Beer Science: Drinking Beer May Help Remove Kidney Stones

, Beer Science: Drinking Beer May Help Remove Kidney Stones

There are a lot of reasons why people drink beer. Clearly a primary reason is because they find it enjoyable. They appreciate how beer tastes and enjoy its mood-enhancing qualities.

One thing’s for sure, most people don’t generally drink beer to remove kidney stones, but a kidney transplant physician is suggesting that maybe we should.

Kidney stones are a common problem and if you’ve had one you know that they are a painful experience which can lead to severe back pain, difficult and sometimes bloody urination as well as sleepless nights.

So what are kidney stones anyway?

, Beer Science: Drinking Beer May Help Remove Kidney Stones“Kidney stones are solid, pebble-like deposits of minerals and salts that form inside the kidneys. Stones often form when the urine becomes concentrated, allowing minerals to crystallize and stick together,”  Dr Atit Dharia, Consultant Nephrologist and Kidney Transplant Physician at Masina Hospital in Mumbai, India, told Health Shots.

Kidney stones are made up of calcium and they can be formed in one or both the kidneys and can affect any part of your urinary tract like bladder, ureters and kidney, a condition which affects 1 in 10 people during their lifetime.

Kidney stones come in all sizes. Larger stones may require some form of surgery, but smaller stones can pass through your system naturally, a process that may be aided by drinking beer.

Yes!

“It is a well-known fact that beer is known to cause dehydration which is a major risk for kidney stones. But beer is a diuretic, hence produces a lot of urine,” says Dr Dharia. So, beer may help in passage of small stones (less than 5 mm) which are in the ureter.”

And on top of that “There are a couple of studies done on people who had never had kidney stones, which shows that the risk of kidney stone formation was lower in beer drinkers.” So beer might actually be a kidney stone preventative!

Yes!

For years wine owned all the good news associated with drinking and health. Red Wine in particular was touted for its heart-happy and heath enhancing qualities. Beer on the other hand was treated as almost an afterthought, and if it was credited with anything, most likely it was for weight gain.

But science is revisiting beer and its effects on our heath and they’ve been coming back with good news for all of us.

###

Want more Beer Science?

BEER SCIENCE – ‘HAIR OF THE DOG’ ACTUALLY WORKS!

BEER SCIENCE – WHY HANGOVERS HURT MORE AFTER 40

BEER SCIENCE – SHOWER BEERS ARE GOOD FOR YOU

About AmericanCraftBeer.com

AmericanCraftBeer.com is the nations' leading source for the Best Craft Beer News, Reviews, Events and Media.
Scroll To Top