Human urine is often saturated to the limit with uric acid, phosphates, and calcium oxalate. Normally, due to the secretion of various protective com-pounds annatural mechanisms that control the pH of urine, these substances remain suspended in solution. However, if the protective compounds are overwhelmed or immunity becomes depressed, the substances may crystallize and the crystals may begin to clump together, eventually forming stones large enough to restrict urinary flow. Symptoms of kidney stones include pain radiating from the upper back to the lower abdomen and groin, frequent urination, pus and blood in the urine, absence of urine formation, and sometimes chills and fever. In milder cases, the symptoms may mimic a bad case of stomach flu or other gastrointestinal ailment.
Stones can range in size from microscopic specks to the size of a fingertip.
About 80 percent of all stones are calcium stones. This excess calcium eventually forms a stone. The consumption of refined carbohydrates, especially sugar, can help precipitate kidney stones as well, because the sugar stimulates the pancreas to release insulin, which in turn causes extra calcium to be excreted in the urine. The latter condition is commonly associated with symptoms of gout. Women often get them with recur-rent urinary tract infections.