More than 12% of men and about 7% of women will have to deal with kidney stones at some point in their lives. Once you have suffered through them, statistics say you’re more likely to have them again.

Kidney stones aren’t always a problem; they typically pass through urination, without causing symptoms. On the other hand, when stones grow to sufficient size, they can impede the urinary tract and can cause incredible pain, perhaps the worst humans experience.

Anyone who has ever suffered from a kidney stone, whether they needed surgery, or passed it, knows that statistics say they’ve got an 80% chance of recurrence. Kidney stones have a tendency to open people’s minds to natural medicine.

What Causes Kidney Stones

Most individuals with kidney stones have a chemical abnormality that contributes to the tendency to form the stones. Regardless, in almost every case, people who get kidney stones don’t drink enough water; they often drink lots of coffee and soda instead.

Conventional doctors will tell us that common causes include too much calcium, too many vitamin supplements, too much animal protein, and genetics.

Genetics can lead to a predisposition to kidney stones, but learned behavior (diet) within the family is much more likely to be reason the stones run in families. Certain drugs, cheap and ineffective supplements, soda, factory farmed meat, factory farmed dairy, table salt, tap water, and an acidic diet can all lead to the formation of kidney stones.

For the most part, the high calcium theory has been thoroughly debunked, and only the most out of touch doctors will still offer it, (though there are plenty of them). It has been proven that limiting calcium doesn’t eliminate the problem; it has the opposite effect – making it worse.

An acidic, conventional, modern diet leads to problems like kidney stones.

A diet of fresh, unrefined, whole foods prevents kidney stones.

Different Types of Kidney Stones

Typically, a kidney stone is formed by a super-saturation of minerals and acid salts in urine that crystallize into a stone. This type of kidney stone is typically caused by highly acidic or highly alkaline urine, or by not drinking enough fluids (or drinking the wrong kind of fluids).

Other types of stones include: Struvite stones (typically found in women as a result of urinary tract infections), uric acid stones (a byproduct of poor protein metabolism due to factory farmed animal product consumption) , and cystine stones which are rare (a result of a hereditary disorder that causes the kidneys to excrete large quantities of specific amino acids).

How to Prevent Kidney Stones

Magnesium citrate, a complex B vitamin with extra vitamin B6, lots of stevia sweetened lemonade along with a healthy diet will not allow kidney stones of significant size to form.

Harvard researchers found that 180 mg of magnesium and 10 mg of B6 taken daily can actually prevent 92.3% of kidney stones. Other studies show huge reductions with magnesium alone at 500mg a day.

Diet is crucial.

Fresh, raw, organic produce is the foundation of a healthy diet. Avoid refined foods including table salt and sugars and flours. Drink lots of water. Spring water from a clean source has numerous health benefits, and distilled water is very pure and good for you if you consume enough produce. Drink lemonade sweetened with stevia each day. Lemons also reduce the likelihood of kidney stones

If you drink coffee, switch to tea. Studies show that black and green tea reduce the chances of developing kidney stones. Don’t eat conventional factory farmed animal products.Avoid poor quality, unhealthy supplements. Especially avoid poor quality protein powders, vitamin C, vitamin D, calcium, and various mineral supplements.

Other foods that prevent and help eliminate kidney stones include raw apple cider vinegar, dandelion root, olive oil, kidney beans, and watermelon.

Natural Remedies for Kidney Stones

Drink a half a gallon of cranberry, stevia lemonade per 100 pounds of body weight every day. See sources below for the recipe. Be careful with cranberry juice long-term. Short-term, it’s fine for helping pass a stone and for treating a urinary infection. Cranberry juice contains polyphenolic compounds that dissolve kidney stones and flush them out of the body through the urine. But long-term use has been shown in some studies to possibly cause stone formation, probably due to its high oxalic acid.

Drinking half a gallon of water or lemonade (see above) each day for every 100 pounds of weight is crucial to passing and dissolving existing kidney stones.

Also drink a cup of apple cider vinegar and eat a tablespoon of unrefined blackstrap molasses each day daily, to balance the body’s pH.

If you’re shopping for a tincture or a tea (or would like to make your own) look for the following herbs that have been shown time and time again to help remove kidney stones painlessly and quickly:

• Nettle leaf helps maintain the flow of water through the kidneys and bladder and helps keep crystals from forming into stones.
• Hydrangea root behaves as a powerful diuretic and also an antilithic herb, which ejects and prevents kidney stones
• Gravel root provides defense against kidney stones and increases the flow of urine. Gravel root also plays a role in maintaining an alkaline body by expelling excess uric acid, a cause of kidney stones
• Marshmallow root eliminates toxins and soothes cell membranes in the urinary system, making it easier to release kidney stones
• Horsetail herb helps regulate the calcium stored in the body and soothes urinary tract inflammation
• Uva ursi leaves increase renal circulation and limits the acid content in urine
• Corn silk reduces the risk of recurring kidney stones and helps treat bladder infections
• Goldenrod flowers fight urinary tract infection and help flush out kidney stones

We recommend Shillington’s Kidney Stone Dissolve Formula, and his Kidney Bladder Formula. You can make your own, and here are the recipes:

A part is a part by volume and not by weight unless otherwise specified.

Kidney/Bladder Formula – Recipe

• 2 – Parts Juniper Berry (Mono Sperma is best)
• 1 – Part Corn Silk
• 1 – Part Uva Ursi Leaf
• 1 – Part Horsetail Herb
• 1 – Part Pipsissewa Leaf
• 1 – Part Burdock Herb
• 1 – Part Goldenrod Flowers
• 1 – Part Gravel Root
• 1 – Part Hydrangea Root

Check out How To Make a Tincture for the rest of the instructions for the tinctures, and checkout the product links below for recommended dosage information for all recipes.

Kidney/Bladder Tea – Recipe

• 2 – Parts Juniper Berries (Mono Sperma is best)
• 1 – Part Uva Ursi Leaf
• 1 – Part Dandelion Leaf
• 1 – Part Corn Silk
• 1 – Part Parsley Leaf
• 1 – Part Horsetail Herb
• 1 – Part Goldenrod Flowers
• 1 – Part Orange Peel (or Lemon Peel)
• 1 – Part Peppermint Leaf
• 1 – Part Hydrangea Root
• 1 – Part Gravel Root

Kidney Stone Dissolve Formula – Recipe

• 1 – Part Hydrangea root
• 1 – Part Gravel root
• 1 – Part Marshmallow root

Kidney Stone Dissolve Tea – Recipe

• 1 – Part Hydrangea root
• 1 – Part Gravel root
• 1 – Part Marshmallow root

Read Inexpensive, Easy Detox – The One Gallon Challenge for a recipe for cranberry stevia lemonade.

Of course prevention is preferable. This is one battle you never want to fight. If you recognize yourself as a person who doesn’t drink enough water, as one who drinks a lot of coffee and sodas, or you have a highly acidic diet, now is the time to change your habits.

If you have ever suffered from kidney stones in the past or are suffering from them now, combine both the prevention instructions and the remedy to end the current attack and prevent future occurrences.

Republished from Organic Lifestyle Magazine