Baking soda, uric acid stones and kidney stones

Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) makes the urine less acidic and so lowers the chance of kidney stones. Sodium bicarbonate may be used if you have had uric acid stones because you have too much acid in your urine. Baking soda will prevent the formation of uric acid kidney stones and help dissolve existing uric acid stones. The medical term for this condition is nephrolithiasis, or renal stone disease. Baking soda is also very helpful in urinary tract infections. Adding a pinch of baking soda to herbal teas like agrimony, birch, buchu, and cornsilk, will help decrease the burning sensation. Drinking a lot of right herbal teas will increase the amount of urine, and help flush out harmful bacteria.

Common causes of Kidney stones

* High level of urinary calcium (hypercalciuria),
* high urinary oxalate (hyperoxaluria),
* high urinary uric acid (hyperuricosuria),
* insufficient urinary citrate, or
* inadequate water flowing through the kidneys.

Types of Kidney stones

The five most common types of stones are comprised of calcium—calcium oxalate and calcium phosphate, uric acid, struvite, and cystine.

Baking soda as a remedy to prevent and get rid of oxalate kidney or bladder stones

Oxalate kidney stone sufferers should use sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) to prevent stone formation. A low acid and low oxalate diet are important in preventing stone formation. If you are suffering from bladder stones, it is best to alkalize and not to eat to much oxalates. Baking soda is very efficient in preventing calcium oxalate stones. Most urine samples are high in calcium. The sodium bicarbonate reacts with the oxalic acid to form sodium oxalate which is much less less reactive in forming a calcium oxalate. The urine or kidneys with sufficient levels of bicarbonate should allow a safe excretion of oxalates without the stones, but there shouldn’t be too much oxalic acid, or it will overpower the alkalinity of the baking soda and form the calcium oxalate. So, to prevent and get rid of bladder stones, do not take too much oxalic acid and provide proper alkalinity. So if the urine pH is maintained near 7, most of kidneys stones from calcium oxalate problems are not likely to occur. One should moderate oxalate intake and add baking soda to alkalise and prevent forming calcium oxalates. Other important supplements that also prevent formation of oxalates are vitamin C, vitamin B, sodium citrate, and potassium citrate.

Low oxalate diet

If you have kidney stones or short bowel syndrome, or do not absorb fat well, you may need to follow a low oxalate diet. Some of the high oxalate foods are beans (baked in tomato sauce or canned), beer, beets, blackberries, blueberries, whole wheat bread, celery, chocolate, cinammon (larger amounts), cocoa, dewberries, eggplants, dried figs, flour, sweets, ginger, gooseberries, graham flour, green tea, black tea, white corn, berries, kamut, kiwi, lemon peel, lime peel, orange peel, marmalades, oatmeals, parsley, peanuts, peppers, pokeweed, potatoes, pumpkins, rhubarb, rutabagas, sesame, sorrel, soy, soy sauce, soybean crackers, spinach, strawberries, sunflower seeds, tangerines, wheat germs, whole wheat flour, and yam.