Natural Remedies With Little Scientific Evidence
Some herbal remedies are touted across the internet for treating or preventing kidney stones, but there’s very little science to back up their effectiveness. They include:
- Basil: Both sweet basil and holy basil are said to contain acetic acid and may help dissolve kidney stones. There is no scientific research to confirm this. However, basil is high in antioxidants and has been shown to benefit immune health and reduce inflammation.
- Parsley: Scientists have identified parsley as a preventative for kidney stones in animal studies. For example, in a small 2017 study on rats, scientists found that parsley was associated with decreased amounts of calcium and protein in urine, as well as a regulated urinary PH, which is essential for preventing kidney stones. Though more research is needed, parsley can be a healthy, nutrient-rich addition to meals.
- Raspberries: This fruit is higher in oxalates and is generally not recommended in large servings in a diet meant to reduce oxalate kidney stone risk. However, a 2011 study in mice showed that raspberries may have a preventative effect on kidney stone formation. They reduced levels of oxalate, calcium, and phosphorus in the urine all of which are associated with kidney stones in high amounts.
Making Sorrel Iced Tea
My first sorrel tea experience was at my sister in laws house everyone raves about her sorrel tea, and baked salmon, and steak, well she is an amazing cook, and after tasting her sorrel tea, I and hubby tried to recreate it in our humble kitchen.
I read a lot about sorrels health benefits and yes it can lower blood pressure, lower bad cholesterol, and detoxify the entire body. Can you imagine that your body is healing while you are doing the simplest thing which is drinking delicious sorrel iced tea.
Although this recipe of Sorrel Iced Tea will keep you wanting to pour more and more in your glass, but too much of sorrel can create kidney stones, so moderation is the key.
Now, if you have some sorrel in your kitchen go ahead and make some using my recipe, and if you dont, I guess its time to buy some.
, and if you happen to make any of my recipes, please post the picture and mention me in your post, or use this hashtag#munatycooking. I would love to see your creation.
As for my recipe, here you go!
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Black Tea And Kidney Stones
Black tea has the highest content of oxalates compared to other types of teas. It is around 6mg per 1 g of black tea.
When we drink black tea, oxalates in it go to our digestive tract. These oxalates can bind with calcium and will be excreted from our body with stool or urine.
But if we drink too much black tea like a gallon, then there will be many oxalates that can make calcium oxalates, and high black tea consumption will increase calcium oxalate concentration in urine. This will cause kidney stones.
Taking around 1500 mg of oxalates per day might cause kidney stones. But an average person like ourselves only consumes around 150 500 mg each day, and it is safe.
Drinking more than 4 5 cups of black tea is generally not safe. The safe limit to avoid kidney stones and other side effects related to caffeine is 4, 5, or fewer black teacups per day.
When we drink too much black tea, it can increase the oxalate levels in urine, promoting kidney stones.
In one case in 2014, a man who drank 1 gallon of black tea every day developed kidney failure due to a high concentration of oxalates in urine.
However, drinking black tea in moderation will help you, while drinking too much will harm you.
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Does Green Tea Affect Kidney Health
It is a known fact that green tea is loaded with antioxidants. These antioxidants fight the tissue damage caused by free radicals along with hampering the growth of pathogens such as certain bacteria, viruses, and fungi.
Studies reveal that the presence of EGCG in green tea is helpful in preventing chronic kidney disease and is probably even effective in treating it.
Green tea is an astringent and diuretic, i.e. a substance that increases urine production. Both these properties make it useful in fighting infections of the urinary tract, bladder, and kidney.
Green tea has always shown positive effects when it comes to the prevention of different types of cancers. Research claims that green tea is capable enough of preventing kidney cancer.
As per the research carried out, green tea is also helpful in preventing bladder cancer in males as well as females. Making green tea a part of a healthy lifestyle can help you can enjoy its health benefits and prevent cancer.
Iced Tea May Cause Kidney Stones
Summer is high season for drinking iced tea. However, a John Miller, Loyla University Medical Center urologist warns that iced tea can contribute to painful kidney stones because of its high concentration of oxalate, one of the key chemicals that lead to the formation of kidney stones.
Around 10% of people in the U.S. suffer from kidney stones, a common disorder of the urinary tract.
Dr. John Milner, assistant professor at the Department of Urology at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine explains: For people who have a tendency to form the most common type of kidney stones, iced tea is one of the worst things to drink.
Drinking an insufficient amount of fluids is the most common cause of kidney stones, and during the summer, when people can become dehydrated from sweating, the combined effect of dehydration together with drinking a lot of iced tea can raise the chance of developing kidney stones, particular in those already at risk.
