The Causes of Kidney Stones and What This Means to Your Body

While it is really not specifically known by the medical profession what causes kidney stones. It is thought that certain foods might promote them and certain people are more susceptible than others. Scientifically speaking though, the belief is that people who are susceptible to kidney stones will not get them through eating certain foods.

This appears to be somewhat of a paradox, and the medical inclination leans more towards heredity as the cause of kidney stones. The person who has a family history may be more likely to develop these. Kidney disorders, metabolic disorders and urinary tract infections are linked to the formation of kidney stones. By Metabolic disorders we refer to illnesses such as hyperthyroidism.

There is also another factors involved in the causes of kidney stones. In more than 70% of the people suffering from them, a rare hereditary disease known as "renal tubular acidosis" is responsible.

There are various other metabolic disorders that have found to be the causes of kidney stones, and without getting too technical, we shall just mention that these disorders are also very rare.

In many of these instances the cause is attributed to high levels of calcium in the urine. Calcium is absorbed from food and then excreted in the urine. High levels of calcium in the urine may cause calcium phosphate or calcium oxalate crystals to form in the urinary tract or kidneys and these crystals then become kidney stones.

Other causes of kidney stones might include excessive intake of Vitamin D. And believe it or not, diuretics (water pills),and antacids that are calcium based, are able to increase the risk of kidney stones developing.

Less common, but just as painful is the prevalence of kidney stones being caused by urinary tract infection. This is known as an infection or struvite stone. There are also uric acid stones and even less common cystine stones.

The more susceptible people who have been found to develop kidney stones, suffer from chronic bowel inflammation, or have undergone ostomy surgery or intestinal bypass operations. Medications used to treat HIV infection such as indinavir also increase the risk of suffering from this painful condition.

Fortunately the conditions we have discussed above are of the more rare variety and the more common causes of kidney stones is attributed to poor diet and too little consumption of fluids. When the diet is lacking in sufficient water intake, the urine becomes highly concentrated with minerals. These minerals begin to form crystals, and eventually a kidney stone grown from the concentrated mineral crystals. The larger the stone, the more painful it is!

This condition has been documented by many ancient civilizations, and it has been found that even the ancient Egyptians suffered from them. This is not surprising as a humid hot climate leads to more susceptibility of developing kidney stones due to lack of adequate hydration.

People who live in countries that have bad water sanitation will also be more likely to suffer from kidney stones, as there is not sufficient water for adequate consumption.