that they can be seen with the naked eye. When kidney stones are larger, the kidney stones symptoms are more intense.

There could be one or more of the following kidney stones symptoms.

Extreme lower back pain on both sides
A severe pain that doesn't go away on its own
Flu with a fever
Blood in Urine
Either nausea or vomiting
Smelly and Cloudy Urine

What causes Kidney Stones?

Consuming Large Amounts of Sugar

Consuming excessive amounts of sugar is linked to a higher risk of kidney stones.

This is especially true with fructose which is one type of sugar such as juices, apples, grapes, watermelon, asparagus, peas and zucchini.

Nowadays, one of the main constituents in soft drinks is high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Researchers discovered that consuming soft drinks, especially "cola beverages," increased a person's risk of developing kidney stones. [3]

Remember that white sugar is made up of fructose and the other half glucose. Therefore, even if you choose soft drinks with sugar instead of those with HFCS, you are still consuming some fructose.

Not Getting Enough Water

One of the biggest causes of kidney stones is not drinking sufficient water. It's one of the key factors that could make you more likely to get kidney stones. Drink up!

Not Working Out Enough

If you don't exercise enough, your body may not be able to move as many fluids, including urine and its minerals, through it. Furthermore, your chance of kidney stones will rise if you are overweight from eating too much and not exercising enough.

Other causes of Kidney Stones include:

Obesity
Urinary Tract Infection
Leaky Gut
Type II Diabetes
Eating foods heavy in salt or foods with animal protein
Thyroid Disorders
Abnormal pH of the body
Certain diabetes and blood pressure medications

Home Remedies for Kidney Stones

Eat More Meals High in Calcium.

Many people think they should stop consuming calcium since calcium oxalate kidney stones are the most typical form. However, the opposite of it is true. A diet which is low in calcium can increase your risk of osteoporosis and kidney stones. [4] You must consume calcium in order for it to bind with oxalate in the intestines and stomach before it reaches the kidneys. Eating calcium-rich foods helps oxalates leave the body and avoid the formation of stones.

It is best to get calcium from a diet. You can consume yoghurt, green leafy vegetables- curly kale, okra, etc to get calcium from the diet.

A Word of Caution: Try to take calcium through a diet and avoid calcium supplements because it can make you more likely to develop stones.

Keep Yourself Hydrated

The most effective way to get rid of kidney stones is to consume more water. If you drink less water, your body won’t be able to produce urine and flush out toxins.

Your urine seems to be more dense and less likely to break down the pee salts that form kidney stones if you have a low urine flow.

Lemon tea and lemonade are other excellent choices. Citrate is present in lemon juice which might stop kidney stones from forming.

Try to consume enough liquids each day to pass two litres of pee, or roughly eight glasses. You'll require more fluids if you move a lot, sweat a lot, or have a history of cystine stones.

If your pee is clear or pale yellow in colour, you can tell if you're properly hydrated. You must consume extra liquid if it is dark.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar (ACV) is a popular home remedy for a variety of conditions. It is said to have the ability to dissolve or help stop kidney stones. [5]

It is thought that using raw, organic, Unfiltered ACV produces the best results.

The acetic acid in ACV is considered to soften, dissolve, and break down kidney stones.

Kidney stones can be reduced in size so that they can be easily passed through the urine. ACV assists in the production of stomach acids and changes the pH of the urine and blood.

This boosts the digestion process and helps in preventing the formation of new stones.

Even the pain and inflammation caused by kidney stones may be reduced with ACV. It helps in the removal of toxins and extra minerals from the body that can cause kidney stones.

Magnesium

Magnesium is a mineral that is known to promote and manage muscle and nerve function, blood sugar levels, and blood pressure, as well as helping in the formation of DNA, protein, and bone, therefore it is something you should take into account when it comes to preventing or treating kidney stones.

Additionally, magnesium is good at preventing the kind of crystals that form kidney stones. Magnesium prevents kidney stones from forming by keeping calcium dissolved in the bloodstream. [7]

Kidney stones may form if calcium is taken for osteoporosis without magnesium.

There are some delicious foods you can eat that will help you acquire enough magnesium from your diet when it comes to adding it to your diet. These consist of:

Nuts like cashews, sunflower seeds, and almonds
Vegetables like broccoli, beets, or kale
Meats including chicken
Dairy and eggs

Eat Less Sodium

If you eat a lot of salt, you are more prone to get calcium stones.

Excessive amounts of salt in the urine prevent calcium from being absorbed during the circulation. Due to the excessive calcium in the urine, kidney stones may develop as I have already discussed.

Consuming less salt keeps the level of calcium in the urine lower. The chance of producing kidney stones decreases as calcium levels in urine decrease.

Make sure you carefully read food labels to lower your salt intake.

Food the causes Kidney stones and are rich in sodium include:

Processed meals like crackers and chips
Canned Soups
Canned Vegetables

Conclusion

Kidney stones are quite common in many people. Although it is a serious condition, home remedies may assist in preventing and treating it. Increasing water consumption may be the most basic yet effective treatment for preventing and treating kidney stones.