This week, Jill answers a listener question about finding direction when it comes to kidney stones and the Kidney Stone Diet. Lactose intolerant? Low blood pressure? Feel like there’s nothing you can eat? This is the episode for you.
Jeff Sarris
Welcome back to the Kidney Stone Diet podcast, the show about reducing your kidney stone risk and living your best life. I’m your hosting fellow student, Jeff Sarris.
Jill Harris (00:14)
And I’m Jill Harris, your kidney stone prevention nurse.
The Importance of Asking for Help
I’m so happy to see you. Jeff and I were having a little conversation before we started the video and I needed to vent people and he let me do that so I’m ready to go baby
Jeff Sarris (00:31)
There’s real things, you know? Real things we gotta talk about and have someone to talk to and it’s not always easy. It’s not easy for anyone, that’s the thing.
Jill Harris (00:39)
Not always easy. But you know, asking for help, which after my cancer, I sucked at asking for help. And I’m not, I’m by no means a pro at it, but I’m a lot better these days because it’s very isolating when you have things going on in your heart and your head and you know, you’re afraid or my excuse was, oh God, I don’t want to burden anybody. And so nowadays I’m much better at
You know, so I appreciate you letting me vent. My heart feels lighter. But it is very important to ask for help. Go ahead.
Jeff Sarris (01:10)
For sure. And along those lines of not wanting to burden anyone, it feels good to be able to help other people. And I, I feel like a lot of people do, um, you almost, it warms your heart a little when someone does ask for help. Like we never want to, we never want to burden someone else. But I think that in the end, unless it’s something, this is a huge ask. A lot of times it’s just a, I trust you. I like you are such a, you mean something to me.
Jill Harris (01:36)
Yes.
Jeff Sarris (01:41)
Can I just talk to you about this for a minute. And it means something.
Jill Harris (01:42)
Yes, that is so important. I realized that that feeling that I get from people asking me things all day long, whether it’s in my career or in my personal life, it’s like I was denying other people to feel really special in that I trusted them. And the other thing, making them feel needed and wanted and all that. So it’s like, wow.
You know, all the things that I love so much that people just give me, they trust me, they confide in me, all these things, I was denying from people in my life. And I just, I didn’t get it. Such an obvious thing, right? And we learn our things when we learn them, but now I’m a lot better at it. And you know what’s interesting? People are like, did we ask you? No, you didn’t, but I’m gonna tell you anyway. Till this day, it’s still kind of, it makes me feel,
I always feel a little teary because I can’t believe, not because I can’t believe I’m asking, just that I’m proud of myself I’m asking for help or it shows that I’m trusting somebody. I don’t know. I’ve not always trusted people in my life coming from my background that I have. So that’s just all, it can be a little emotional for me because I’m still a baby learning these things. But God, it’s a beautiful feeling. It really is. It’s wonderful.
Jeff Sarris (03:08)
Uh -huh.
The Journey of Learning and Growth
And we’re all still learning. That’s the thing. Like we like to assume everyone else has it figured out, but none of us do. Like there is no having it figured out. That’s the sort of the big trick, you know?
Jill Harris (03:09)
My God, Jeff, we talk about that in the Group Coaching Calls with Jill all the time. I’m like, first of all, I don’t want to be hanging around any of you guys if you’re all perfect because that’s so boring. I could cry. So we are all messy and we’re all trying to figure out life. And when life happens to us, that’s when our diet kind of falls apart, right? When everything’s normal and we’re living our life and it’s all routine, it’s easy to meal prep, but this, this, this.
But when all of a sudden somebody dies or this happens and your routine is thrown off, well, the diet and lifestyle, healthy lifestyle is the first thing that goes, right? So it’s just interesting. Being a human is a very hard thing. Okay, I want to say this too. I sent out something on Facebook and people didn’t realize this. There’s about 75 % of people that watch these YouTube videos that never press the red button.
Let me tell you what the red button does. It’s not because we want to feel popular. It’s the what? The subscribe button. Yes, if you don’t press that subscribe button, all of you that are listening every week and you don’t like the video, YouTube doesn’t recognize us. If a new person comes and puts kidney stone in YouTube, we are not shown.
