you and your doctor WORKING AS A TEAM
and what you can do to prevent them. By Lori Goetzinger
Learn how and why stones form — you have kidney stones? ANATOMY 101: What happens when KIDNEY (cross section)
YOUR KIDNEYS’ MAIN JOB is to take extra water, minerals, acids and waste from food and your blood and turn them into urine. Once urine is made, it travels through small tubes, called ureters, to your bladder.
WHILE YOUR KIDNEYS MAKE URINE, your body naturally works to keep stones from forming out of the minerals and acids in your kidneys by:
•Watering down the minerals and acid so they are less concentrated.
• Making substances that keep the minerals and acids from sticking together.
STONES FORM IF THESE THINGS DON’T HAPPEN. The minerals and acids form crystals that clump together as kidney stones.
SMALL STONES PASS through your urinary tract without causing any symptoms. Larger stones are the ones that cause sharp cramping pain in your back and side as they separate from your kidney and move through your urinary tract.
KIDNEY Prevent New Stones
with diet changes. Learn how at
HealthyAdvice.com/NoStoneDiet
BLADDER PREVENT KIDNEY STONES
• Drink water—water keeps urine from becoming too concentrated. Aim for at least eight 8-ounce glasses a day.
• Avoid oxalate-rich foods—if you have calcium oxalate stones, cut back on foods like rhubarb, spinach, beets, tea, chocolate, wheat bran and soy products.
• Exercise to lose weight—being overweight increases your risk of stones.
ILLUSTRATIONS BY JUSTIN MULLINS (side view) COMMON TYPES OF STONES
CALCIUM STONES The most common stones, are made up of calcium and oxalate or phosphate. May be caused by eating a diet high in oxalate.
URIC ACID STONES Can form if you’re dehydrated, or you eat a high-protein diet. Having gout also increases your risk.
STRUVITE STONES Are more common in women and can form because of an infection in your urinary tract.
FALL 2010 | HEALTHY ADVICE 15 URETER KIDNEY STONES
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