4 Juices For Detoxifying Your Kidneys

4 Juices For Detoxifying Your Kidneys. Graphic © herbshealthhappiness.com. Photo © AdobeStock 54923014 (under license)

The kidneys play a vital role in keeping our body healthy. They filter out unwanted toxins in our blood. Without a set of healthy kidneys, these wastes would stay circulating in our bloodstream, damaging our organs and affecting the way they function – a condition known as azotemia. Aside from the liver and kidneys, there are no other organs that contribute to this waste-removal process in the body – and this can place a lot of stress on these organs. And just like we need to de-stress after a tiring day, so do our kidneys.

Scientific research has found that certain juices may have beneficial effects on the kidneys. Here’s our pick of four of the best juices for kidney detoxification: [Links to the science are in the “references” section below]

#1: Beetroot Juice
This red vegetable an excellent juice to support kidney health. Beetroot juice has been found not only to be able to able to lower blood pressure ^[1] and has also been found beneficial to patients with chronic kidney disease. ^[2]

#2: Lemon Juice / “Real” Lemonade
Lemons are high in vitamin C which boosts the immune system, but how exactly does lemon juice protect our kidneys? It turns out that one of the medical interventions for kidney stones is potassium citrate, a substance that helps prevent stone formation. However, citrate naturally occurs in lemons – hence lemon juice being a natural way to potentially stop kidney stones from forming and even destroy kidney stones that have already formed. This info is not just a wives’ tale – it’s from the American Urological Association. ^[3]

#3: Cranberry Juice
Don’t make a “Mean Girls” mistake and drink cranberry cocktail to stay fit. Pure cranberry juice (without the preservatives, sugar and and additives) is regarded as an excellent way to keep your kidneys and urinary tract healthy. Naturally-occurring substances in cranberries, specifically tannins (also found in wine!) inhibit bacterial growth in the urinary tracts – one of the primary causes for UTIs and kidney and bladder damage. These substances prevent bacteria from “sticking” to the urinary tracts. ^[4] Additionally, scientific studies on human subjects have demonstrated that cranberry juice has antilithogenic (kidney stone) properties with regard to calcium oxalate stones. The test subjects drank 500 mL of cranberry juice diluted with 1500 mL tap water (per day) for 2 weeks. ^[5]

#4: Parsley Juice
Parsley has a tradition of use for kidney health and this has some scientific support: Parsley has been found to have a therapeutic effect on calcium oxalate stones and reduce the number of calcium oxalate deposits in scientific studies (in vivo) ^[6]

Typically used as a garnish for a dish, juicing parsley is often forgotten even by most health buffs. The strong flavor is a deterrent to drinking the pure juice without adding anything to it. But no worries! Simply add some raw, washed, organic parsley to other juice blends. Parsley is a natural diuretic, as well as an antioxidant – both characteristics that indicate it potentially valuable in improving renal health. ^[7][8]

Special Tip: Give your kidneys a break

The number one cause of kidney damage is a diet high in sodium – salt, in layman’s terms. Too much sodium in the blood causes our blood pressure to rise dramatically. Too much pressure in the blood destroys the delicate blood vessels in the kidneys, permanently damaging them and their ability to filter our blood. Lay off the fast and processed food and save your kidneys the effort of working double time…