Jeff Sarris (04:19)
And that’s the subscribe button, right? The subscribe button?
Jill Harris (04:41)
So there’s people who are not very credible but they have hundreds of thousands of views and likes and subscribes. So by clicking the subscribe button it doesn’t mean you get emails because people are like well I don’t want stuff in my inbox. You’re not going to get anything in your inbox. You’re just telling YouTube hey we like this channel other people may like this channel so show it higher in the search. That’s what we’re asking you to do. So please click that subscribe button.
We’re almost at the 10 ,000 mark and I’ve been asking to get there for about six months. So we’re slowly creeping up there. But if you’re listening, would you please press the subscribe button and any videos that you like, click the like thumbs up. If you don’t like it, don’t click it, but please subscribe. It means everything to us. That’s how YouTube recognizes this channel. So thank you. I’m going to sit up right there and we can get to today’s question.
Jeff Sarris (05:37)
Yeah, today’s question, that is perfect.
Jill Harris (05:39)
But right, Jeff? I mean, that’s so important. People don’t understand how important that is.
Jeff Sarris (05:44)
Yeah, I mean, because it all matters. Like every little bit counts. And yeah, we appreciate everyone who already has subscribed and liked the videos in the past, the ones that they do enjoy. So yeah, every little bit helps and we appreciate each and every one of you. But yeah, what do you say? Should we dive into this question? If you’re out there with a question again, the number is 773 -789 -8763. And today we have a question from Jackie.
Jill Harris (05:48)
Yeah, let’s go.
Listener Voicemail (06:15)
Hey, Jill, just found you about a month ago. Had two 10 millimeter kidney stones removed. Don’t want to go through that again. The first time in 2020 when I had some blasted, I was having a green drink every day, every morning with tons of spinach. So I got me on the trail of, oh.
I didn’t realize anything, didn’t know anything about oxalates. So then, you know, 2023, I have two 10 millimeter stones that grow within three years, which is not good. So now I’m afraid to eat anything. As I’m listening to you, my biggest issue is that I’m lactose intolerant. I don’t, I can’t eat beans. I nuts. I was eating almonds. Yes, almond butter, because I can’t have peanuts.
Like everything I seem to have done is wrong. I have low blood pressure, so I eat salt, but then salt’s bad. I mean, everything I’ve looked at, I’m just sad. I loved raspberries. Everything I ate was bad. Everything was causing oxalates. And so obviously I’m really frustrated. Do I take a calcium supplement if I’m going to eat something? I love green olives. I don’t eat them every day, but they’re a great, you know, but…
It seems like I’m just really afraid to eat anything anymore. So I realize you have a diet But majority of the stuff that I have seen on different diets, I can’t eat half those foods. So Yeah, I just I’m just looking for some recommendations for People that are lactose intolerant who have low blood pressure need the salt and who don’t probably get enough calcium from being lactose intolerant, so I just need some ideas. All right, my name is Jackie. Thank you.
Jill Harris (08:18)
Wow, that’s a lot of stuff. I love a lot of stuff. I love this Jackie very much. Well, first of all, welcome because she said she’s new. And she had two whoppers, two big stones. There’s a couple things.
Jeff Sarris (08:20)
Mm -hmm.
Jill Harris (08:37)
She said she started drinking green drinks with spinach every day in 2020. A lot of people got healthy in 2020. A lot of people gained weight and got a little unhealthy in 2020. So there was one of two people, people that were like, I’m taking this time getting in the best shape of my life. And other people were like, I’m stuck in my house, give me all the food. Makes sense, that latter one. I can’t believe we went through that. Anyway.
So it’s interesting what she said. She said in 2020 and then three years later, I got stones. Well, three years later, the stones presented. Did you have those stones before 2020? You just didn’t know it because they are large. Could be you had some stones, you ate all those spinach and almond products and maybe they got bigger. I’m just saying it’s not 100%.
