Blog - Kidney Stone Diet with Jill Harris

The Pros and Cons of Protein Powders

Many plant-based protein powders can contain ingredients like spinach, beetroot, and other high oxalate ingredients. They are a hard no. Look at the one you are using and check your oxalate list.
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Potassium Citrate: Miracle Stone Stopper or Medical Myth?

Potassium citrate—many are on it, many more might benefit from it. To see if this little pill is a good addition to YOUR kidney stone prevention tool kit, get a 24-hour urine collection—it’ll tell you everything you need to know. What does potassium citrate do? When you take potassium citrate,…
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Kidney Stone Prevention: What Most People Get Wrong

Oxalate. A word you’d never heard before your kidney stone encounter. It is such a small word, but boy does it bring about a lot of confusion and anxiety with my patients. I understand. But here is some excellent news… Oxalate is the LEAST important part of the Kidney Stone…
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Who Is Nurse Jill?

If you’re new here, allow me to introduce myself… I’m Jill Harris—Your Kidney Stone Prevention Nurse I’ve been a nurse since 1998, starting my career at the University of Chicago. Early on, however, I realized I wanted to do more than care for patients AFTER they landed in the hospital—I…
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How Much Oxalate Is Too Much? Simple Ways to Reduce It.

You made kidney stones (if your oxalate was the reason) because you overate spinach, almonds, cashews, chia seeds, and gobs of peanut butter every day without getting your calcium needs met—the end.
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A Guide to Eating Healthier Fast Food

Managing a diet while on a road trip is challenging for anybody, but especially for kidney stone patients. That’s why I created this little guide for choosing healthier options at popular fast food restaurants. Key points to remember: This guide features: Remember to always confirm ingredients when ordering because menus do…
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How to Read a Nutrition Label

First, let’s talk about the fine print on those nutrition labels—you know, the part where it says something like: “Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.” Sound familiar? If your eyes usually glaze over when…
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Pro Tips for Creating an Active Lifestyle

Here we are, two weeks into January. How are your fitness goals coming along? Are you still going strong or have you started waning yet? I help people prevent kidney stones and lose weight. I love my work and I can’t tell you how rewarding it is to watch people change…
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25 Ways to Eat More Fruit

I’ve talked about the many ways to add more vegetables into your diet—now it’s time to tackle your fruit intake. This list is for you if you need increase the amount of fruit in your diet, but don’t have diabetes or other medical conditions that require you to limit natural sugars. If you…
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How I maintain my weight and fitness

I get a lot of questions about how exactly I maintain my weight. Today, I will share what I do daily to keep my weight healthy, my body fit, and my mind clear of negative self-talk, which so many people struggle with.
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No more excuses. Eat your darn veggies!

As you may have noticed, I am on a mission to get you to eat more fruits and veggies this year. So many of my patients tell me they don’t eat vegetables because they don’t know what to do with them! If I’m being honest…I was in the same boat…
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Change Is Hard. Here’s How To Do It.

Today’s letter is specifically for working women raising children while still managing most household tasks.
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Eat Smart, Stay Full

I’m asked often what a plate should look like that’s geared toward weight loss. We need to know how many fruits and veggies we should eat per day (the goal is one fruit per day and three cups of veggies per day), how much meat, etc. Today, I am going…
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Understanding Common Kidney Stone Medications

Today, we’re taking a brief look at the most commonly prescribed medications for kidney stone prevention, why doctors choose them, and the medical conditions that can make them necessary. Here’s how each medication works, the conditions it treats, and how lifestyle changes can enhance its effects.
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Kidney Stone Stent 411

The goal of sharing this information with you is not to scare you but to inform you of what is typical with stents and what isn’t, as well as how to manage them and what to expect. Being informed about these factors can help you feel more in control of…
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46 Reasons You’re Still Making Kidney Stones.

Kidney stone disease is complicated and difficult to manage if you’re not getting the proper guidance. It’s NEVER one thing—there are usually many reasons you’re still making kidney stones despite the fact that you gave up spinach and almond products and your doc says everything “looks fine.”
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Osteoporosis and Kidney Stones

Hi! Happy November. I am ready for it! So, I have been meaning to write about the correlation between bone and stone disease for a while now and figured today was the day. Dr Coe, my mentor, has always said, “Wherever you see a stone clinic, a bone clinic is…
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Does a Low Oxalate Diet Prevent Kidney Stones?

This week, I’ve seen patients who suffer greatly due to kidney stones. So it was a typical week filled with painful stories and familiar tales of people lowering their oxalate intake as their doctor had told them only to produce a new stone anyway.
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