I’ve had kidney health on my mind a lot lately!
For good reasons…
Recently, I lost a dear friend to kidney failure and I have several friends and family members
who are suffering with kidney disease.
Some are receiving dialysis.
Others have been waiting a long time for an organ transplant.
Has this happened in your life–or to family and friends?
I certainly hope not!
Let’s face it, keeping our kidneys healthy is vital to maintaining a healthy body.
Kidneys, the pear shaped organs located near the middle part of your back, are responsible
for clearing your body of waste.
Over 200 quarts of blood is processed by your kidneys every day.
This blood is used to help remove the two quarts of excess water, food, and tissue breakdown
from your body.
That’s a lot of work for these small organs.
Because keeping our kidneys healthy is so vital to maintaining a healthy body, here are some
natural ways to keep your kidneys healthy.
Give Your Kidneys an Overhaul, Naturally
*Kidney Cleanse
A kidney cleanse is a way to detox your kidneys from an unhealthy diet.
It helps prevent kidney stones and keeps the kidney functioning smoothly.
A kidney cleanse can also improve your urinary tract and bladder function, regulate blood pressure
and boost immunity.
Keep your kidneys clean with an occasional cleanse to remove toxins and waste buildup from
unhealthy eating habits.
Cleanse Components
There are many types of kidney cleanses available, from pills to drinks.
Each will vary in how it is used and the ingredients included.
Typically, the ingredients are integrated into a whole-foods diet specifically designed to clean
out the kidneys.
Herbs
Some of the herbs that will help you take a natural approach to enhancing your kidney health include:
*Dandelion
*Juniper
*Nettles
*Parsley
*Marshmallow root
*Ginger
*Goldenrod
*Red clover
Foods & Nutrients
Incorporate these foods into your diet to help cleanse the kidneys.
*cranberry juice
*watermelon
*lemon juice
*pumpkin seeds
Vitamins B2 and B6 as well as Magnesium aid in keeping your kidneys clean.
*Maintain Kidney Health
*You can maintain healthy kidneys by not smoking.
*Cut back on alcohol and caffeine as well.
*Keep your blood pressure at a normal level as well as your blood sugar levels.
*Your cholesterol should be kept in a healthy range.
*Most of these factors can be done by drinking plenty of water, maintaining a healthy
weight, and eating a whole-foods natural diet.
*Eat plenty of fruit – bananas, oranges, apples, and melons.
*Vegetables like carrots, broccoli, and peas should be a part of your diet.
*Get some form of exercise every day.
-Take a walk, ride a bike, garden, or swim.
-It doesn’t matter what you do, 30 minutes of exercise every day will help keep your
kidneys healthy.
*Reduce the amount of over- the-counter pain killers and NSAIDs such as Ibuprofen, aspirin
or acetaminophen Aleve or Tylenol you use.
These are all hard on the kidneys.
*Prevent Kidney Stones
Kidney stones are a hard mass formed from crystals separated from urine in the urinary tract.
Stones normally develop from calcium oxalate.
Symptoms are usually extreme pain in the kidney area or possibly in the lower abdomen.
You might also experience difficulty urinating, blood in the urine, fever, or nausea.
The risk of developing kidney stones can be reduced by cutting back on salt and drinking
recommended amounts of water.
Avoid chocolate, okra, sesame seeds, greens, spinach, nuts, and sweet potatoes if
you have a history of kidney stones.
An occasional cleanse to remove toxins and waste buildup from unhealthy eating habits
is a good habit to incorporate into your lifestyle.
In general, we can maintain
healthy kidneys by:
*drinking plenty of water
*eating a whole-food, healthy diet
*exercising regularly
*avoiding bad habits like alcohol and smoking
Because I have personally witnessed what can happen when kidneys are not healthy, I have have made
maintaining healthy kidneys a top priority.
Here are a few easy to prepare natural kidney cleansing recipes to try:
Natural Kidney Cleansing Recipes
Every morning I wake up to a refreshing hot lemon drink that will truly wakes up my kidneys.
Lemons are known to stimulate the kidneys to produce more urine and hence a natural diuretic so
drinking lemon water is one of the most popular ways to cleanse the kidneys.
There are many variations on this lemon water recipe.
Here is a basic recipe for hot lemon water.
Morning Hot Lemon Water Drink
Ingredients:
½- 1 ripe organic lemon
1-2 cups of hot water
Directions:
Boil the water.
Squeeze lemon juice into cup.
When the water is ready, pour it over the cup of lemon juice and stir.
I like to sip this warm drink every morning when you wake up or but you can also have it right before
you go to bed as well.
Learn more about the health benefits of lemons.
