腎結石如何形成？
腎結石或由疾病、感染或礦物質代謝或排泄困難所引致，通常在腎臟或尿道相關部位形成小石塊。
腎石大多數由草酸鹽形成。
當腎石侵入腎臟組織時，尿液中會出現血液。而當輸尿管（尿液從腎臟傳遞到膀胱的管道）被腎石阻塞時，病人經常會感受到下腹部和腹股溝劇烈疼痛。
腎結石的其他並發症可能包括尿流阻塞，持續性腎臟感染和持續性腎臟組織損傷，嚴重者甚至導致喪失腎功能。不過，大多數腎石會經尿液排出體外，但情況嚴重時謹記要馬上就醫！
冷知識：腎結石是遺傳性的嗎？
腎結石傾向於家族遺傳，五名患者中有四名是男性，患者年齡介乎20至30歲之間。認識腎結石(二)如何預防腎結石？
預防腎結石的常規治療包括限鈣飲食（富爭議性）和使用利尿藥，與及服用能減緩尿酸形成的藥物。腎結石也可以手術切除，並能透過無創技術使用狹窄的聚焦聲波衝擊波來打散和分解結石。
一些營養補充劑也有助舒緩（特別是預防）腎石症狀，其中比較有用的補充劑包括鎂、維他命B6、鉀和檸檬酸鹽。
多飲水是良方
每日多飲清水能幫助清洗體內可能形成腎石的晶體。 一項研究顯示，60％的腎結石患者，透過大量飲水，能有效消除腎石或控制腎石形成。
Kidney stones are one of the most common urinary tract disorders.
How Kidney Stones Form
Stones commonly form in kidneys or related parts of the urinary tract as a result of disease, infections, or difficulties with mineral metabolism or excretion.
Most stones are formed from oxalate.
When a stone erodes tissue, blood appears in the urine. When one lodges in the ureters (the tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder), severe pain—very severe pain—in the lower abdomen and groin results.
Other complications may include obstruction to urine flow, persistent kidney infections, and progressive tissue damage with loss of kidney function. Most stones are passed in the urine, but others require medical treatment.
Are Kidney Stones Hereditary?
Kidney stones tend to run in families, and four of five patients are male, usually between the ages of 20 and 30.
How Do You Prevent Kidney Stones?
Conventional medical treatment to prevent kidney stones may include dietary calcium restriction (although this is controversial), diuretics, and sometimes pharmaceuticals to slow uric acid formation.
Kidney stones can also be removed surgically, while a noninvasive technique uses narrowly focused acoustic shock waves to break up stones.
Complementary and alternative medical treatment of kidney stones (particularly prevention) may involve the use of certain dietary supplements, including magnesium, vitamin B6, potassium, and citrates.
Magnesium & Vitamin B6
Both magnesium and vitamin B6 are used by the body to convert oxalate into other substances. Consequently, it should come as no surprise that a B6 deficiency can lead to an increase in kidney stones, relating to elevated urinary oxalate.
This doesn’t mean that you need to be vitamin B6-deficient in order to benefit from supplementation. Research shows a reduction in elevated urinary oxalate following supplementation in some people who are not necessarily B6-deficient. Many studies demonstrate that supplementing with magnesium and/or vitamin B6 significantly lowers the risk of forming kidney stones, and even helps reduce the incidence of recurrences.
Suggestions for doses of magnesium and vitamin B6 in the treatment of kidney stones vary. Common recommendations include 200 to 400 mg of magnesium daily. Magnesium citrate may be the best form, since citrate itself reduces kidney stone recurrences. Take magnesium with meals.
Recommendations for vitamin B6 range from as low as 10 to 50 mg to as high as 1,000 mg daily for those with elevated urinary oxalate. At the higher level, supplementation should be monitored by a physician.
Potassium
Potassium reduces urinary calcium excretion, which is important since increased levels of urinary calcium also add to the risk of kidney stones. Those who eat high amounts of dietary potassium appear to be at low risk of forming kidney stones. Fortunately, most Americans get plenty of potassium in their diet, but if a healthcare provider recommends potassium, the citrate form—as with magnesium—may be best.
Citrates
Citric acid is a natural substance found in citrus fruit. Research suggests that citric acid in the form of mineral citrates (a mineral combined with citric acid) may protect against kidney stone formation.
If you suspect you have kidney stones, see a doctor immediately. If, on the other hand, you want to prevent the recurrence of kidney stones, any of these dietary supplements may be useful and are advisable.
Calcium Confusion
Although most kidney stones are caused by calcium oxalate, calcium is still important to prevent osteoporosis, especially in women. Furthermore, low dietary levels of calcium have been shown to increase the risk of getting kidney stones since there’s less calcium available to bind with oxalates.
In fact, research shows that dietary calcium actually helps prevent kidney stones. At the same time, calcium supplements have not proved protective against kidney stone formation, perhaps because they were not taken with meals to prevent oxalate absorption.
If you have a family history of kidney stones, take calcium supplements with meals. Those with a personal history of stones should only take calcium supplements on the advice of a healthcare professional.
An important measure for helping to wash out formed crystals that may form stones is a high fluid intake. In one study, a high fluid intake and elimination of “dietary excesses” controlled stone formation in 60 percent of patients with kidney stones. But what you drink is as important as how much liquid you consume. Grapefruit juice increases the risk, while both coffee and tea may decrease it. Cola drinks are implicated as a possible kidney stone culprit as well.
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