Whether you have experienced kidney stones or not, there’s good news: you can do something about them. What’s even better is they don’t have to be very complicated at all.

Here are 3 simple but definitely proven ways to prevent kidney stones:

Drink a lot of water. One of the easiest and cheapest ways to prevent the formation of kidney stones is to drink water—lots of it. Aside from the fact that it doesn’t contain any substances that can promote the stones formation, it’s also badly needed to increase urine production.

Drinking water can be likened to cleaning your garage with a power hose. It just lifts off and gets rid of whatever toxic waste is building up in your body, especially in and around your kidneys.

How many glasses should you drink? Although it’s common knowledge that a person needs roughly about 8 glasses or 3 liters of water a day, the best way to do the calculation is actually to base it on your weight. Usually, if you’re overweight, you may have to drink more water. The good news is, as long as you can properly spread your water intake, you don’t have to worry about anything. In fact, if you’ve drunk a tad more than you should, it’s perfectly okay as you can excrete it in many different ways including sweat.

Hydrate. Again, you need water in your body. After all, you are made by 70% water! Know, though, that every time you perspire, urinate, or even cry, you are getting rid of water from your body, so you need to replenish it. By also continuously hydrating, you’re not only improving the condition of your overall health, water can make your skin suppler and more glowing, but you can also maintain the overall health of your kidneys.

Reduce your sodium intake. To eliminate sodium in the diet is a huge mistake. Contrary to popular belief these days, sodium is one of the most important minerals needed by the body. It’s the perfect complement for water since it prevents your body from losing it immediately. Most of all, it maintains electrolyte balance, so your body doesn’t shut down and you suffer from life-threatening conditions including multiple organ failure. In fact, that’s the reason why you’re given an electrolyte (with a good amount of sodium) when you’re suffering from diarrhea.

Diarrhea can speed up the loss of electrolytes in the body, making you vulnerable to shock, and worse death.

However, your body isn’t designed to handle large amounts of sodium. Rather, it requires only a small amount of it to function very well. Based on the data of USDA, you need no more than 2,400 mg a day, which may be equivalent to three-quarters of a teaspoon.

Remember, though, that sodium is not found in pure salt only. If you can check out the labels of processed food, for example, sodium can compromise as much as 3,000 mg! That’s already above  what’s considered as the ideal limit. In other words, read labels very carefully. You can also substitute salt with herbs and spices, which can give more flavor to your dishes.