Kidney stones are formations that can occur in the kidneys, in the urinary tract and sometimes even in the ureter. Kidney stones in their essence are a dangerous condition, because it is a hard crystalline formation in a soft tissue. It blocks the passage of urine in some instances, and it is also indicative of a metabolic imbalance. Despite the dangers, the fact is that many kidney stones will pass along harmlessly into to the urine if properly managed, and surgery is only required in an extreme case where the blockage of urine production could cause sepsis of blood toxicity.
To explain why these stones occur and how to prevent them requires one to understand what they are made of. Almost eighty percent of all kidney stones are made of a substance called calcium oxalate. The other stones that can form are due to uric acid crystallization and calcium phosphate. Calcium oxalate is an end result of some metabolic reactions in our body and is normally excreted through the urine. The same is the case for uric acid. Calcium oxalate crystals, being the constituent of most stones, are caused by the ingestion of calcium oxalate in the diet or by the excess of oxalate in the blood, which is excreted in the urine, but will bind to calcium in the kidney. The theory then is that reducing calcium or oxalate intake is the key to preventing a kidney stone. Reducing calcium is not an option because we would drop dead immediately if we ran out of enough calcium. In fact, our body would even pull calcium out of the bones if deficient enough. This is because it plays a major part in the functioning and electricity modulation of the nerves. Therefore, it is important to reduce oxalate consumption. This is more practical but unfortunately, the list of oxalate containing foods is too large to be able to neglect this from the diet completely.
The best way, eventually, to reduce and prevent kidney stones is constantly drinking water. There is usually a mistaken idea that if the urine is clear then we are just wasting body water and do not need to drink water as much. This is incorrect and at least four liters of water is necessary everyday to produce 2 liters of urine. A very simple remedy also exists that we take for granted – coffee. Coffee is a natural diuretic that makes one want to urinate. Having two cups of coffee, or more, is the best way to prevent and sometimes to even treat a kidney stone.