This is a condition that can cause mild pain, or pain that is so excruciating that it rivals that of childbirth. In some ways the cause of the pain is similar, only in a different area. In childbirth you are pushing a child down a narrow tube called the birth canal. The birth canal can expand, but only so much and only under extreme pressure. With kidney stones you are pushing a small chunk of calcium out of the kidney through a tube called the urethra. It doesn’t expand very well. Sometimes the stones get stuck, and sometimes they are not extremely smooth and can scratch or tear the tube walls. This is why kidney stones are not something to play around with.
In the past doctors tended to treat kidney stones with muscle relaxers, pain killers and watchful waiting. This was because their only other option was surgery. They knew that once they cut into you the healing process from that surgery could cause scar tissue that would make any future stones that much more difficult to pass. Recently a technique was developed using ultrasound (yes the same concept of looking at a baby) to locate the stones and bombard them with sound waves. These sound waves would break up the stones, making them small enough to pass easily. This has prevented a lot of damage and infections. But even that treatment is painful and expensive, so what can we do on our own?
Prevention is the key here. Once you are in extreme pain from a stone your best alternative is a medical doctor or emergency room. Prior to that you have a lot of options, let’s look at them.
First of all you will want to increase your water intake. There is a consensus that one of the causes of kidney stones is dehydration. The rule of thumb to go by is to take your body weight in pounds, divide it in half, and drink that many ounces of water per day. It goes on to say that you need to drink half of that water before lunch, preferably in the first four hours after waking. This is because we don’t drink water while we sleep, so we become mildly dehydrated overnight.
Your diet can play a role in forming kidney stones. You will want to make sure you get a lot of leafy green vegetables for its Vitamin K content. Other foods to include are those rich in magnesium. These include nuts, seeds, legumes, soy, whole grains, avocados and dried apricots. Also include foods that are rich in Vitamin B6. These include brewer’s yeast, egg yolks, fish sweet potatoes, and cauliflower. Some in the lists contain both. Another dietary tip is to drink/eat acidic foods. Some people that are prone to kidney stones have found that lemonade is enough to keep them at bay. This may be in part due to the acid, or to the simple fact that lemonade contains water. If you are going to try this I would recommend real lemonade, made fresh and not a powdered lemon flavored drink.
Supplementing your diet with Vitamin K, magnesium and B6 will also be helpful. Our Enriching Gifts Complete Vitamins Plus contains good amounts of all three, as well as other vital nutrients. There are times when eating a healthy diet isn’t enough, especially when you can’t control the growing conditions of that food. Today’s modern farming and shipping methods have been proven to deplete the nutrient content of our foods today. If you must get your foods at a standard grocery store or worse yet as processed foods, the need for a good vitamin supplement such as Enriching Gifts Complete Vitamins Plusbecomes even more crucial. Another product that becomes important is Enriching Gifts Plant Enzymes.This is because those same farming and shipping methods kill the natural enzymes that are supposed to be in the food. Since our bodies rely on our diets to supplement the enzymes we make naturally this leaves us in a deficit. Fortunately that deficit is easy to remedy through Enriching Gifts Plant Enzymes.
Some people say that can feel a kidney stone attack coming on. If you are one of those people and can catch it in time you may be able to avoid a trip to the emergency room. Ron Schneider, the founder of Enriching Gifts Internationalhas developed a kidney flush that many people have found extremely helpful.
Take 8oz of flat beer (formaldehyde free is best) and 5 cans of Classic Coke. Drink all of it within one hour. Then consume 4 oz of pureed asparagus. This is the only time you will hear me recommend soda pop of any type. I’m not sure exactly why this works, but people swear by it. Again, only try this if you can do it before the kidney stones become lodged, once you are in extreme pain you will need to get medical help.
Once the stones have passed it is recommended to include Aloe in your diet. This contains a compound that is known to prevent the formation of stones. One capsule of Enriching Gifts Aloe Ace-Max per day will provide plenty of this compound. Personally I tend to take it every day just to ease the aches and pains that come from my daily lifestyle.
Sources:
Nature’s Medicines by Gale Maleskey and the Editors of Prevention Health Books, copyright 1999 by Rodale Inc.
The Herbal Drugstore by Linda B. White MD and Steven Foster, copyright 2000 by Rodale Press
Blended Medicine Combining Mainstream and Alternative Therapies by Michael Castleman copyrighted 2000 by Michael Castleman.
