Kidney stones are rock-hard accumulation of crystal deposits, usually composed of calcium and oxalates that can grow and obstruct the flow of urine through the kidneys. About a million Americans are hospitalized every year for treatment of kidney stones.
Men are three times as susceptible to kidney stones as women .
Once you have kidney stones, the chances of a reoccurring stone are about forty percent in the next five years, and eighty percent in the next twenty-five years. Whether you develop stones depends on many factors, including heredity, metabolic abnormalities, infections, medications, and diet. The formation of kidney stones is affected by your diet. Crystals of minerals, including food supplies of calcium and oxalates, are dissolved in the urine that passes through the kidney. When the urine becomes supersaturated, the crystals fall out and collect into tiny masses that accumulate into hard stones.