The core of stone prevention is dilute urine: drink enough that your urine stays pale all day - roughly 2 to 3 liters for most people, more in heat or heavy exercise.
Water leads, and citrus drinks add citrate, which actively blocks crystals. Then the diet levers: cut salt hard, since sodium pushes calcium into urine; keep normal food calcium with meals, because gut calcium binds oxalate and protects - cutting calcium backfires; moderate animal protein; and limit high-oxalate foods (spinach, beets, nuts, chocolate) if you form oxalate stones. After a first stone, get it analyzed and ask about a 24-hour urine test - that turns generic advice into a plan for your chemistry, and some people benefit from preventive medication. Pymander is a free AI doctor, 24/7 by text, and can help you build the routine.
What to do
Common questions
How do you prevent kidney stones?
Kidney stone prevention is mostly urine dilution plus a few targeted diet moves. The foundation: drink enough that your urine stays pale all day - for most people that means around two to three liters of fluid, more in heat or with heavy exercise, and water beats everything; citrus drinks like lemon water add citrate, which actively blocks crystal formation. Then the diet levers: cut salt hard, because sodium pushes calcium into urine; keep normal food calcium with meals, because it binds oxalate in the gut and protects you - cutting calcium backfires; moderate animal protein; and if you form oxalate stones, go easy on spinach, beets, nuts, rhubarb, and chocolate, pairing them with calcium-rich foods when you do eat them. After a first stone, the highest-value move is getting the stone analyzed and asking about a 24-hour urine test, which turns generic advice into a plan aimed at your exact chemistry; some people then get preventive medication like thiazides. Pymander is a free AI doctor, 24/7 by text, that can help you build the daily routine.