Kidney stones can be incredibly painful and awkward to disperse, which is why you should try and do what you can to avoid them in the first place.

Your diet is clearly a major factor when it comes to the risk of getting kidney stones. When you look at a gallstones vs kidney stones comparison you will soon learn that they have similarities in terms of how they are formed. However, they impact different parts of your body and functions, namely the kidneys and gallbladder.

Let’s focus on kidney stones. In particular, whether the idea of consuming lemons could be helpful as a preventative measure.

Understanding what your urine is telling you

A good starting point would be to have an understanding of why you are making kidney stones in the first place.

There are numerous reasons why you might be prone to making stones in your kidneys and you need an analysis of your urine from a medical professional to get an idea of what changes you might need to make to your diet to reduce the risk of developing kidney stones.

Why might lemons be useful?

Lemons have an impact on your urine by increasing your citrate level and making it more alkaline.

The relevance of this is that citrate is a vital ally when it comes to preventing kidney stones. This citrate works by enveloping calcium, therefore, protecting it from other minerals and preventing them from combining with it.

It is often the case that if you have malabsorption problems this will be identified by a lower level of citrate in your urine.

Typically, if you suffer from conditions such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease, these are examples of a situation where your body may not be able to produce enough citrate.

You can see why regular consumption of lemons might help rebalance your body in that respect.

Would it be a good idea to drink lemon juice anyway?

Adding lemon to your water might seem like a good preventive measure but there are good reasons for resisting that urge unless you have citrate levels that are below the average.

One issue with the regular consumption of lemon juice is that it can have an adverse impact on your tooth enamel levels. It can also increase your reflux symptoms as a result of drinking excessive amounts of lemon water.

The best approach is often to grade your lemon consumption in line with your regular urine test results. If you see a difference in your nitrate levels that would be encouraging. However, you should be mindful that the simple act of consuming lemons is not going to raise your citrate levels into an acceptable range on its own.

Consuming lemons to counteract kidney stones is not a bad idea but it is also not a simple cure that fixes any problem you have with your citrate levels.

The bottom line is that lemons in your diet can be helpful when dealing with kidney stones but it is not something that will keep them away simply by drinking water and lemon juice on a daily basis.