Bitter Plants - Who Knew There are Anti-kidney Stone Plants?
The Chamber bitter plant has been shown to inhibit the formation of the calcium oxalate crystals that make up most kidney stones—
From //weedsanddeeds.com/chamberbitter/
Dietary Plants for the Prevention and Management of Kidney Stones: Preclinical and Clinical Evidence and Molecular Mechanisms, International Journal of Molecular Science, March 7, 2018
Abstract
Kidney stones are one of the oldest known and common diseases in the urinary tract system. Various human studies have suggested that diets with a higher intake of vegetables and fruits play a role in the prevention of kidney stones. In this review, we have provided an overview of these dietary plants, their main chemical constituents, and their possible mechanisms of action. Camellia sinensis (green tea), Rubus idaeus (raspberry), Rubia cordifolia (common madder), Petroselinum crispum (parsley), Punica granatum (pomegranate), Pistacia lentiscus (mastic), Solanum xanthocarpum (yellow-fruit nightshade), Urtica dioica (stinging nettle), Dolichos biflorus (horse gram), Ammi visnaga (khella), Nigella sativa (black-cumin), Hibiscus sabdariffa (roselle), and Origanum vulgare (oregano) have received considerable interest based on scientific evidence. Beside these dietary plants, phytochemicals—such as catechin, epicatechin, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, diosmin, rutin, quercetin, hyperoside, and curcumin—as antioxidant dietary phyto-phenols were found to be effective for the prevention of urolithiasis (the process of stone formation in the urinary tract). The main underlying mechanisms of these dietary plants and their isolated phytonutrients in the management of urolithiasis include diuretic, antispasmodic, and antioxidant activity, as well as an inhibitory effect on crystallization, nucleation, and aggregation of crystals. The results as presented in this review demonstrate the promising role of dietary plants and phytophenols in the prevention and management of kidney stones. Further investigations are required to confirm the safety and efficacy of these compounds.
The new buzz/triggerword is: Context.
When I was looking into Chanca Piedra it is called: The Stone Breaker.
Sounds dramatic. But when you scratch & sniff beneath the fine patina (no relation to me) you find that it DOES NOT BREAK UP ALREADY FORMED STONES it inhibits the FORMATION OF NEW STONES.
So, common folk names and even what passes for science uses deceptive language and concepts. Your material used the proper language "...shown to inhibit the formation..."
Which is a helluva long way from breaking up what was already formed.
So, what do we extrapolate from this?
The ONE THING that the gurus NEVER address when they want their acolytes to follow them blindly.
When you measure pH in the urine and it is acidic is it because you have a ton of acid waste and you're merely excreting it? or could it be that your body was TOO ALKLALINE and the only way to BUFFER IT was to pump out a lot of acid to bring the overall blood pH back to normal? and Vice Squad Versa for the other direction of pH starting position at the kidneys?
The ONLY way to keep oxalates from forming (precipitating out of solution) is to maintain an acidic environment. This is why people with calcium, phosphorus, and oxalate stones benefit from lemon juice to break down the already formed crusties and keep the ACIDS IN CIRCULATION FROM PRECIPITATING OUT AS SALTS. Acid + Base = Salt = Crystal.
CONVERSELY (I used to wear the High-Tops. Red and Fluorescent Orange) if you have URIC ACID stones then the ONLY way to keep those from precipitating out is the Opposite Day of baking soda. to make the pH alkaline to keep the NITROGEN based critters in solution.
Acid is considered sour.
Alkaline is considered bitter.
So how could 'bitter' herbs POSSIBLY help with ACID STONES to keep them in solution UNLESS the body was provoked TO MAKE MORE ACID TO BALANCE OUT THE BITTERS THAT THE HOST THREW AT THE SYSTEM THAT MUST MAINTAIN A NEUTRAL pH?
NO ONE is examining or explaining this chemistry.
It's like the Dark Ages where everyone is in the loving embrace of a scientific Iron Maiden.
Parsley is UBER-MONDO-INSANELY HIGH IN OXALATES.
So then riddle me this Batmen and Batwomen and Bat Fluids: How in the HELL could eating something that is over the top with oxalates POSSIBLY *PROTECT* YOU FROM FORMING OR ADDING TO YOUR OXALATE STONE PROBLEM?
I have no answer.
But the Mechanism of Action of such a process would tell us everything.
IF there is no MOA associated with this in any literature anywhere then this is not science but dingleberry sniffing contests and after 24 years I have no patience whatsoever to find out who might be the winner.
Mastic is related to poison ivy so anyone with allergies and those with Type O blood might have a bad time with it.
Yellow Nightshade? Maybe if you've got abdominal cramps right before a big night out with the girls in the coven for a witch's sabbat.
Black Cumin is one of the most powerful cytochrome inhibitors known. If you NEED those cytochromes then you have just been fucked by half-assed folk tales with no MOA and no consideration for individual variations and what kind of stone-masons they are.
There's a couple of plants I don't know and don't care about. Oregano is pure medicine so I can't say anything bad about that except don't over-use the essential oil or you will be a willing stooge of creating oregano-oil-resistant superbugs.
Piece Out.
Wayne, you have forced me to add this paper to that very short list of what I consider actual science of which I have only read about 5 papers in 24 years that qualified. These folks from India are at the top of the game.