Milner said:
People are told that in the summertime they should drink more fluids. A lot of people choose to drink more iced tea, because it is low in calories and tastes better than water. However, in terms of kidney stones, they might be doing themselves a disservice.
Even though hot tea also contains oxalate, Milner said that it is difficult to drink sufficient amounts to cause kidney stones and figures from the Tea Association of the USA reveal that around 85% of tea consumed in the United States is iced.
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What To Expect At Home
You visited your provider or the hospital because you have a kidney stone. You will need to take self-care steps. Which steps you take depend on the type of stone you have, but they may include:
- Drinking extra water and other liquids
- Eating more of some foods and cutting back on other foods
- Taking medicines to help prevent stones
- Taking medicines to help you pass a stone
You may be asked to try to catch your kidney stone. You can do this by collecting all of your urine and straining it. Your provider will tell you how to do this.
Will It Help Or Hurt To Take A Vitamin Or Mineral Supplement
The B vitamins which include thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, B6 and B12 have not been shown to be harmful to people with kidney stones. In fact, some studies have shown that B6 may actually help people with high urine oxalate. However, it is best to check with your healthcare professional or dietitian for advice on the use of vitamin C, vitamin D, fish liver oils or other mineral supplements containing calcium since some supplements can increase the chances of stone formation in some individuals.
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But What About This Type Of Tea
Jill Harris: And I think there wasoh, and so you dont have to ask me every tea in the world because theres hundreds of teas, right. And I understand why patients get so confused. Theyre like, Okay, but I drink this tea. What do you think? I dont know. It has not been studied. It wont be studied. Its expensive to study. Its hard to study oxalate. It differs from plant to plant because its in plant foods, depending on the soil and the growing conditions. So, this advice I give may seem generic to someWell, she says just have a little portion. Its no big deal, even though Harvard says its high. But the reason Im able to give you, sometimes, what seems like generic advice to you is because Im looking at thousands of urine collections, peoples follow-ups, and when they originally came to me there oxalate was 60 and now its 20 because they took the advice and they did something with it.
Focus on the other parts of the Kidney Stone Diet because theyre so very important. But malabsorption people that advice does not go to you because you have special issues and I always want to acknowledge you and say I see you thats a whole different ballgame. So, for the average stone former that was eating too much spinach and almond, slow your roll, people, on eating the same damn things all the time in any amount you want because youre heard it was healthy. And have your tea, but within portion. The end.
Jeff Sarris: Absolutely!
Jill Harris: Cancel anytime.
Ways To Prevent Kidney Stones
All that said, there are some always-good-for-you options that can also help prevent stones.
Here’s a short list of recommendations to consider.
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Fluids of all types are safe, because they increase urine output and that’s a big goal. Dilute urine is your best friend in preventing stones, so drink up.
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There are benefits to balance, so eat more fruits and vegetables. “I can’t think of a reason why they wouldn’t be safe for anybody,” said Penniston. “A variety of fruits and vegetables can provide stone prevention benefits for most people. There are some foods like fruits and vegetables that, if we eat more of them, can reduce some of the major risk factors of most types of stones.”
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Bacteria can be a good thing. The gut microbiome is the hottest new topic when it comes to nutrition. And it turns out that the bacteria that live in our GI tract probably do have a lot more to do with our overall health than we think.”Some of the therapy that we do is aimed at optimizing the gut microbiome, and to do that you have to eat foods that will sustain a healthy colonization of bacteria, like fiber and fruits and vegetables,” said Penniston. “Cultured foods like yogurt, and kefir or fermented foods aid the microbiome directly by introducing more bacteria into the digestive tract.”
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Does Black Tea Cause Kidney Stones
Although black tea is higher in oxalates than other types of lightly or non-fermented tea, as mentioned above, recent studies suggest that moderate daily tea consumption is actually associated with a lower risk of renal stone disease .
Does Milk in Tea Affect Oxalates?
Oxalates have the potential to bind to a significant proportion of the calcium in added milk. When calcium is attached, oxalate will go through the stomach and intestines, finally leaving the body in the stool, rather than as urine via the kidney.
This is good if you are trying to lower the amount of oxalate going through the kidney, especially if you are a black tea drinker. However, if you struggle with getting enough calcium, you may need to boost your calcium intake to compensate .
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Is Green Tea Good For Kidney Stones
To solve this problem, various scientific research has been carried out to discover new solutions to the problem.
In this way, it is that Chinese researchers have discovered that green tea extract has the ability to disintegrate calcium oxalate.
