Preventing kidney stones

A famously painful affliction and butt of many jokes: the kidney stone. Common as it may be to laugh about it on a sitcom, actually having one yourself is anything but funny.

A kidney stone is just a mass of crystals that have separated from the liquid in your urinary tract. Doctors are unsure why some people seem more prone to develop them than others, but it is known that once you have one it's likely you'll develop another.

So how to prevent the whole uncomfortable scenario? Drink lots of water every day, and eat a diet rich in calcium. This doesn't mean take calcium supplements, as for some reason they actually seem to have the opposite effect. And talk with your doctor about specifics like how acidic your urine is and what specifics he may be able to narrow it down to for you personally as far as kidney stone formation causes.