So don’t forget to drink plenty of water to ensure you’re doing your best to prevent them.

Another hint: Back in 2006 a study was performed that shows that having a glass of orange juice a day could prevent recurring kidney stones. Due to the level of citrates, OJ is a star performer and even beats out Lemonade!

Water and Fluids

No matter what kind of kidney stones you have, you definitely want to increase your intake of water. It is usually recommended that you drink between two and three quarts of water per day, preferably filtered. This is the single best way to dissolve and kind of kidney stone so that it passes with your urine.

Other fluids can be good as well, but in addition to, not in place of pure water. This includes juices made from kidney-friendly fruits, especially cranberry and watermelon. Lemons are also very good for general detoxifying. You can squeeze fresh lemon into anything, such as herbal teas, salad dressings or just water (adding lemon to water is one exception to the above rule, as this does not count as a separate beverage like drinking juice).

Foods To Reduce or Avoid

In general, you should avoid junk or unhealthy foods as much as possible. This will help you detox and, along with the other tips, speed up the dissolving of your kidney stones. This includes most sweets made from refined sugar, unhealthy fats (found in most junk foods, as well as many fried foods), soda, caffeine (if you don’t want to give up caffeine completely, drink one or two cups of green tea per day), , alcohol and carbohydrates made from white and other processed flours.

Certain foods that you should reduce but not entirely eliminate (as they are necessary) when you have kidney stones are high protein foods, calcium-rich foods and supplements and oxalate-rich foods. Oxalates are the trickiest, as they are present in many foods that are basically good for us, including spinach and other dark leaf vegetables, blueberries, nuts, beans, beets, chocolate and blueberries. Again, you don’t have to eliminate these completely (unless it has been determined that your kidney stones are oxalate in nature), but cut down on them.

These tips should help you to balance your body and pass your kidney stones naturally. In general, the best kidney stone diet is a healthy one, with a few modifications.

The foods listed below, a partial list, are known to play a key role in increasing urinary oxalate levels. It’s advised that these be minimized in any kidney stone diet:

- soda
- strawberries
- tea
- soybeans
- nuts (including almonds and peanuts)
- spinach
- chocolate
- sugar

You’ll also want to maintain low levels of urinary calcium. You can reduce urinary calcium levels by including more bran in your kidney stone diet. Bran is an insoluble fiber which lowers the absorption of calcium. This in turn helps keep urinary calcium levels down and prevent kidney stones from forming.

Overall, your kidney stone diet should be low in protein and sodium. It’s important not to limit calcium as it’s a critical requirement for our bodies. Calcium isn’t the culprit anyhow – the problem is when calcium binds with oxalate in the intestinal tract. The most advisable course of action is to focus on reducing foods that are high in oxalate.

Additionally, in any kidney stone diet, it’s important to reduce the consumption of animal protein. High in sulfur, animal protein robs the calcium from your bones and can cause kidney stones.

In summary, be sure to drink plenty of water, avoid foods high in oxalate, and maintain a diet low in protein and sodium. With these tips you’re well on your way to maintaining a healthy kidney stone diet.