Health Update

by DR. JOSE S. PUJALTE JR.

HEALTH-WISE I am thankful for three things. So far, I don’t have cancer; two, I don’t have diabetes; and three, I haven’t passed any kidney stones. By most accounts, passing stones is like martial law torture without the tormentors or the implements. It is a form of self-torture that’s unwanted and unrelenting.

What are kidney stones? Stones or calculi are solid substances formed from crystals in the body. Usually, they result from urine being too concentrated containing materials that readily crystallize. The most common are calcium stones – about four out of five kidney stones – made of calcium in combination with oxalate (found in organ meats, asparagus, chocolate and cooked spinach), phosphate, and carbonate. Since food supplementation is often abused, this is a caveat. But it is not excessive calcium intake that’s the problem but too much vitamin D which in turn increases absorption of calcium in the gut. Women with chronic urinary infection can develop struvite stones. These are caused by enzymes produced by bacteria that increase the amount of ammonia in the urine. The ammonia becomes part of the crystals of struvite stones. A high protein diet, a person with high uric acid (or with gout) can result in uric acid stones. Finally and rarely, cystine stones may form in a hereditary condition that makes the kidneys produce too much of an amino acid (cystinuria). (more…)