It is estimated that 1 in every 1,000 adults is hospitalized with kidney stones each year and 60% of those will have another stone episode within 7 years.
Symptoms include pain in the middle back, which radiates around the stomach toward the genitalia, increased urine, which may contain blood or pus, nausea and vomiting. Urinary tract infections may be caused by lodged stones that accumulate bacteria causing the infection.
Diet for the most part, as in most disease is the principle culprit in the formation of kidney stones. One study of 241 male kidney stone patients found that they all had a few things in common. They all had very low amounts of magnesium in their diet and they all ate large meals consisting of animal protein at dinnertime and late in the evening.
Too little potassium along with not enough fruits and vegetables cause the minerals in the urine to precipitate into stones. Consumption of soft drinks (heavy in phosphoric acid) also encourages the recurrence of kidney stones in some persons.
SOLUTION? Magnesium and B6. Magnesium is reknowned for its calcium channel blocking effect and has been shown to reduce the formation of stones by reducing the calcium oxalate in the blood that makes up the stones.
In Japan researchers found that in certain basalt rich areas of the country where the magnesium to calcium ratio was very high the incidence of kidney stones was almost non-existent. In limestone rich areas where the magnesium to calcium ratio was very low, residents had a high incidence of kidney stones.
Magnesium inhibits the formation of calcium-oxalate crystals in the urine. In one study 55 patients with recurrent kidney stones were given magnesium (magnesium hydroxide) daily for 4 years. Urinary magnesium excretion increased promptly and remained elevated during the entire study. The average number of stone episodes fell by 90%, and 85% of the patients remained stone free (compared to only 41% of the others who did not receive magnesium). According to the National Institutes of Health 80% of Americans are deficient in this essential mineral nutrient.
Vitamin B6 prevents stones primarily through its effect on oxalate metabolism. Some individuals produce excess oxalate. Oxalate is manufactured in the body from the amino acid glycine and other compounds. B6 seems to correct that abnormality in the body. B vitamins are like an army. None individually area as strong as they are as a group. Always use them as a group for best effect. The [minerals] B complex is a water-soluble form of all the B vitamins with enough B6 to do the job.
The combined effect of vitamin B6 and magnesium was tested in a landmark study performed 25 years ago. 149 recurrent stone patients were given magnesium and B6 daily for 4.5-6 years. Before receiving this treatment these patients suffered an average of 1.3 stones per person per year. Stone formations fell to .1 per person per year, a 92.3% improvement!
Studies have shown that too little water intake can encourage the precipitation of calcium into stones. Chronic dehydration is one of the most common causes of kidney stone formation. Most feel 2 quarts a day with a little lemon juice added (cuts down on uric acid, a contributor to the stones) is sufficient.
Defatted rice bran contains phytin, which binds to calcium in the intestine keeping it from becoming solid. Studies show this effect may be of benefit in preventing the recurrence of stones in people with too much of the wrong form of calcium. 10 grams per day of this fiber has been shown to diminish the amount of urinary calcium being excreted from the body which in turn has been shown to reduce the incidence of kidney stone formation.
The Influence Of Caffeine On Kidney Stones
Numerous dietary factors manipulate kidney stone formation for better and for worse. There are eatables that you are better off avoiding and there are others that must be incorporated in your diet. Caffeine, found in beverages such a tea, coffee and soft drinks, adds to the perilous threat of kidney stones. Caffeine acts as a stimulant to the human body.
It is found in different proportions in tealeaves, coffee beans, guarana berries, cocoa and more. Caffeine works to keep drowsiness at a bay and brings about alertness. Thus, it is the most popular and most-consumed psychotropic substance. The principal source of caffeine intake in humans is known to be coffee beans. A recent study has revealed that caffeine may put you at a risk of developing kidney stones. Therefore, if you are prone to kidney stones, coffee is best avoided or at least the daily intake must be reduced to no more than two small cups.
The study was initially conducted on a group of people with a history of kidney stones. These patients were administered caffeine equivalent to that found in two cups of coffee. Urine tests conducted on these subjects revealed a considerable elevation in the calcium level, which is a precursor of kidney stone formation. A similar study conducted on subjects with no history of kidney stones produced similar results. These individuals were given caffeine with water. They had consumed nothing for the past 14 hours and urine tests had been conducted two hours prior to caffeine intake. Urine tests were carried out again after two hours of caffeine consumption.
