The TRUTH about chanca piedra

If you've had kidney stones, you've definitely heard about this, but what is the truth about Chanca Piedra?

Welcome back to the Kidney Stone Diet Podcast, the show about reducing your kidney stone risk and living your best life. I'm your host and fellow student, Jeff Sarris.

And I'm Jill Harris, your kidney stone prevention nurse, ready to talk about everybody's favorite subject, not mine.

Chanca Piedra.

Yeah, it's a big one because everyone, we want that fix. We want to figure out how, excuse me, how do we say dissolve or lessen kidney stones?

Well, Chanca Piedra literally means stone breaker. So, it's not going to break up kidney stones and there's always people that say, "It broke mine up." It's impossible to break up a kidney stone unless it's uric acid. Let's just say this: if you put your stone in a in a in a cup of Chanca Piedra, it ain't going to get smaller.

These things are really, sometimes the lasers don't even break these stones up. So, here's what it can do. Here's what it can do.

There is, and all the things that I'm saying, which is not going to be a lot, but the things I say it can do, there's little evidence. And so what we talk about here is science-based stuff, okay? So, there is slight evidence that says that this, when you drink it, it can relax your ureters a bit to help you pass stones.

Okay. So, people will say, "Oh, she just doesn't want to talk about Chanca Piedra because she's selling a diet." I'm talking that or just because, you know, it's not a pharmaceutical, Jill, it's a natural thing. Why can't we— again, folks, I'm talking about the most natural thing in the world: change your diet.

That will prevent kidney stones and there's a ton of research on that, okay? So, Chanca Piedra. If you guys want to take it, God bless.

Take whatever you want. You're grown adults. You don't have to ask permission to do it.

Is it going to break up a stone? No. Absolutely not.

Uric acid stones can be broken up by choosing an alkali of some sort, whether it's lemon juice, whether it's, potassium citrate, whether it's calcium citrate, whether it's something like that. Yes, uric acid stones can be broken up. Calcium oxalate, calcium phosphate stones cannot be broken up.

There's that. There are some safety issues with Chanca Piedra. It can interact with some medications, so please talk to your doctor about that.

You know, just because something's quote-unquote natural doesn't mean it won't interact with some of a blood thinner or some of the medications you're taking, so that's really important to note, as well. Blood pressure issues, that could bother your Chanca Piedra with blood pressure pills and stuff. That could be a problem.

The bigger issue we have here, folks, again, you're all grown, you can take whatever you'd like to take. The question is always, is this going to be beneficial for me? You're drinking a lot of this tea, so there's extra fluid, so that certainly can help you pass a stone.

Was it the tea itself? Was it just it being fluids? Again, mild evidence saying it can relax your ureter a little bit, but then so does Flomax, you know, so what I guess what I'm trying to say is, there's nothing special about this, honestly.

But if you want to take it, please feel free. I don't care if you take it. That's perfectly fine.

It will, however, not break up stones. And for those of you who tell me that it broke up your stones, I'll just say, okay. That's okay if you think that, but what we do here is science-backed evidence in kidney stone prevention, and the evidence is so little for this, it's very mild that no one's ever going to promote Chanca Piedra, as far as in the medical field, to prevent kidney stones.

That being said, you can certainly take it if you'd like, right?

Yeah, absolutely.

That's how I feel about it. I, you know, I get this asked a lot and then I get a lot of pushback because people will say, "It worked for me." Awesome. There's also for every person that said it worked for, I think that's great, there's 5,000 that it didn't.

So, but do whatever you is right for you. Often I am, I am known for saying, "You do you." But it is not going to break up a stone and I think what confuses people is that it's called a stone breaker. The tea, they'll say stone breaker.

And a lot of people that are pushing pills, potions, and the such, they will make their product, they'll they'll call their product something very enticing for a kidney stone former like Stone Stopper, Stone Breaker. So as soon as you see these words, of course, you're going to buy that. Again, feel free.

Feel free to use it. I do not promote it. If you're having a kidney stone attack, that's the last thing I'm going to tell you to do when you could just simply drink more fluids, ask your doctor for Flomax, try the tea, try Chanca Piedra, that's fine, too.

You do you. But there's plenty of other ways that you can try to expel a kidney stone. Drinking water, number one.

Moving around, number two, right? Chanca Piedra, use it if you want to, not a heck of a lot of evidence in it doing much, so there's that.

Yeah.

I win no friends when I do these videos. That's why I don't do many of them.

Well, that is the thing, we all want sort of that quick fix. Like it's so hard. It's like not anyone's fault for seeking a quick fix.

It's we're in pain and that's something we want it fixed and if there's a way to fix it, we're going to try it. But you're here to make sure that people are getting the answers, like the actual valid scientific answers, because you don't want anyone going down a path where they think they're doing everything right when in actuality it's at best not doing anything, but at worst maybe hurting.

Yes, and the other thing is, yes, especially with some interactions with medications. I think the other, and also, you know, your wallet. But, you know, it's not crazy expensive or anything, so.

But, you know, I'm always going to be an advocate. One of the reasons I left working at University of Chicago and being a nurse on the floor is, I was like, "Oh my god, I really want to get people before they get into a bed." And so I've dedicated my career to kidney stone prevention because I'm really able to help people stay out of a bed, not have a lithotripsy, a ureteroscopy, all the terrible, a stent, sepsis, UTIs, all the things that come with kidney stones.

Did I mention the intense pain that many of you suffer? All of those things. And so, by following the most natural thing in the world, which is changing your diet, eating all foods except spinach, almond, and maybe some chia, really high oxalate foods, in moderation, eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables that are naturally low in added sugar, obviously, and salt, eating normal amounts of meat protein, getting, if you eat meat, getting enough calcium to make sure you don't have osteoporosis and also so that calcium combined with oxalate leave through the stool so you don't have too much oxalate, not overeating oxalate, getting enough fluids every day, these are the things that not only prevent kidney stones, which is awesome, but I can't tell you how rewarding it has been for me over these last few decades to be able to watch people lose 150 lb, 50 lb, weight they've been trying to get rid of their whole life, but now they have a negative motivator, it being a kidney stone, and they're really willing to listen now to dietary changes.

How rewarding it's been to watch people lower their blood pressure, lower their A1C, get off their cholesterol meds, exercise for the first time in their life because they weigh less enough and they have the confidence now to get their ass out there in the world. I mean, the things that I've watched people do in their life, the changes they have made because they had a disgusting kidney stone and now their eyes are open up and they're willing to get rid of fad diets and bullshit pills and potions and really work hard, cuz that's what it takes, folks, to change your lifestyle, work hard, consistency, consistently, to lower stone risk, but also get your health back in general.

That's what the goals of the Kidney Stone Diet will do when you're consistent with them. You go to my website. I have hundreds of testimonials about what eating what eating has done for people because of that stupid stone they had.

They've literally changed their whole life. I'm not being my normal Italian, dramatic self. Go read it.

I don't pay people to write those testimonials. There's tons of them throughout the website. And you, too, I'm talking to you, you, too, can change your life.

And God, nothing makes us happier than watching you do it. So join us at kidneystonediet.com. Tell us in the comments here how much you've changed your lifestyle, all the good things, the health benefits that you have gotten from eating better.

And then also you can dog on me about the Chanca Piedra. I welcome those, too. They make me giggle.

But at the end of the day, everybody must do what makes them happy and what they feel comfortable with. The end.

And that is a perfect wrap up. So we will see you all next week.

Bye, everybody!