It also makes the crystals decrease in size and acquire a different shape, which makes it easier for them to group less, not being able to form stones in the kidneys.
The research was conducted by Sichuan University in Chengdu, China. Dr. Li and his colleagues discussed the effects of green tea extract on calcium oxalate crystallization.
Researchers artificially cultivated calcium oxalate crystals under different conditions.
They found that calcium oxalate is dehydrated when faced with large amounts of green tea.
On the other hand, it was also observed that the more green tea extract applied, the oxalate crystals changed shape, becoming flatter and longer.
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Fruit Or Vegetable Juice
Although juice does have lots of vitamins and minerals in it, I dont recommend it. Id much prefer people eat the ACTUAL fruit of vegetable, instead of juicing it and leaving all of that valuable fiber behind.
Even 100% fruit juice has quite a bit of sugar in it. It is easy to consume a lot of sugar in juice form, compared to simply eating actual fruit. One serving of fruit is equivalent to only 4 fluid ounces of fruit juice.
Vegetable juice is packed with sodium. Eating too much salt is one the most common dietary causes of high urine calcium and kidney stones. Even low sodium vegetable juice is pretty high in salt. An 8 fluid ounce serving of V8 vegetable juice has 640mg of sodium. The low sodium version has 140mg of sodium.
If have high oxalate on a 24-hour urine test and need a low oxalate diet, vegetable juice can also be a very concentrated source of oxalate.
Yes, this even includes fresh juices from a fancy juice bar or juice made at home.
Does Tea Cause Or Treat Kidney Stones
Medically reviewed by Senik Matinyan, MD on December 10, 2019 – Written by the Azul Tea Editorial Team
Drinking tea is good for you right? Well, it may not be as good as you think! And, it may contribute to the formation of kidney stones. But, not all teas share this feature.
And, some teas help you remove kidney stones. So, how do you know which teas are the right ones for you?
Does drinking tea causes kidney stones? Keep reading to find out which ones are safe. And, which ones to avoid if you already have kidney stones.
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How Much Black Tea Can A Person With Kidney Disease Drink
A person with kidney stones can drink two or fewer 8 oz mugs of black tea drinks. This is because the safe limit of oxalates for kidney stone patients is 10mg or less.
If you have other kidney issues, the amount you can consume depends on your kidney issues severity and the doctors opinions.
If you have any kidney issues, I recommend drinking black tea after discussing it with your healthcare provider.
Why Should You Avoid Kidney Stones
The reason why we should avoid kidney stones is that they are quite painful. Also, kidney stones can cause infections and other complications when they become lodged in the urinary tract Kidney stones Symptoms and causes. . Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/kidney-stones/symptoms-causes/syc-20355755.
In this case, you might need surgery to remove the stones. But in different situations, you can pass kidney stones by drinking pain medications and drinking more water.
So, it is crucial to avoid the things that cause kidney stones and keep our kidneys healthy!
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Water Is Not Your Only Option
Nothing is totally off limits when it comes to increasing fluids. The main point is that you do, indeed, increase them. If having a soda here and there helps you maintain your ultimate daily fluid goal, then by all means, treat yourself once in a while.
I am certainly not advising you to have as many Cokes as you would like, nor am I advocating that you drink very large amounts of coffee all day long, even if coffee drinking lowers risk of stones. What I am saying is that all fluids count and water is NOT your only option. Other beverages help provide variety but my principle is to use them in moderation.
This post will help you decide which other beverages you might incorporate into your diet to help raise your total daily fluid intake. Keep in mind that you need to take into consideration other medical conditions you may have that will contraindicate some of these choices. Review your version of my plan with your physician to be sure.
Ginger Tea Kills Cancer Cells
Excess production of free radicals can harm the body and lead to DNA damage responsible for many chronic illnesses, including cancer. The presence of free radicals and oxidative stress are often associated with cancer and a common mechanism often put forth to explain the actions and health benefits of ginger is associated with its antioxidant properties. Several reports indicate that ginger suppresses lipid peroxidation and protects the levels of reduced glutathione. The mechanisms proposed to explain the anticancer activities of ginger and its components include antioxidant activity and the ability to induce apoptosis, decrease proliferation and induce cell-cycle arrest. The antioxidant effects of 6-shogaol especially are helpful for reducing free radical damage and lowering the chances of getting cancer. These elements are also responsible for controlling various kinds of cancers. Studies have shown that ginger may even cure breast cancer and control other cancers such as colorectal, gastric, ovarian, liver, skin and prostate cancers. The anticancer potential of ginger is well documented and its functional ingredients like gingerols and Shogaol are the valuable ingredients which can prevent various cancers.
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