When it comes to painful experiences, any one who’s ever had to pass a kidney stone can attest that it ranks as a pretty painful thing to have to endure. Kidney stones (renal lithiasis) have been afflicting people since the age of the Egyptian pyramids and they are still a common disorder today. In recent years, the number of kidney stone incidences has been rising steadily. While the exact causes are still unclear, poor diet choices and lack of lack of fluids are important factors that many experts believe have played a big role in this increase.

Symptoms are not always caused by kidney stones. Often times, when a person seeks medical care for an unrelated condition such as a urinary tract infection for example; the stones are discovered when you have X-rays performed.

When a kidney stone breaks loose and travels from your kidneys to your bladder, the pain then becomes extreme because the path being traveled is through the tube connecting the kidney and the bladder, which is called the ureter.

Kidney stones usually are the result of the urine becoming too concentrated, too acidic or too alkaline. Basically, this causes crystals to form on the inner surfaces of your kidneys from minerals and other substances. Eventually, these crystals can combine to form a small, hard mass, or stone.

Listed below, are the four main types of kidney stones:

Calcium stones: 80% of kidney stones are calcium stones. Most of the times these stones are a combination of calcium and a compound that occurs naturally in some fruits and vegetables called oxalate. The high concentration of these substances in urine can be attributed to a number of things. Such as excess calcium, certain genetic factors, intestinal bypass surgery and a diet high in oxalic acid.

Struvite stones: These stones are often found more in women than in men and are always the result of chronic urinary tract infections. These enzymes increase the amount of ammonia in the urine, which is incorporated in the crystals of struvite stones. These stones are often large and can cause serious damage to your kidneys.

Uric Acid stones: Uric acid is a byproduct of protein metabolism and is the cause of these stones. The probability of developing these types of stones is higher if you've undergone chemotherapy or you have certain genetic factors that predispose you to the condition. A high-protein diet can also be a major cause.

Cystine stones: Only a small percentage of kidney stones are cystine stones. People with a hereditary disorder usually have cystine stones because the condition causes the kidneys to excrete excessive amounts of certain amino acids.

It is important to determine the underlying cause of stones so to prevent future incidences. Most of the time, you can do this simply by drinking more water and making a few changes to your diet.

First on my list of recommendations to incorporate in your diet to prevent kidney stones is cranberry extract. Cranberry is red in color, relatively small and is a member of the same family of plants as bilberry and blueberry. This red berry grows on low-hanging vines in temperate zones in many regions of the United States and other parts of the world.

Proanthocyanidins are chemical compounds, which are the active ingredients in cranberry. Research has shown these compounds to be potent antioxidants that can decrease bacterial adherence to the bladder epithelium cells. When this happens bacteria are less likely to group together and cause bladder infection, urinary track infections and other related conditions. Quinic acid, which is also abundant in cranberry, is believed by many experts to help prevent the development of kidney stones.

Next on this list is Aloe Vera. Why? Because it helps expel excess water in the cells. Therefore, it aids in resolving many kidney problems like kidney stones and painful urination. People with failed kidneys find Aloe Vera to be a miraculous wonder. It brings relief to people and reduces their creatinine level. Cranberry juice is also shown to be very effective in combination Kidney injections. When treating kidney stones I recommend taking 0.05 to 0.2 grams of dry aloe extract (latex).

Last but not least is magnesium. Gershoff, Ph.D., professor of nutrition and dean emeritus at Tufts University School of Nutrition in Medford, Massachusetts asserts “Doctors think it doesn’t work because they don’t try it.”

Dr. Gershoff performed a study years ago regarding magnesium and kidney stones. The study included 149 people who had had at least two stones every year for five years. They began taking 300 milligrams of magnesium a day along 10 milligrams of vitamin B6 and they saw their stone formation drop dramatically. These people were monitored for 4 1/2 to 6 years. Over 90 percent of them had no stones during that period. The other 10 percent continued to make stones, but with much less frequency. “I think magnesium is definitely worth a try,” he says.

Studies have also indicated that magnesium-deficient animals are more likely to develop calcium oxalate crystals in their kidneys, making stones more likely. I recommend that anyone who has passed a calcium oxalate stone take 300 milligrams of supplemental magnesium a day. Some good food sources of magnesium are green vegetables, nuts, beans and whole grains.