Did you have stones before you even went on the 2020 green drink thing. Okay. You could have had some and they got bigger. Just putting that out there. Basically Jackie’s saying she’s lactose intolerant, she has a little blood pressure, she’s afraid to eat everything, she’s been on diets before, she knows that we have a kidney stone diet. But Jackie, the kidney stone diet is not a diet that tells you what to eat.
Make sure you go to kidneystonediet.com to see that the Kidney Stone Diet is a set of goals. You eat how you want to as long as you fit into those goals. Meaning, the kidney stone diet is calcium, a thousand for men and women, 1200 for women who no longer get their period. Protein, eat moderate protein. There’s a formula at kidneystonediet .com, the start page. It will show you all the kidney stone diet goals.
- Oxalate, under 100.
- Fluids, you want to be peeing 2-2 .5 to 3 liters.
- And salt at 1500 milligrams a day.
- Added sugar, 25 grams of added sugar, added as in candy, there’s no added sugar in fruit, and men get 38 grams of added sugar.
So that’s what the diet is. It’s a set of goals, it’s not really a diet. So however you wanna eat, Jackie, works fine. The only two things I take away for sure, and lately three.
It’s almond products, spinach, rhubarb, of course I don’t want people eating that every day, some people in the south do. And that’s basically it. Anything else you want to eat, Jackie, is, you can eat. You just have to fall into those goals. You said you’re lactose intolerant.
At Kidney Stone Diet, the blog, there is beautiful articles done by, written by me, but done graphic design wise from our other partner Dave, beautiful. And they list all the other things that you can do to get your calcium, whether it’s dairy free milk, some vegetables, there’s a whole other bunch of ways you can get calcium. We do not want you to get them from calcium pills. Okay, so there’s all that.
You said you have low blood pressure and the salt restriction is 1500. I’m gonna ask you this, have you done a 24 hour urine collection? Do you know how much salt you’re eating every day? That would be my number one question. Maybe it’s not an oxalate issue that caused these stones. You need to get a 24 hour urine collection because there’s values on that test that may have nothing to do with diet. Typically, yes. But,
There’s some things on that test you will never know about unless you do it. Tell your doctor you want to do a 24 -hour urine collection. And so the things that you, so your biggest question is, you know, I’m afraid to eat. You don’t have to be afraid to eat. And everybody at least five times a day tells me that. There is no reason to be afraid to eat. I understand why, because you’ve had these big honker kidney stones, but…
It is because typically people overate the highest oxalate foods day in and day out in great quantities along with what Jeff?
Jeff Sarris (13:12)
Not enough fluids, calcium and not enough fluids.
Understanding the Kidney Stone Diet Goals
Jill Harris (13:13)
Calcium, fluids, yes, that’s exactly right. Calcium is a big deal because the only way we can get rid of oxalate is to make sure we’re getting enough calcium because calcium and oxalate will bind in your intestines and leave through the stool. We do not want excess calcium and oxalate to bind in the kidneys where they’ll form stones. So we want all that excess to be bound together in the intestines and leave through the stool so it doesn’t get reabsorbed back into the body.
So that’s really important. And yes, as Jeff said, fluids are very important. So this is so much more than oxalate. I understand that you said you can’t eat nuts, you can’t eat beans. I follow this diet, these goals. I do eat some nuts, but I don’t have to. I do. And I don’t really eat beans too much because of all my bowel issues. They bother me. So you can continue eating foods that you enjoy.
You just can’t eat spinach and almond products anymore. And I hear you. You’re like, well, and girl, I can’t eat beans. I can’t eat this. So you already were not eating those things. You were just eating a buttload of spinach. Sub out with kale. I don’t like kale. I know people say this all the time. Get the baby kale. It’s less rugged. I know kale is tough, but you’ll get used to it.
And or arugula or any of the other lettuces use those and no harvard did not study all the lettuces, but Let’s just say nothing’s as high as spinach. So get rid of the spinach It’s almost 700 milligrams per cup. So you have to get rid of it and Raspberries look here’s what I’ll say about raspberries. They are high in oxalate But some people want to see them in their non -dairy yogurt. Maybe you want to put blueberries and strawberries in there and a couple raspberries just for the emotional aspect of it.
