Kidney stones are a painful condition that affected about 5.2 percent of adult Americans between 1988 and 1994, reports the National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Clearing House. The small, jagged stones that form in the kidney and cause pain as they pass through the ureter are usually made of calcium oxalate, but sometimes of uric acid, calcium phospate or other substances. If you've had one bout of kidney stones you're likely to have more. Watching your diet and drinking a lot of liquids, including lemonade, can help prevent new stones from forming.
Lemon Juice and Kidney Stones
Lemon juice is an acid, citric acid. The citric acid in kidney stones bonds with calcium in your urine and helps stop calcium oxalate stones from forming. Lemonade made from real lemon juice is a good way to get this acid into your system, but if you're trying to cut down on sugar you can drink a mixture of lemon juice and water instead. The water in these drinks also helps dilute your urine, which helps flush out the calcium and other minerals that can cause stones to form.
Research
In the 2007 "Journal of Urology," a group of researchers from Duke University Medical Center reported on research that compared drinking lemonade to another treatment for kidney stones, potassium citrate. Eleven patients drank lemonade daily for a little over 44 months. During that time, the patients formed fewer kidney stones, comparable to seven patients who took potassium citrate. Lemonade may be more tolerable, and less expensive, than potassium citrate.
Diet
The diet you should follow to lessen the formation of kidney stones depends on the composition of the stones your body produces. If your kidneys are calcium stones, you should avoid foods that produce excess calcium in your urine. If your stones are made of uric acid, choose a diet that reduces the amount of uric acid. Calcium stones are the most common. To deal with these stones, avoid foods with high levels of oxalate, found in some fruits, vegetables and nuts. For uric acid stones, a diet low in purines, found in organ meats, shellfish, fish and other foods, may help slow stone formation.
Fluids
Drink enough fluid to produce 2 quarts of urine a day. Your doctor may have you measure your urine for 24 hours to determine your usual output. If you have calcium stones or uric acid stones, drinking lemonade could help reduce these. If your stones are formed by calcium phosphate, drinking lemonade could make them worse, so check with your doctor before you begin treating your stones with lemonade.
References
- "Journal of Urology"; Long-term Lemonade Based Dietary Manipulation in Patients with Hypocitraturic Nephrolithiasis; D. E. Kang, et. al.; April 2007
- Indiana University; Did You Know? Lemonade Prevents Kidney Stones; Jeremy Shere; May 2010
- National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Clearing House: Kidney and Urologic Diseases Statistics for the United States
- National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Clearning House: Diet for Kidney Stone Prevention
