A busy life style and less tendency to take care of self, are the factors that threaten our over-all health. Kidneys being an essential organ, clean our blood without any fail.
Any slight dysfunction in kidneys brings a lot of pains and other related diseases. To ensure one’s health, the proper functioning of kidneys is much of an importance. The kidney stones are becoming very common these days. There are measures which are suitable to fight stones, but it depends on the composition of one’s body, that which method would provide the relief.
So, here are some of the precautionary measures, about how you can maintain your kidneys against the deadly diseases:
Drink a lot of water:
Drinking 8-10 glasses of liquid daily helps keep the urine dilute – which reduces the concentration of stone forming minerals in the urine.
Limit salt intake
Reducing the salt (sodium) in the diet helps reduce the amount of calcium in the urine. Avoid foods high in sodium such as processed meats, canned soups, noodle and salty snacks.
Calcium intake:
Studies have shown that the inclusion of at least two servings of high calcium foods per day in the diet reduces the rate at which calcium-containing kidney stones form. A cup of low-fat milk contains 300 mg of calcium.
Food with oxalic acid
Oxalic acid or oxalate is found mostly in foods from plants like spinach, strawberries, wheat bran, nuts and tea. Avoiding these foods may help reduce the amount of oxalate in the urine.
Vitamin C
The body converts vitamin C into oxalate that increases kidney stone formation. A person who has a tendency to form kidney stones should consult a doctor or dietician before taking large doses of vitamins or minerals.
Sugar Intake:
Sugar may also aggravate the development of calcium or calcium oxalate stones. People who get kidney stones should avoid sugary packaged foods
Meat, animal protein:
Meats and other animal proteins – such as eggs and fish – contain purines, which break down into uric acid in the urine. Non-dairy animal proteins may also increase the risk of calcium stones by increasing the excretion of calcium and reducing the excretion of citrate into the urine.