The results showed that calcium levels in their urine were as high as in 30 participants with a history of kidney stones who had been subjected to the exact same test. Both groups also displayed elevated levels of sodium, magnesium and citrate. The results of this study were revealed in an interview with Reuters by Linda Massey, study leader at Washington State University in Spokane.
She concluded that excessive calcium and sodium in the urine hold risks of kidney stone formation. On the contrary, elevated levels of magnesium and citrate have desirable opposite results. Thus, regardless of whether you are prone to kidney stones or not, do restrict your daily caffeine intake and manage a regular ingestion of magnesium and citrate. This will help you stay kidney stone free.
Kidney stones and mineral water
Calcium oxalate kidney stone formers are invariably advised to increase their fluid intake. In addition, magnesium therapy is often administered. Recently, a prospective study showed that a high dietary intake of calcium reduces the risk of symptomatic kidney stones. The present study was performed to test whether simultaneous delivery of these factors--high fluid intake, magnesium ingestion and increased dietary calcium--could reduce the risk of calcium oxalate kidney stone formation. A French mineral water, containing calcium and magnesium (202 and 36 ppm, respectively) was selected as the dietary vehicle. Twenty calcium oxalate stone-forming patients of each sex as well as 20 healthy volunteers of each sex participated in the study. Each subject provided a 24-hour urine collection after ingestion of mineral water over a period of 3 days; after a suitable rest period the protocol was repeated using local tap water (Ca: 13 ppm, Mg: 1 ppm). In addition, 24-hour urines were collected by each subject on their free diets. The entire cycle was repeated at least twice by each subject. Several risk factors (excretion of oxalate; relative supersaturations of calcium oxalate, brushite and uric acid; calcium oxalate metastable limit; oxalate:magnesium ratio and oxalate:metastable limit ratio) were favourable altered by the mineral water and tap water regimens but the former was more effective. In addition, the mineral water protocol produced favourable but unique changes in the excretion of citrate and magnesium as well as in the relative supersaturation of brushite which were not achieved by the tap water regimen. To the contrary, tap water produced an unfavourable change in the magnesium excretion. The group which benefitted most were male stone formers in whom 9 risk factors were favourably altered by the mineral water protocol. It is concluded that mineral water containing calcium and magnesium, such as that used in this study, deserves to be considered as a possible therapeutic or prophylactic agent in calcium oxalate kidney stone disease.
Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Magnesium in the physiopathology and treatment of renal calcium stones
The inhibitory effect of magnesium on the first stages of renal calcium stone formation is modest in vitro and more pronounced in experimental in vivo studies. Magnesium deficiency has not yet been convincingly demonstrated in man. However, urinary magnesium concentrations are abnormally low in relation to urinary calcium concentrations in more than 25% of patients with kidney stones. A supplementary magnesium intake corrects this abnormality and prevents the recurrence of stones. Magnesium seems to be as effective against stone formation as diuretics. The modalities of magnesium therapy still have to be determined and its results confirmed. Magnesium, possibly added to drinking water, may well play a role in the primary prevention of renal calcium stones.
Urinary factors of kidney stone formation in patients with Crohn's disease
An increased frequency of kidney stone formation is reported in patients with imflammatory bowel disease. In order to investigate its pathogenesis, the concentrations of factors known to enhance calcium oxalate stone formation (oxalate, calcium, uric acid) as well as of inhibitory factors for nephrolithiasis (magnesium, citrate) were determined in the urine of 86 patients with Crohn's disease and compared with those of 53 metabolically healthy controls. Six patients with Crohn's disease already had experienced calcium oxalate nephrolithiasis. Patients with Crohn's disease had significantly higher urinary oxalate and lower magnesium and citrate concentrations. Among all patients magnesium and citrate were significantly lower in those with a positive history of kidney stones. Our results demonstrate that the increased propensity for renal stone formation in patients with Crohn's disease is a result not only of increased urinary oxalate, but also of decreased urinary citrate and magnesium concentrations.
KLIN. WOCHENSCHR; Source by: www.mgwater.com