Easy way to prevent kidney stones

Approximately 10 to 15% of adults will develop kidney stones, and the number of adults and children developing them is on the rise. Once you have an attack, the more likely you are to have a recurrence, and the younger you are when you have the first attack, the chances of recurrence is much higher. Luckily, 95% of kidney stones pass within a few days on their own, and the best way to prevent them in the first place is to drink enough water. You'll know you're drinking enough water if your urine is a light yellow. However, if you take a multi vitamin or a B2 supplement which turns your urine a bright fluorescent yellow you cannot rely on the visual test.

Risk factors:
* not drinking enough water
* family genetics
* men are 4 times more at risk than women
* living in a dry climate
* eating too much sugar, salt, soy
* too much caffeine
* obesity

Warning signs of a kidney stone:
* pain in your side and back below the ribs
* pain lasts 20 to 60 minutes
* bloody, cloudy, or foul-smelling urine
* pain while urinating
* nausea and vomiting
* urgency to urinate
* fever and chills indicate an infection is also present

Prevention:
* stay hydrated with water, not soda
* eat a diet based on your body's unique nutritional type (see Dr. Mercola's link at bottom of article for more information on this)
* avoid prescription drugs that do more harm than good (such as Lasix, Topomax, Xenical)
* avoid sugar, soy, caffeine, excess salt and processed foods
* get plenty of exercise to keep your body's fluids moving
* make sure you're getting adequate magnesium and vitamin B6 in your diet

Medicinal herbs known to help acute attacks:
* nettle leaf
* bearberry
* cleavers
* corn silk
* crampbark
* gravel root
* kava kava
* khella
* hydrangea
* stone root

This information is courtesy of Dr. Mercola's article on kidney stone prevention.