Probiotics Can Help Prevent Kidney Stones

Those who carry a lot of a beneficial bacteria known as Oxalobacter formigenes are over seventy percent less likely to develop kidney stones than those whose digestive tracts don't have the bacteria, according to a Boston University study that was published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Researchers followed almost 250 people who had recurring kidney stones, and compared them with an equal number of people who'd had no history of kidney stones. They found that almost forty percent of the people in the "healthy group" had the Oxalobacter formigenes bacteria in their intestines, compared with only seventeen percent of the group who were afflicted with kidney stones.

These findings are of great importance, and using the bacterium as a probiotic is in its earliest stages of investigation.

About eighty percent of all kidney stones are made of calcium oxalate, which collects in the kidneys in small and hard lumps. Kidney stones can also migrate into other parts of the urinary tract, which can cause intense pain, infection, and in extreme cases, kidney failure. These stones have a tendency to recur, and a person can have them over and over again. Kidney stones are a lifelong problem for some, and they can destroy kidney function before they are even discovered.

Oxalobacter formigenes is thought to prevent the formation of kidney stones, by degrading calcium oxalate in the intestinal tract before it gets to the kidneys. The exact methods behind kidney stone formation aren't exactly clear, but scientists think that the problem is connected to dehydration and high calcium excretion. Most kidney stones are treated by zapping them with shock waves, which is only effective in some cases.

Probiotic supplementation with O. formigenes is quite possibly the biggest breakthrough in kidney stone treatment in recent memory, but to make sure it's right for you, speak with your doctor.