Kidney Stones
Kidney Stones
Acupuncture, Chinese Medicine and Natural Therapies for Chronic Kidney Stones
I know from personal experience that the pain from kidney stones is something you don’t want on your bucket list. But it happens to over a million people, and the majority of those are male. However, females are not immune to kidney stones. While Conventional treatment is what we first think about when dealing with Kidney Stones. However, Chinese Medicine has some strategies to consider when dealing with Kidney Stones acutely and chronically. If you have already experienced a kidney stone event. The likelihood of another stone developing is 4 years later. Recurrent stone formers can repeat stone formation every 2-3 years. I prefer to not have that experience again. Acupuncture is best during the acute phase of a kidney stone attack. It can help with pain control. The following is some suggestions on how to lessen the chances of a repeat episode. So, you can avoid the pain. I am not saying that you need to avoid the advice of your Western Medical Doctor. Because you do want to seek their advice. This is just another strategy to consider, especially with chronic Kidney Stones, that is effective.
What can I do to avoid more stones?
- Drink more water. Try to drink 12 full glasses of water a day. Drinking lots of water helps to flush away the substances that form stones in the kidneys. Add lemon to your water. Lemon contains citric acid which inhibits stone formation. Also makes urine less acidic, which inhibits the development of both calcium oxalate & uric acid stones. Use half a cup of lemon juice added to your water daily. Apple cider vinegar also contains citric acid. It can be used in replace of lemon.
- Amber Stone (Golden Flower Herbs) or Dissolve KD (Evergreen Herbs) – take one of these formulas 3-4 days every month, 3 times a day as directed. You can obtain these products from any acupuncturist or Chinese Herbalist. I don’t recommend buying these without seeing them first. There are some contraindications and cautions with these formulas.
- Eat more vegetables, fiber, whole grains, and vegetable proteins. Be careful not eating carbohydrates in Chinese Medicine one of the systems (Spleen) that helps metabolize food and drink could be weakened. If a person is not eating a sufficient amount of carbohydrates. When that system is weak then food is not separated properly then dampness occurs. Combined with a weak Kidney system you set the stage for stone formation. (Paul Jaminet, PhD explains this Western Medically in this article, http://perfecthealthdiet.com/category/disease/kidney-stones/)
- Limit sugar, refined foods, animal products (If you have a uric acid issue), caffeine, alcohol, soda, and salt.
- Reduce your consumption of oxalate-containing foods such as almonds, sesame seeds, soy milk, miso, starfruit, spinach, black tea, rhubarb, chocolate/cocoa, pepper, beets, beans, sweet potatoes, wheat bran, strawberries, and nuts. Oxalate type stones are the most common. If you have had the stones tested and yours is uric acid type you should avoid meat, poultry, pork, liver, sardines, meat broth, clams, crabs, peas, coffee, beans, and cauliflower. This is a general list.
- Eat more foods that are high in magnesium, such as brown rice, bananas, corn, rye, barley, oats, soy, avocado and potato. Magnesium seems to be an inhibitor of stone formation.