Located in the small of the back, one on either side of the spine, our kidneys filter and remove waste products from our body as urine via the bladder, helping us keep our bones healthy and balancing our blood pressure. Some reasons why our kidneys may not work efficiently are aging, medical conditions such as diabetes or hypertension and medications.
The kidneys are complicated to say the least and their primary function is to remove toxins and excess water from the blood. They control blood stream levels of many minerals and molecules including sodium and potassium, and help to control blood acidity. Every day kidneys carefully control the salt and water in your body to maintain blood pressure at healthy levels.
To keep our kidneys working efficiently, we must make sure we drink enough water, which helps the kidneys dissolve nutrients. It also keeps waste products, bacteria and proteins from building up in the kidneys and bladder. Not drinking enough water can cause a painful condition called kidney stones and other infections.
The problem is, you don’t see signs of a kidney stone right away or even when it starts to move. When this happens, there is severe pain in the upper back and this moves gradually to the lower abdomen.
Luckily, there are many treatment options for kidney stones. Kidney stones can exist without symptoms for many years before they make themselves known and the good new is, when you are diagnosed with one, your doctor can prescribe medication that lets the stone pass naturally.
Here is detailed information about what are kidney stones and what causes them, types of kidney stones, what they look like, symptoms, when you must see the doctor, how kidney stones are diagnosed, treatment options, prevention and tips for eating, diet and nutrition.