Watermelon Seed Tea
Most of us are familiar with the benefits of eating watermelons for kidney health, however fresh watermelon
seeds are good for your kidneys as well.
Ingredients:
4 tbspns fresh watermelon seeds from ripe watermelons
2 cups water
Directions:
Grind watermelon seeds in a blender or a food processor until they are close to being finely ground.
Boil two cups of water in a small pot.
Place the ground watermelon seeds into the pot of hot water.
Steep the tea for a few minutes.
Strain the seeds.
Let the tea cool first before drinking.
Drink your watermelon seed tea warm.
Try to drink as much as you can throughout the day.
Blended Apple Lemon Drink
Apples are also known to be one of the best fruits to eat or drink as fresh juice to improve kidney health
due to natural properties that help to cleanse the kidneys and help with kidney disorders.
Here’s an easy blended apple drink to make:
Ingredients:
2 ripe organic green apples
2 teaspoons of freshly-squeezed lemon juice
a teaspoon of organic maple syrup
2 cups of water
Directions:
Add the ingredients in a blender.
Blend until smooth.
Then add crushed ice.
Drink this healing blend in the morning or anytime during the day.
Blended Cranberry Juice
Cranberries are well know for their power to treat kidney infections and stimulate the kidneys
to produce more urine.
Cranberries are a rich source of antioxidants that can help fight premature aging, improve
the immune system and can improve kidney and bladder health.
Ingredients:
1 cup of natural and unsweetened cranberry juice or fresh organic cranberries
Crushed ice
¼ cup of water
Directions:
Crush ice in your blender.
Add a cup of cranberry juice or fresh cranberries
Add ¼ cup of water.
Blend and serve.
Optional add-ins:
Add blended apples, grapes or carrots to improve this the flavor of recipe.
Parsley, Pumpkin Seed & Fruit Smoothie
Parsley is a great kidney cleanse herb which will stimulate the kidneys to produce more urine and
dilute salts and toxins.
This powerful smoothie blends parsley with other kidney supportive foods for a healthy, nutritious
and delicious drink.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1 organic banana
1 organic apple
1 orange
1 cup organic parsley
Juice of one lemon
1/2 to 1 cup of water
Directions:
Add ingredients in the order above.
Blend until smooth.
Pour into a large glass or mason jar.
Enjoy!
More Kidney Cleansing Recipes & Tips
There are so many wonderful kidney cleansing recipes to explore.
Turmeric is a natural liver detoxifier and a kidney cleanser.
Check out this recipe for detoxifying turmeric juice on mindbodygreen.
*A Recipe for Turmeric Juice: A Powerful Healing Beverage
Young and Raw featured several delicious and effective kidney detox recipes:
*3 Amazing Kidney Detox Recipes
Have you ever added cranberries to your smoothies?
Try this fresh cranberry smoothie recipe from Urban Naturale:
*Crazy for Cranberries the Antioxidant Superfood Plus Cranberry Super Smoothies
Living Green Newsflash notes that part of green living is being healthy and eating a healthy green diet.
There that are massive amounts of chemicals in your food and poisons in your air therefore, the liver and
kidneys are often overworked and overexposed to many harmful toxins.
*Healthy Detox Diet For The Liver And Kidneys
According to Alive.com, dozens of different liver cleansing programs are available and some are downright
unhealthy.
Despite the range of options, the best route is a simple one: basic diet changes and some health-enhancing
supplements:
*Liver & Kidney Cleansing from Alive.com
Institute for Vibrant Living’s Health Blog shared:
*10 Ways to Naturally Protect Your Kidney Against Stones, Malfunction, & Failure
Healthy Food House shared three unique treatments utilizing bladder cherry fruit, black radish, and wild pomegranates:
*Miracle Natural Remedies For Kidney And Bladder Stones
And…
Dr. Oz’s 48-hour cleanse promises to revitalize you from the inside out.
*Dr. Oz’s 48-Hour Weekend Cleanse
Essential Oils for Kidney Health
Essential oils have been used to support, cleanse and detoxify kidneys and to treat kidney problems.
It is important to note that there are numerous essential oil recommendations and proprietary formulations.
Here are just two examples of essential oil blends for kidney health:
doTERRA®’s Zendocrine® essential oil blend
This is a proprietary blend of therapeutic-grade essential oils used to support of the cleansing organs
of the body includes Clove, Grapefruit, Rosemary and Geranium.
The Zendocrine® Detoxification Complex capsules and the Zendocrine® detoxifying blend of essential
oils are complementary products.
Both are for support of the body’s cleansing organs.
They may be taken together or separately.
The capsules should be taken, one each, with morning and evening meals, daily to strengthen and heal the
cleansing organs of the body.
