Prevention Of Kidney Stones

When it comes to preventing kidney stones, the most important thing is proper nutrition. Find out what’s important!

The prevention of kidney stones is useful because kidney stones can cause painful colic very, which are difficult to stun. The prevention of kidney stones mainly focuses on what passes through your mouth into your body: your diet.

How easy is it to prevent kidney stones?

In order to know how the prevention of kidney stones works and what is better to do (or not to do), you should first know how kidney stones are formed and what they are made of.

One hears again and again that kidney stones are “calcium build-ups” and can arise from consuming too many dairy products. Furthermore, according to the theory, kidney stones should be resolved by consuming acidic foods. Please do not try this, as it could be counterproductive and even promote the development of kidney stones!

Kidney stones can all lead to the same symptoms, but have a different composition depending on the reason for the formation. They really do not arise from the consumption of dairy products and do not consist of lime, but of:

• Calcium oxalate (65%)
• Uric acid (15%)
• Magnesium ammonium phosphate / struvite (11%)
• Calcium phosphate (9%)
• Cystine (approx. 1%)
• Xanthine (1%)

Kidney stones that are composed of several of the materials mentioned are also possible.

How do kidney stones form?

Not all of the mechanisms that lead to the formation of such stones have been finally clarified. One thing is certain: if the aforementioned substances are in such a high concentration in the kidney that they can no longer be dissolved in liquid, they precipitate as solid substances and form kidney stones or kidney gravel, which has a smaller grain size, i.e. nothing else than a variety of smaller kidney stones.

The reasons why these substances precipitate and are not dissolved in liquid and thus flushed out of the kidney include:

• Gout and thus too
• purine-rich, unhealthy diet,
• Dehydration,
• Infectious diseases
• and other, less common causes such as gastric bypass surgery and certain metabolic disorders.

What is important in preventing kidney stones?

Kidney stones are incredibly painful and can lead to hospitalization. Colic caused by a kidney stone in the ureter can be one of the most painful experiences for a person.

So it really makes sense to deal with this topic in order to prevent this excruciating pain. The following behaviors and diets are important in preventing kidney stones:

Drink enough

As you yourself know, a solid can only be dissolved in water up to a certain concentration. You can try this yourself by trying to dissolve a tablespoon of sugar or salt in a small glass of water.

Even heating does not help, the solution is saturated, the sugar / salt crystals remain solid in spite of the water. That is why you will find huge salt crystals at the bottom of the Dead Sea. If you now pour the small glass of water into a bowl and fill it with water, you will find that the sugar or salt crystals dissolve completely.

This principle also works in your body: If the solids from which kidney stones can form are in too high a concentration that they cannot (no longer) dissolve, you have to dilute them!

Always drink enough and make sure to drink at least 2.5 liters of calorie-free drinks every day. The color of the urine is a good indicator of the correct amount to drink: it must neither be strongly colored nor have an intense odor. Then you have drunk enough and your kidneys are well “flushed out”.

Healthy intestinal flora

The latest research suggests that a certain bacterium in the gut is particularly good at breaking down oxalate. People who have this bacterium in their intestinal flora have additional protection against kidney stones.

You can maintain a healthy and intact intestinal flora through a balanced diet rich in fiber. A healthy intestinal flora is an important factor in maintaining your health – not only with regard to kidney stones!

Avoid some foods

There are foods that naturally contain a lot of oxalate and which greatly increase the risk of kidney stones in people who “suffer” from chronic dehydration, for example. Oxalate is particularly rich in:

• chocolate
• asparagus
• rhubarb
• peanuts
• spinach
• coffee
• cola
• Strawberries
• Black tea

Eating these foods does not mean provoking kidney stones, but people who are prone to kidney stones due to their overall constitution, diet, drinking habits or other factors should only eat such foods in moderation.