How Beneficial Is Barley Water For Kidney Stones?

Introduction

Kidney stones are irregular hard deposits made of minerals and salts that form inside your kidneys and are also called renal calculi, nephrolithiasis, or urolithiasis. Most of them are about the size of a chickpea, but they can also vary from the size of a grain of sand to the size of a golf ball. Small stones can easily pass through your urinary tract, but for the larger ones you might need surgery. Sometimes, even small stones can cause extreme pain while exiting through your urinary tract. Understanding the symptoms and causes of the condition will help you manage kidney stones and prevent them in the future.

While various medical treatments and preventive measures are available for managing kidney stones some individuals turn to home remedies like barley water in the hope of finding relief and preventing future stone formation. In this blog, we’ll delve into the potential benefits of barley water for kidney stones and whether it’s a valuable addition to your kidney stone management plan. Let’s first understand kidney stones in detail

What are Kidney Stones?

Kidney stones are small, solid, pebble-like structures that can form in the kidneys when certain substances in the urine become highly concentrated. These substances typically include minerals and salts, such as calcium, oxalate, uric acid, and others. Kidney stones can be painful and uncomfortable, but with the right treatment and preventive measures, they can often be managed effectively. If you suspect you have kidney stones, it’s essential to consult a healthcare professional for diagnosis and guidance on the most appropriate treatment.

What Causes Kidney Stones?

Kidney stones are usually formed from substances in your urine. These substances that combine into stones are normally excreted by your urinary system. But, when they are not eliminated, because there is not enough volume of urine, these substances become highly concentrated and crystallize to form stones. This can result from dehydration or not drinking enough water.

Other causes include a diet rich in protein, sodium, and sugar, excess body weight, a family history of kidney stones, having a blockage in the urinary tract, certain medical conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney cysts, inflammatory bowel disease, and chronic diarrhea, and certain medications like diuretics, Calcium-based antacids, ciprofloxacin, Topamax and Dilantin.

What are the Main Symptoms of Kidney Stones?

Some of the common symptoms of kidney stones include:

• Severe, sharp pain in the side and back, below the ribs that sometimes radiates to the lower abdomen and groin.
•  Pain or burning sensation while urinating.
• Seeing blood in your urine
• Fever or Chills.
• Cloudy or foul-smelling Urine.
• Feeling the urge to urinate more often.
• Nausea and Vomiting

Sometimes, Kidney stones can cause excruciating pain and might necessitate emergency medical attention. But did you know how beneficial barley water is for kidney stones? If No, this article will help you understand it better.

How are Kidney Stones diagnosed?

Your healthcare provider may perform certain tests to confirm these Kidney stones along with taking your medical history. some tests may include: 

• Imaging tests: X-ray, CT scan, and ultrasound are some of the tests that will help to see the size, shape, location, and number of your kidney stones which will help your health care provider decide what best treatment you might need.
• Blood test: Blood tests show how well your kidneys are functioning. Typically a person with kidney stones may have high concentrations of calcium and uric acid in the blood. They can also help your doctor understand the overall functioning of kidneys and identify any other underlying medical conditions.
• Urine test: Helps identify signs of infection and examines the levels of the stone-forming or stone-preventing substances in Urine. Sometimes, your doctor may prescribe for this test to be done on 2 consecutive days. 

Now that kidney stones are clearly understood, let’s take a look at what is barley water and how it is beneficial for kidney stones.

What is Barley Water?

Barley (Jau) is a cereal that belongs to the grass family and has been grown for over 13,000 years. Barley is high in important nutrients, dietary fiber, and vitamins like niacin, manganese, phosphorus, and vitamin B6 along with having antioxidant properties. It is high in carbohydrates (78%), fat (1%), protein (10%), and water (10%). Water boiled with barley is called barley water and we can also learn through this Article how best you can make it, but first, let us understand more about how barley water is beneficial for Kidney stones.

What are the Benefits of Barley Water for Kidney Stones:

Regular consumption of Barley water can keep urinary tract infections at bay and is one of the best home remedies for a lot of infections within the urinary tract and good for kidneys. Since it is also a natural diuretic, it will help you maintain your overall health too. 

• Barley water is rich in Vitamins and Minerals, which are very good for our kidneys.
• Barley water flushes toxins out of the body.
• It Prevents urine from becoming acidic.
• Calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, and copper are abundantly available in Barley Water which help large volumes of urine pass through easily allowing kidney stones to pass through as well.
• Vitamin B6 in Barley, Helps break Kidney Stones.
• Helps minimize Inflammation.
• Magnesium in Barley water helps break Kidney Stones.

How to Prepare Barley Water for Kidney Stones?

Here’s a quick and easy way to prepare your own barley water.

Ingredients: 1 cup barley (Jau), 7-8 cups of water, Juice of 1 Lemon, 1 tablespoon honey (optional).

Method:  Boil 1 liter of water with 1 tablespoon of barley pearls (jau pearls) and boil on a low flame for about 30 minutes or until the water has reduced to half. Strain and cool this mix and drink it throughout the day. Then, for flavor, combine lemon juice and honey (optional). You can also add some Salt to taste.

This barley water can be kept in a covered pitcher or in single-serving bottles as they are easy to drink. They can be stored only up to a maximum of 1 week. After 1 week, discard out any leftover barley water as it will start to go bad.

Incorporating Barley Water into Your Routine

Barley water is a healthy and refreshing drink that offers a lot of health benefits. It’s easy to make at home and can be enjoyed by people of all ages. Incorporating barley water to your daily routine can help improve digestion. It also helps in reducing cholesterol levels, regulating blood sugar, boosting your immune system, and also promotes weight loss. So do give barley water a try and see how it can favor your overall health and well-being.

Conclusion

Barley water helps maintain the urine’s regular pH and prevents it from becoming acidic. It also helps clean the kidneys and reduces calcium excretion in the urine. Overall, barley water benefits the kidneys by relaxing and nourishing them.

The antioxidant properties of barley water will prevent kidney stones from causing inflammation or infection. It is also known to reduce the risk of heart disease, and diabetes, and boost your overall immune system. The most amazing thing is that barley is easily available and is cost-effective. so, you can simply treat kidney stones with this home remedy along with a lot of other benefits.

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