What lifestyle changes can prevent recurring kidney stones?

Along with a specific workup and prevention plan, there are four basic prevention steps you can try. While these aren't guaranteed to work for everyone, in most cases, they can help make kidney stones less likely.

Drink more fluid. Unless you have poorly functioning kidneys, you should drink enough fluid to make 2 liters of urine each day. How much do you have to drink? It depends on your situation. If you're drinking enough, your urine will be clear or pale yellow. If it's dark yellow, it means your urine is very concentrated, so calcium and other crystals will be more likely to form and grow another kidney stone.

Eat less protein. Extra protein can cause you to make kidney stones. And most Americans eat more protein than they need. The recommended daily allowance of protein for the average adult is just 0.4 grams of protein per pound of body weight. This means a 200-pound man needs only 80 grams of protein a day. Extra protein is converted to fat and changes urine conditions, so kidney stones are more likely.

Cut the salt. For a normal adult, the maximum recommended daily amount of sodium is 2400 mg. The average American consumes almost twice the recommended amount and 5 times more than the body needs for survival. Sodium causes your urine calcium to increase, making you more likely to have a kidney stone. Start by eating your food without any added salt. In most cases, you're already getting more sodium than you need, since many prepared, canned, or frozen foods contain salt already.

Take in more citrate. Citrate is a chemical that inhibits the production of kidney stones. The more you have in your urine, the less chance you have of getting a stone. Citrate is in lemons, oranges, and grapefruit -- so put more of these into your diet and drink more juice from these fruits. Your urologist can also prescribe a citrate supplement.