A new edition of The Intellectual Devotional, this time with a focus on Health, is coming to stores on October 16! (Click here to pre-order your copy.) As well as continuing to expand on posts from the General Edition, “The Devoted Intellect” blog will introduce and expand on material from the Modern Culture devotional. Today’s entry on “Kidney Stones” is from the “Diseases and Ailments” section of the Health edition.

Kidney stones are solid, crystal aggregations that are formed in the kidneys from dissolved urinary minerals. These stones typically exit the body when a person urinates, and are frequently relatively harmless and asymptomatic. However, if a stone becomes too large before it is passed through the body, it can create an obstruction that causes painful muscle spasms of the ureter. Bizarrely, Astronauts are at a much higher risk of developing kidney stones, because the zero-gravity environment ekes the calcium out of their bones and muscles. This calcium can end up in their kidney and cause stone formation. At least 14 American Astronauts have developed kidney stones over the past five years, and the number of afflicted crew members will invariably grow as space missions get longer. Moreover, astronauts with kidney stones can become incapacitated by painful muscle spasms, resulting in aborted missions to bring the affected crew member back to earth for medical intervention.

Scientists studying the phenomenon have discovered that sedentary astronauts are more likely to develop kidney stones than their more active colleagues. Additionally, they found that many crew members do not drink enough water when they are in space (thus reducing their urine output), and that ‘space food’ is also higher in sodium (to keep it preserved). They concluded that each of these factors plays a role in the enhancing the risk that astronauts will develop kidney stones. As such, astronauts are now strongly encouraged to drink plenty of fluids and try to get some exercise while they are on their missions.

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