Lemonade - A Natural Healthy Beverage

The University of California, Berkeley, Wellness Letter confirms what I have always believed. It is a healthy drink so natural to the digestive process and a real healthy alternative to coffee or sugar-laden beverages. The questions is, "Does drinking lemonade prevent kidney stones?" The answer: "Yes, in some people this may reduce the risk of a recurrance. In general increasing your fluid intake helps."
Many times in my life I have had cravings for fruits, vegetables or even apple cider vinegar, garlic or in this case: lemon. Twenty years ago I experienced severe pain in my kidney area and was rushed to the hospital and administered morphine and then a second shot. The pain was excruciating and the emergency room staff recognized the symptoms. Because of my heart condition the hospital monitored my intake of water and the urine I passed rather than resort to surgery. Within a couple of days I passed two uric-acid stones. I was placed on Allupurinol or trade name Zyloprim and have taken this drug for the past 20 years.
For some reason, I found both coffee and pop didn't set well with me. I decided to order a caraf of water with wedges of lemon. If the served me thin slices I offered to pay for a whole lemon, but usually they responded with my request. Having been brought up with a sweet tooth, I use a sugar substitute with the water. Now, for the first time, I have evidence from the University of California that a low level of citrate in the urine can increase the two common types: calcium-oxalate and uric acid stones.

If you've had one of these kinds of stones, your doctor may prescribe potassium citrate to raise your citrate level. In addition, or instead, you may be advised to eat lemons, which are rich in citrate, or drink lemonade. Citrate binds to calcium in the urine, preventing the formation of crystals that can develop into kidney stones. It also affects the acid-base balance of the urine, which plays a role in stone formation.
Friends of mine picked up on this habit of mine and order the same drink of water with wedges of lemon when out dining with me.
Lemons contain almost five times more citrate than oranges. Half a cup of pure lemon juice provides the amount of citrate your doctor is likely to prescribe.

In one study, most people with stones who drank eight glasses of lemonade a day (containing 4 ounces of reconstituted lemon juice, in total) ended up with normal levels of citrate in their urine after six days. This should help prevent stone recurrence. I have never experiended a repeat of this horribly painful experience since drinking this lemonade before all meals. The experts advise that if you are concerned about the calories, use a sugar substitute to sweeten your lemonade, or buy artificially sweetened lemonade. Just make sure it contains real lemon juice (or citric acid). Fresh lemons are always with me - just in case the waiter doesn't understand my request for wedges of fresh lemon.
But not grapefruit juice: Some studies have found that grapefruit juice actually seems to increase the risk of kidney stones. Thus, if you have a history of stones, your doctor may suggest that you avoid, or at least limit, this juice. I have always had an aversion towards grapefruit - just something that didn't appeal to me.
When a beverage is offered, ask for water with a couple cubes of ice and wedges of fresh lemon or as my waitress calls them: fish lemons.
It never fails to amaze me the way the body craves what it needs most. We just get hooked on buying what's on the menu and give up our rights to choose healthy foods over those offered.

Substitutions are the way to go if restaurants are to win loyal customers.

Juice up your immune system: Squeeze a little lemon to fight disease. Adding just 1/2 tablespoon of fresh lemon to each of your 8 daily cups of water provides nearly 20 percent of the daily value for vitamin C. This major antioxidant not only fights heart disease and boosts immunity but also helps form the collagen we need to heal tendons, ligaments and blood vessels.