Water Serves Best

Question: My husband suffers from painful kidney stones. Is there anything he can do to prevent them?

Answer: Yes. The first thing heWater serves best should do is drink more water—six to eight 230 ml glasses a day—to dilute his urine. Kidney stones are typically made up of calcium and either phosphate or oxalate, minerals absorbed from food and normally excreted through urine. But if urine becomes too concentrated, the minerals can crystallize to form stones, causing severe pain as they pass from the kidneys. He should also: Limit protein and salt.

Tell him to eat less than 225gms of lean meat each day. Avoid oxalate-heavy foods drinks. Ask his doctor if your husband tends to form oxalate stones. If the answer is yes, he should consume only moderate amounts of anything with a high concentration of the mineral, including spinach, berries, beets, nuts, chocolate, coffee and tea Keep consuming.

Calcium because kidney stones usually form from calcium, doctors used to think that avoiding this mineral could prevent them.

Now we believe the opposite is true: dietary calcium may actually help you protect yourself against stones by binding with oxalate in the intestines and preventing it from reaching the kidneys.



Question: Irritable bowel syndrome is making me miserable. What do you recommend?

Answer: In my experience, most people respond well to dietary changes, mind-body approaches, certain supplements and even exercise. In IBS, nerves and muscles in the bowel become extra-sensitive and can contract too much when you eat, leading to frequent bouts of constipation or diarrhea.

Experts believe that about 20% of American adults struggle with this problem. Even worse, a study from the University Hospital of South Manchester estimated that a quarter of sufferers get no relief from treatments that docs typically prescribe, including fiber products and drugs that ease muscle contractions and diarrhea. Here’s what I suggest.

A food journal


Most people with IBS say their symptoms worsen after eating certain foods. Write down what, when and how much you eat, in a notebook. Check it for patterns that indicate food-related triggers. In a British study, people with IBS were sensitive to wheat, beef, pork and lamb. Alcohol, caffeine and fatty foods are other common culprits; if any of these seem to bother you, eliminate each for a week to see if it makes a difference.


Water eases bestThe herb relaxes the digestive tract’s smooth muscles, easing spasms. A German review of 16 studies involving 651 people found that capsules containing 180 to 200 mg of peppermint oil eased IBS pain, bloating and gas for 58% of takers. Look for capsules with enteric coating, which helps prevent them from causing heartburn. Take one with a glass of water before dinner.
Probiotics

Recently, researchers from the University of Manchester, UK, gave the probiotic supplement B. infant is 35624 or a placebo to 362 women with IBS for a month. The probiotic lessened bloating, bowel problems and flatulence—a 20% improvement over the placebo.