Eating foods rich in potassium helps prevent kidney stones from forming. Some foods that are high in potassium are bananas, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, orange juice and papaya.
Bananas: Like avocados, bananas are high in potassium — in fact, they're famous for their potassium content. Though bananas are low in sodium, it is still best to avoid making them a daily staple if you're concerned about kidney health.
Citrus Fruits – Citrate, found in citrus fruits, helps block the formation of kidney stones and can help keep you safe from them. Examples of citrus fruits that you should include in your kidney stone diet are oranges, lemons, and grapefruit.
Citrus fruit, and their juice, can help reduce or block the formation of stones due to naturally occurring citrate. Good sources of citrus include lemons, oranges, and grapefruit.
Eat more lemons and oranges, and drink lemonade because the citrate in these foods stops stones from forming. Drink plenty of fluids, particularly water.
Follow a specific diet: Certain foods can help to reduce the risk of developing kidney stones, such as eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and limiting foods that are high in oxalates and salt. Celery, brussel sprouts, cucumber, watermelon, and asparagus are great foods to help with passing kidney stones.
Limit animal protein.
Eating too much animal protein, such as red meat, poultry, eggs, and seafood, is linked to a higher risk of developing kidney stones. If you're prone to stones, limit your daily meat intake to a quantity that is no bigger than a pack of playing cards. This is also a heart-healthy portion.
Limit beef, pork, eggs, cheese, and fish, because they may raise your chances of most types of kidney stones.
Eating avocados will not have an effect on forming kidney stones. Learn more about the kidney stone diet.
Lower your animal protein intake. Many sources of protein, such as red meat, pork, chicken, poultry, fish, and eggs, increase the amount of uric acid you produce. Eating large amounts of protein also reduces a chemical in urine called citrate. Citrate's job is to prevent the formation of kidney stones.
In fact, including foods rich in dietary calcium, such as milk, yogurt, cheese, fortified milk alternatives, white beans, tahini, almonds and chia seeds, will actually decrease your risk of developing kidney stones. Dietary calcium binds to oxalate before it gets to the kidneys helping to prevent stones.
Vegetables rich in potassium such as brussels sprouts, broccoli and kale decrease calcium loss and stop kidney stones from forming. These foods also have antioxidant effects that help prevent bladder, prostate and kidney cancers.
Some examples of foods that contain high levels of oxalate include: peanuts, rhubarb, spinach, beets, chocolate and sweet potatoes. Moderating intake of these foods may be beneficial for people who form calcium oxalate stones, the leading type of kidney stones.
Broccoli is a medium potassium food, low in sodium and phosphorus, and suitable for all the following kidney conditions and treatments: Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)
Once you start feeling the pain of a kidney stone, it can take anywhere between one to four weeks for the stone to actually pass.
Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy is a technique for treating stones in the kidney and ureter that does not require surgery. Instead, high energy shock waves are passed through the body and used to break stones into pieces as small as grains of sand.
Those that are 5 to 7 mm (larger than a pencil erasure but smaller than a green pea) can be passed in 50 percent of cases. Stones that are larger than 7 mm rarely pass without a surgical procedure. There is usually no permanent damage if kidney stones are recognized and treated in a timely fashion.
If you're looking to dissolve kidney stones fast, you can rely on apple cider vinegar. Made from fermenting apples and endowed with phosphoric, citric and acetic acids, apple cider vinegar makes urine acidic and helps to dissolve most types of kidney stones quickly.
Lemon juice is often utilized to pass kidney stones because it contains citric acid, which can break down small kidney stones. Citric acid is one of the most commonly found acids in fruits and vegetables and can break down kidney stones by forming soluble citrate salts.
Though water is best, other liquids such as citrus drinks may also help prevent kidney stones. Some studies show that citrus drinks, such as lemonade and orange juice, protect against kidney stones because they contain citrate, which stops crystals from turning into stones.
Enjoy some lemons. Citrate, a salt in citric acid, binds to calcium and helps block stone formation. "Studies have shown that drinking ½ cup of lemon juice concentrate diluted in water each day, or the juice of two lemons, can increase urine citrate and likely reduce kidney stone risk," says Dr. Eisner.
To prevent uric acid stones, cut down on high-purine foods such as red meat, organ meats, beer/alcoholic beverages, meat-based gravies, sardines, anchovies and shellfish. Follow a healthy diet plan that has mostly vegetables and fruits, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products.
Kiwifruit are high in oxalate, so those with kidney urinary stones may also need to avoid eating them. Additionally, kiwifruit are high in potassium, which may be a concern for patients with kidney disease.