Although small kidney stones can be easily passed through urine without realizing it; Larger ones can stop urine from flowing and cause a lot of pain – some claim it can be as bad or as bad as the time of delivery. However, is beer effective in treating kidney stones?
Kidney stones are hard deposits of minerals and acid salts that usually clump together and build up in concentrated urine. These deposits are found inside the kidneys and are extremely painful when they pass through the body. Often accompanied by nausea, kidney stones can give extremely painful symptoms when trying to pass through urine.
Kidney stones never form from an underlying cause. Instead, they occur as part of an array of conditions. Some of the major causes of kidney stones are:
- Consumption of high-oxalate foods such as spinach and bran cereals
- High intake of sodium, salty foods
- Filling up on animal protein
- Gout
- Diabetes type 2
- Obesity
- High body mass index (BMI)
- Gastric disease
- Gastric bypass surgery
- Certain medicines such as medicines for HIV and AIDS, and diuretics to treat blood pressure
- Dehydration
Kidney stone symptoms
Although small kidney stones can be easily passed through urine without realizing it; Larger ones can stop urine from flowing and cause a lot of pain – some claim it can be as bad or as bad as the time of delivery. However, in order to timely diagnose patients, it is important to know the symptoms of kidney stones. Some of the most common include:
- foul-smelling urine
- pink, brown, red urine
- fever and chills
- pain and burning when urinating
- nausea
- to vomit
- waves of pain
- abdominal and back pain
- frequent need to urinate
- urinating in small amounts
- kidney stone treatment
When it comes to kidney stone treatment, there are tons of tips that medical experts continue to share. Dr. Honey Savla, Consultant of Internal Medicine, shared some simple tips to defeat kidney stones naturally.
“One in ten people suffer from kidney stone disease. To avoid this, it is most important that you consume 12 to 15 glasses of water daily. Barley water in this case. Additionally, it is important to limit oxalate-rich foods – nuts, wheat bran, tea, chocolate, and spinach. Foods rich in oxalate can cause another stone to form. This also includes alcohol, soda, and coffee. Do not take dietary calcium supplements if you already have stones. Fruits rich in vitamin C like amla and Jamun can be resorted to. Reduce salt intake in your diet and check your calcium levels regularly” explained Dr. Savla.
Despite the many natural treatment options available to treat kidney stones, at times, beer is considered to be effective for treating kidney stones. Being an alcoholic beverage, barley-based preparations are often dodged by many. To dispel the myths and get to the facts, contact has been done with experts to verify the veracity of the effectiveness of beer for kidney stones.
Dr. Aditi Sharma, nutritionist, and dietitian at Manipal Hospital, shares some more non-alcoholic recommendations, despite confirming the effectiveness of beer for kidney stones.
“Beer is not the only solution for kidney stones because it acts as a diuretic. Water is another available alternative to diuretics. When you drink excessive amounts of water, the body will have an urge to urinate more than usual Drinking lemon tea, green tea, lemon tea, black tea, or beer also works for kidney stones,” she said.
On the other hand, Dr. Shashi Kiran A, Consultant Nephrologist at Yashoda Hospital Hyderabad explained how alcoholic beverages can trigger kidney stones. Additionally, Dr. Kiran was not a supporter of beer for the treatment of kidney stones.
“Alcoholic drinks contain purines in high concentrations and can cause kidney stones. Although the amount of purines in beer is relatively low compared to other alcoholic beverages, there is little evidence that drinking beer is good at preventing kidney stone formation or helping with the easier passage of already formed stones. It is,” said Dr. Kiran.
“The notion that beer may be helpful may be due to the fact that it acts as a diuretic and can help wash away small kidney stones. But conversely, beer can be harmful in a number of ways. The high oxalate content in beer can increase the formation of oxalate stone. Beer being a diuretic can cause dehydration which in turn can increase the formation of kidney stones. It is also a fact that empty calories in beer may promote the development of obesity and metabolic syndrome, increasing the risk of not only kidney disease but also cardiovascular and neurological diseases,” concluded Dr. Kiran.