Kidney stones: Get rid of them naturally

Kidney stones are mineral deposits inside the kidney, which the body is unable to flush out on its own. These mineral deposits can be made up of calcium oxalates, amino acids or uric acid. They can be either painful or silent in nature. Whichever is the kind of stone and no matter what its composition, they are best flushed out of the body at the earliest.

There are various factors that lead to the formation of kidney stones. Some of these are –

•    Kidney stones are mainly a hereditary ailment.
•    Food and eating habits too largely govern the formation of stones in kidneys. A diet lacking vegetables and fibres and rich in fats generally results in this problem.
•    Obesity and large amounts of body cholesterol too are factor.
•    Kidney infections often leave behind debris around which fresh stones are known to start forming.
•    Lack of water in the daily routine prevents the flushing out of toxins from the body, often resulting in the formation of stones.
•    Unused calcium in the body, often due to lack of exercise, leads to calcium oxalate stones. Almost 75% kidney stones are calcium oxalates.
•    High levels of Urease enzyme also leads to stone formation in kidneys.
•    Abundance of proteins in the diet causes uric acid stone formation.
It is a known fact that kidney stones are usually formed in the bodies of people aged between 20-30 years. It is therefore advised, that the sooner the stones are flushed out of the system, the greater is the chance of the body to develop a resistance against their further formation. Even if the formation of stones happens over and over again, its frequency will decrease over the years.
Water therapy is the best way to expel stones from the kidneys. Around three to four litres of water daily is a must for someone with stones in the kidneys. However, some stones are stubborn and need extra help to remove them. Here are some tested herbal and Ayurvedic remedies to naturally cleanse your system off kidney stones.
•    Many big stones cause lot of pain and infection while they pass out of the body. Cramp bark is an effective herb while dealing with pain and spasms in this case.
•    Joy-pye is a weed famous to help get rid of stones. It is also called gravel root.
•    Goldenrod herb is often used in German medicines for kidney stones. It reduces pain, infection and inflammation of the urinary tract caused while the stone is passed out.
•    Often kidney stones cause bleeding when they travel out of the body, bruising the tract. This can be dealt with using herbs like – Argimony, horsetail, nettles and shepherd’s purse.
•    Lemon juice helps eliminating the stone from the body and so does hydrangea tea.
•    Cranberries are a big help for people suffering from calcium oxalate stones. They help reduce the excessive calcium in the urinary tract.
•    The herb rose hips, is used to fight any and every kind of urinary tract infection.
•    Rosemary is the best herb to combat urease enzyme formation in the body.
•    Meadowsweet, sarsaparilla, joe-pye weed and plantain are the herbs to consume, in-case you have uric acid stones. These herbs reduce the acid production in the body.

Other than these helpful herbs there are specific foods which one needs to consume while others which should be shunned to deal with the problem of kidney stones. Apples, pears, cherries, strawberries, corn silk tea, asparagus, almonds and walnuts, etc are some foods good for fighting kidney stones.

While, spinach, cauliflower, tomatoes, calcium rich foods like –milk and other dairy products, protein rich products like- meat, fish and chicken, green tea, chocolates, etc are the foods to be kept at bay.
Kidney stones are a problem that keeps recurring. Therefore, major lifestyle and dietary changes are needed to keep the problem under check and eventually eliminate the body’s tendency to form stones by building the immune system against them.