Garlic is well known for its health benefits. On the other hand, kidney stone is a very common disorder among patients with kidney diseases.
So, is garlic good for kidney stones? Well, garlic is low in calcium and it is good for kidney stones. Garlic may even prevent the occurrence of kidney stones.
Why Is Garlic Good For Kidney Stones?
Calcium oxalate or excess calcium formation is the main cause of kidney stones. When the calcium level in the blood is above normal, the condition is called Hypercalcemia.
Hypercalcemia promotes kidney stones (1). As garlic contains a little amount of calcium, it is a safe food that does not cause kidney stones through Hypercalcemia.
On the other hand, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome may also increase the risk of stone formation (2)
Studies have shown that garlic can reduce waist circumference (3). The same study also showed that garlic has a significant benefit over BMI within 12 weeks duration.
Moreover, garlic can be beneficial for people with diabetes. According to studies, garlic can reduce glucose parameters (4).
Also, garlic supplements can lower both systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure in patients with hypertension (5).
Furthermore, garlic has beneficial effects on metabolic syndrome (6).
In concluding, all of these factors we can say that garlic is good for kidney stones.
Can Kidney Stone Patient Eat Garlic?
As garlic has numerous health benefits over kidney stones, patients with kidney stones can eat garlic without any issue. Also, garlic is one of the moderately high potassium keto food.
A 100-gram serving of raw garlic contains 401 mg of potassium (7). This high amount of potassium not only helps to fight potassium deficiency on keto but can also be beneficial for kidney stones.
According to studies, a high intake of potassium can lower urinary calcium excretion and plays an important role in the management of both kidney stones and hypercalciuria (8).
Moreover, ketogenic garlic salt can replace normal salt for kidney stone patients.
Does Garlic Clean Your Kidneys?
According to the International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research, fresh garlic bulbs have diuretic properties (9). That’s why garlic may be able to clean kidneys.
Moreover, the high potassium component of garlic can be able to prevent renal diseases which occur due to kidney problems. Also, garlic contains a component called allicin which has nephroprotective effects & benefits of chronic kidney disease (10).
As the nephroprotective effect protects the kidney from diseases, garlic may clean toxic products from your kidneys.
Can Garlic Cause Kidney Failure?
No garlic does not cause kidney failure. In fact, garlic has a protective effect. Garlic contains several kidney-friendly components which help to prevent kidney diseases and kidney stones.
Especially, the allicin component and high potassium density of garlic are very beneficial to prevent kidney diseases. Moreover, garlic does not contain a very high amount of calcium and phosphorus.
This is another added benefit of garlic. As, surplus intake of both calcium and phosphorus can promote calcification of kidneys (11, 12).
Calcification of kidneys can cause kidney diseases which may lead to kidney failure. In fact, calcification increases the risk of morbidity and mortality for patients with chronic kidney disease (13).
Is Garlic Bad For Kidney Infection?
No, garlic is not bad for kidney infections because of its kidney-friendly properties. Garlic provides several health benefits including the reduction of kidney infections.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a well-known agent for catheter-associated urinary tract infections (UTIs). According to studies, fresh garlic extract can reduce the severity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in mice(14).
The same study also showed that oral consumption of garlic can reduce renal bacterial counts and protect mouse kidneys from tissue destruction.
Is Black Garlic Good For Kidneys?
Black garlic is one kind of fermented garlic. This variation of garlic contains almost the same nutrient value as white garlic.
That’s why black garlic can also be good for kidneys. You may use black garlic for kidney-related problems after consulting with your physician.
Is Ginger And Garlic Good For Kidneys?
Like garlic, ginger is also high in potassium. This potassium component is very beneficial for healthy kidney function.
Potassium is able to provide kidney benefits like,
- Lowering the progression of renal disease
- Reduction of urinary calcium excretion
- Prevention of kidney stones
Moreover, according to studies ginger extract can upregulate the renal expression and prevents ethanol-induced toxicity in rat kidney (15). It is also able to maintain the normal level of creatinine and uric acid.
That’s why both ginger and garlic are good for the kidneys.
Is Raw Garlic Good For Kidney Stones?
Raw garlic contains the maximum amount of nutrients among all garlic variants. That’s why raw garlic is not only good but the best option for kidney stones.
However, you should maintain your intake limit of garlic. As excess consumption may cause digestive problems like heartburn and diarrhea.
Is Garlic Water Good For Kidney Stones?
Garlic water contains a little amount of garlic. It is normally prepared by mixing water with a small amount of garlic paste or powder.
Because of the small density of garlic, the water mixture of garlic is not very beneficial for kidney stones like raw garlic. However, it provides a little benefit over kidney stones because of its garlic ingredient.
Is Garlic Bread Good For Kidney Stones?
As bread is prepared from grains that are high in oxalate. High dietary consumption of oxalate-rich foods has a tendency to promote the development of kidney stones (16).
That’s why although garlic is good for kidney stones, you should avoid garlic bread. It’s because the major ingredient of garlic bread aka bread is a kidney stone-forming agent.
Is Garlic Powder Good For Kidney Stones?
Garlic powder is prepared from dried garlic without adding any other ingredient. The garlic powder also contains all of the beneficial components of raw garlic.
Because of this, garlic powder is good for kidney stones. Also, people with kidney stones can add garlic powder to their favorite recipes.
Is Garlic Salt Safe For Kidney Stones & Diseases?
Garlic salt is a mixture of table salt and garlic powder. Salt contains a high amount of sodium. Sodium is notorious for causing high blood pressure.
As high blood pressure or hypertension is a promoting factor of kidney stones and kidney diseases, you should avoid it. In fact, the high density of salt in garlic salt reduces the kidney-friendly benefits of the garlic powder components.
However, if the density of garlic powder is more than twice compared of salt, it can be beneficial for kidney stone patients.