Olives you said you love, I’m sure you do, they’re salt balls, that’s what they are. I mean if there was no salt in olives, people would be like, what the hell is this ball? I don’t want this, it’s salty, that’s why it’s delicious. So, and am I gonna tell you to get rid of olives? That would be no. If they fit into your sodium budget, please have them. You said you’re only having a couple, that’s not a problem. So, you’re kind of throwing the baby out with the bath water.
You’re brand new. I want you to go to kidneystonediet.com and look at all the free information there. If you specifically go to kidneystonediet.com/resource-list, which Jeff always has at the bottom of each video here, there are links, click that. You’ll have so many free things of exactly where you need to start, what the kidneystone diet goals are.
Importance of 24-Hour Urine Collection
But I beg of you, because those stones you had were big and you don’t want more. I beg you to get a 24 hour urine collection. And then if you need more help, schedule a private with me. Do that. And you’ll, you’ll, one call and you’ll get everything you need done. Or join the group calls if you don’t have money for a private. The group calls are like six bucks a week. I mean, it’s ridiculous. And I’m in there three days a week. So, and one night. Two days and one night. So that’s the cheapest way to get a hold of me along with other people in the group and you’ll have a ball too. Only if you swear, because we swear in there, so if you swear you’re welcome. You don’t have to swear though to be in the group call with Jill. It’s just very down home in there, let’s put it that way.
Jeff Sarris (16:48)
Yeah. And if you have any questions about the 24 hour urine collection, we do have videos on that. If you just search through this channel on YouTube or in your podcast feed, you can find a lot of info on why you need that and what it actually is to, what it means to get a 24 hour urine collection and what your results may be. Jill can help you with. You’re going to get information and she can help you understand that information with her urine analysis consult.
Jill Harris (16:53)
Yes.
Yes, yes, that is, that is a lot of people like that service. It’s very helpful. That’s why it’s very helpful. Yeah. So, but Jackie, I hear it in your voice and I’m so been hearing that voice for 25 years. It’s frustration. I never want to go through that again. It’s overwhelmed. I hear it all in your voice. I promise you it takes a minute to absorb what just happened to you, by the way. And then it takes another minute to at least.
Jeff Sarris (17:22)
Mm -hmm. Yeah.
Jill Harris (17:45)
To start getting all the information and then taking action. But it sounds like you think this is a whole diet change. It’s a bunch of goals.
Fitting Your Lifestyle into the Kidney Stone Diet Goals
You can still continue to eat how you want to as long as you fit into the goals. So any lifestyle that any of you have that are watching, you can continue it as long as you fit in the kidney stone diet goals. And the goals are to lower stone risk. You want to do keto? I’m not a fan of keto, but…
If you’d like to do keto, do it as long as you fit into those goals. It will be hard because most keto people are eating so much salt. But listen, Dr. Koh and I were always like, these are the goals on how to lower kidney stones. The lifestyle that you like, fit it in here and lower your stone risk, however you get there. But the goals are important at kidneystonediet .com start.
Jeff Sarris (18:40)
Yeah. So that was a great question, Jackie. If you’re out there with a question, the number again is 773 -789 -8763. And we’d love to feature your voice on our future episode. Also, you can record a voice memo on your phone and email that to podcast at kidneystonediet.com. We do that just because we have some listeners who are outside the States and obviously calling the States isn’t as simple for them, but yeah.
Jill Harris (18:43)
Great question.
Jeff Sarris (19:08)
We’d love to feature as many voices on the show as possible. And even if you have a question that you feel like we’ve touched on before, every question is helpful because we all need the answer. We all need the question answered in the way that actually speaks to us and answers the way that we’re thinking about it. So it might not always connect as well. And that’s why we do so many shows. We are 179 episodes into the show right now, and we’re just going to keep going answering your questions and sharing as much information as we can to help as many people as we can. So again.
Jill Harris (19:38)
Yes, yes, yes, and yes.
Jeff Sarris (19:39)
Thanks for tuning in and thanks for subscribing, liking the video if you enjoyed it. And I think with that we will wrap and see you all next week.
Jill Harris (19:47)
Thanks Jackie, great question, loved it.
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