Kidney stones are clumps of waste that build up in your kidneys when there is not significant amounts of fluid in your blood to flush the waste out of our system.

Types of kidney stones:

1. Calcium stones are most common stones and are normally in the form of calcium oxalate (created by your liver or by food ingested like nuts, chocolate etc.)
2. Struvite stones occur from a urinary tract infection and grow quickly with few symptoms
3. Uric acid stones form when too much fluid is lost due to chronic diarrhea or with diabetes or metabolic syndrome
4. Cystine stones are normally a hereditary disorder-kidneys excrete too much of a specific amino acid

Prevention and Treatment:

• Drink 8-12 cups of fluid per day
• Limit sodium and animal protein

Source: KidneyFund.org and Mayoclinic.org