Recommended usage:
· 2 tablets daily of Zendocrine Detoxification Complex with 5 drops of Zendocrine blend in a capsule daily.
· Zendocrine blend can be replaced with 4 drops each Geranium, Rosemary, Grapefruit, and Clove in
a capsule.
· Time period: can be taken indefinitely on a daily basis or as a periodic cleanse for 2 weeks every
three months.
Learn more about do-terra products.
Young Living K & B™ Formula
K & B™ is formulated to nutritionally support normal kidney and bladder health.*
It contains extracts of juniper berries, which enhance the body’s efforts to maintain proper fluid balance;
parsley, which supports kidney and bladder function and aids overall urinary health; and urva ursi,
which supports both urinary and digestive system health.
K & B is enhanced with therapeutic-grade essential oils.
Recommended usage:
Take 3 half droppers (3ml) three times daily in distilled water, or as needed.
Shake well before using.
Keep in a cool dry place.
Do not expose to excessive heat or direct sunlight.
If pregnant or under a doctor’s care, consult your physician.
Keep out of reach of children.
Important note:
This article is provided for informational purposes. It is not medical advice.
If you are diagnosed with kidney failure, kidney stones or other medical conditions, consult your doctor
or medical practitioner for advice before taking these remedies.
Some kidney cleanse recipes or techniques are not for diabetics or for patients with renal failure.
How do you keep your kidneys healthy naturally?
Share your natural remedies, recipes, suggestions and experiences with us.
Medical Disclaimer
This blog post is for informational purposes only. I am not a doctor and the statements on this blog have not been evaluated by the FDA. Any products mentioned are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Please consult your doctor or health care practitioner before using herbs, essential oils or other natural remedies.
“Shared on Mostly Homemade Mondays”
So much helpful information here! Thank you for putting together so many useful tips, Deborah. Do you use the DoTerra or YL supplements? Which ones would you recommend using for starters? Thanks 🙂
Hi Sarita,
I am so glad you found this information helpful. I have been using Young Living oils at home, however, I have been learning more and more about Do-Terra from people who are using them and writing about them. Both are therapeutic grade.
I have been trying to compare various essential oil brands, but I at this time I am not sure which brand is better. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with me. I appreciate it. I am checking out your blog too!
http://WWW.wholenewmom.com. This woman took two years to research the oils. Very impressive. I have recently joined Young Living because they no loner require auto ship and they have excellent training. Hope this helps.
Thanks a lot. I’ve been looking for a thousand years about DETOX recipes. This is just great and very helpful. I’ll look forward for more recipes from you.
My husband has a high creataine, he as a blockage in his neck and needs surgery. but can’t operate until he gets his kidneys straight. What is a good remedy for this. He has high blood pressure, all his other test are good. his chesterol, the good and the bad. What essential oils would be good for his condition.
Mary I have found that Salvia root has normailzed my blood pressure I started drinking salvia root tea and switched over to all fruit and veg diet and in three days my BP normalized
This is good to know. I just love cranberry juice and watermelon.
I find it interesting that you include bananas in good fruits to eat, yet because of the high potassium in bananas they are strongly discouraged for people with kidney disease. I have had two people in our family with kidney problems and both were recommended to stay off Bananas by the medical profession. Was it a typo or I am missing something?
Based on the above information, a kidney patient, depending on where they are in kidney disease, needs to know their potassium, phosphorus and sodium requirements. I am at-risk and know that many fruits are high in potassium and phosphorus. The powers that be tend to put a high amount of these two minerals in packaged foods. Bananas and Oranges are very high in the two. A better choice is plantain and mandarin type oranges. Over all a very informative article.
Thank you so much. I read the entire article and I feel so much better knowing I can do most of these things. I’m having kidney issues and I just want them to get better. One of the things I have to stop doing is smoking because I honestly feel the pain right afterwards. My wife uses young living but she wasn’t sure which oil for me to use. Do you recommend anything specific. My doctor also said there was a cyst on one of the kidneys but i shouldn’t worry but I am worried. Thank you once again
While in College, our Guidance Counselor would always brief my friends and i on the benefits of eating watermelon. I can’t recall him saying anything about fresh watermelon seeds being good for your kidneys, but i take it that you are right. He would never dig the seeds out of the watermelon, but just eat the watermelon and seeds as a whole. This is the same guy who introduced me to Demerara sugar explaining that all the Rastafarians would spread it on their porridge. He definitely knew how to grab your attention and spin a few yarns.
Great website by the way!
I have a genetic lung disease, high blood pressure and kidney issues (stage 3). I hate pills, they just add to my issues take this for this and that for that. I’m tired of it. it’s a try this game. Nothing is helping. I’m on oxygen 24/7 now and I just want my life back HELP PLEASE.
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