The passing of kidney stones is reported to be one of the most excruciatingly painful events one can go through. At times, morphine may be necessary to relieve the pain. There are several reasons why kidney stones may form. And fortunately, they may be easily preventable.

First, the most common signs and symptoms that you may have a kidney stone, or be susceptible to forming one are the following: 1) Pain or burning during urination – because the urethra, the tube that carries urine from the bladder outside the body, is getting irritated 2) Cloudy urine (signifying a possible build-up of calcium) or bloody urine 3) Back pain and “flank” or side pain, especially below the ribs – because the ureter, the tube that carries urine from the kidney to the bladder, is getting irritated 4) urgency or an excessive need to urinate 5) feeling nauseous or even vomiting

Most stones are made up of a calcium compound known as calcium oxalate. Therefore, consuming foods high in oxalate can be a main contributor. The main foods to consider in this category are spinach, swiss chard, chocolate, soy, and beer.

Another possible contributor to kidney stones is an excessive intake of vitamin D. Fortunately, this is not very common (as most people are considered to be vitamin D deficient) unless you are taking a supplement. Also, consider long exposure to the sun as something that may cause excessive levels of vitamin D. This is because high blood levels of vitamin D will cause your body to absorb more calcium from the intestines and transport it to the blood. Also, if there is no calcium in the intestines, excess vitamin D will increase blood calcium levels by mobilizing it from the bones. This excessive blood calcium will eventually need to be cleared from the kidneys; and may result in kidney stone formation if it is not cleared properly. If you read my article on bursitis, you may remember that essential fatty acids are necessary to keep calcium in solution or transport it out of the blood and (back) into the soft tissues or bones.

Another potential problem would be dehydration. Even if you have normal amounts of calcium in the blood, you may not have enough water to dissolve or dilute the calcium. However, bear in mind that if you are processing calcium appropriately, you should not notice signs or symptoms of kidney stones if you become mildly dehydrated from time to time. Here’s an article that talks about my recommendations for daily water intake.

Other less common types of kidney stones may be from a build-up of calcium phosphate, cystine, uric acid; and struvite which is is caused by an infection. No one should have to deal with chronic health conditions, especially chronic kidney stone formation.

Dr. Robert D’Aquila – NYC Chiropractor – Applied Kinesiology

Source: http://www.metabolics.com/