with Jill Harris, LPN, CHC
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How long does it take to form a kidney stone
How Kidney Stones Form Your kidneys are filters. All day long, they clean your blood and make urine. That urine carries out extra minerals your body does not need—including calcium, oxalate, uric acid, and others. Most of the time, these minerals dissolve in your urine and leave your body without any problem.…
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Low-Oxalate Snacks
Before we jump into snack ideas, bookmark the most important resource for understanding oxalate in foods: → The Complete Harvard-Research-Based Oxalate List This list is used by tens of thousands of kidney stone patients and is the one I use in my own practice every day. Keep it handy as…
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How to Stop New Kidney Stones
“It is not what happens to you, but how you respond to it that matters.” —Epictetus If you’ve had a kidney stone, you’ve probably heard a number that sticks in your mind: “You have a 50% chance of another stone.” That statistic gets repeated everywhere (I say it myself) and…
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Will My Kidney Stone Pass?
If you’ve ever been told you have a kidney stone, you probably asked the same question everyone asks: “Will it pass on its own?” The honest answer is that it depends. Most people know stone size matters, but fewer realize that kidney stone location can be just as important. Where…
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What’s Really Happening Inside Your Kidneys
Why Understanding Your Kidneys Changes Behavior I’ve always believed that people are more willing to change when they understand why they’re being asked to change. Diet advice sticks when it’s tied to what’s actually happening inside the body, not just a list of rules. This approach is what has helped…
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Kidney Stone Stents: What’s Normal, What’s Not, and How to Stay Comfortable
What Is a Ureteral Stent? A ureteral stent is a thin, soft, flexible tube that sits between the kidney and the bladder. Its job is simple: keep urine flowing while the drainage tube from the kidney, called the ureter, heals after surgery. It’s temporary, and it’s placed to protect your…
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Hidden Salt Bombs
One of the most common exclamations I hear during patient consults is, “I never use the salt shaker!” I wish it were as easy as putting down the salt shaker. The other common issue I hear is that patients really struggle to keep their sodium intake down each day. It…
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How to Manage Diabetes and Kidney Stones
What’s going on inside your kidneys Your kidneys don’t just make urine, they remove extra acid from your body and keep things balanced by using natural helpers called buffers. Buffers work like baking soda in your fridge. They soak up extra acid so things don’t get too sour inside your…
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Why High Protein Diets Cause Kidney Stones (And Who’s at Risk)
Why Some People Can Eat More Meat (and Why Others Make More Stones) One of the most confusing aspects of kidney stones is that two people can eat the same amount of meat, yet only one develops stones. The difference isn’t willpower, metabolism, or doing something “wrong.” The difference is…
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Vitamins and Kidney Stones: What You Need to Know
First, most vitamins don’t increase the risk of kidney stones. Two do: vitamin C and sometimes vitamin D. Everything else? Usually harmless at normal doses. Here’s what stone formers actually need to know. Vitamin C In food, great. In supplements over 200 mg/day? A hard no. Excess vitamin C can…
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How Long Does It Take a Kidney Stone to Pass
I’ve been asked this question countless times in my long career. There are many things to know about passing kidney stones, so let’s get right to it! How long it takes to pass a kidney stone depends on two main factors: the stone’s size and its location in your urinary…
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Can I Prevent Kidney Stones with Chanca Piedra?
What is Chanca Piedra? Chanca piedra is an herb (Phyllanthus niruri). In Spanish, the name means “stone breaker,” which is fantastic marketing. It’s used in traditional medicine in parts of South America, Asia, and India for the treatment of kidney stones and liver problems. You can find it as tea,…
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FREE KSD Savory Spice Recipes
Here is another batch of FREE homemade, no-sodium spice recipes you can add to your KSD spice collection. When you are trying to lower sodium and sugar, it helps to increase flavor with spices, herbs, and low-sodium seasonings. Hope you like them! I have many other free seasoning recipes on…
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The Hidden Mineral Behind More Kidney Stones
Why Salt Matters in Kidney Stone Disease Your body runs on balance. The right amount of sodium, calcium, and water in your bloodstream keeps everything working smoothly—your nerves, muscles, and kidneys all depend on that balance. When you eat too much sodium, that balance tips too far in one direction.…
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Popular Diets and Kidney Stones
Keto, paleo, carnivore, and low-carb diets can help with weight or blood sugar—but they also shift your body chemistry in ways that quietly raise your kidney stone risk. Not always, not for everyone, but often enough that you should know what’s going on. Especially if you are a past kidney…
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Water Tips and Tricks for Kidney Stone Prevention
For those of you who have a hard time getting in your water, slowly increase your intake week by week until you get used to it. Your bladder is a muscle; it will need to adjust. You want to drink enough water to produce at least 2.5 liters of urine…
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Are Calcium-Fortified Plant Milks Safe for Kidney Stone Patients
Why calcium pills can raise stone risk Calcium supplement pills deliver a concentrated bolus of calcium (usually carbonate or citrate). If you swallow one on an empty stomach—or at bedtime, when no food is around—the calcium enters your bloodstream quickly. That leaves nothing in your gut for the calcium to…
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Calcium and Kidney Stones: Why You Need It to Lower Oxalate
Calcium and oxalate in the gut When you eat, food travels into your small intestine. This is where nutrients—including calcium and oxalate—are absorbed. Oxalate is found in foods such as spinach, almonds, chia seeds, cashews, and buckwheat groats (see a list of the highest oxalate foods). On its own, oxalate…
“The Kidney Stone Diet is far more than just a diet; this plan is life-altering!”
“The group calls will transform you physically and emotionally. Once you start this journey, your health naturally improves. I have lost a total of 40 pounds and have consistently kept it off. The group calls are such support; this is more like family than a zoom meeting to stay accountable. Jill is far more than a nurse; she is a life coach. Her platform is invaluable.”
Kim J. | Kidney Stone Prevention Course
“The best decision I’ve made has been to join this group.”
“I have been working on weight loss for many years. This group has kept me on track and has helped my continued success with my weight loss.”
Kate L. | Group Calls with Jill
“I have been following the Meal Plan for about 6 weeks and I feel amazing.”
“Eating healthy has also encouraged me to go to bed earlier, so I am also getting more sleep. Because of that, I have been able to get up before work and exercise! So yes, the positive effects are spilling over into all areas of a healthy lifestyle.”
Jerry T. | Meal Plan Subscriber
“I have been a part of the group calls with Jill for the last 14 months, and they are essential to being so successful with the Kidney Stone Diet Prevention Plan.”
Sarah B. | Group Calls with Jill
“These calls are the gold of this program!!”
“I can’t say enough about how Jill knows just the right questions to ask us or how she prods us to think about what is going on in our lives.”
Monica K. | Group Calls with Jill
“I took the course with Jill, and my second 24 hour urine was MUCH better than the first.”
“She gives very practical information, and it WORKS. I was totally overwhelmed at first. I got very poor diet information from my doctors. Jill made it easy for me to understand, and I took it one day at a time. I still watch her videos when I need a tune-up. Jill is the best, and she really cares about all of us. Take the course—it will help you!!!”
Mark J. | Kidney Stone Prevention Course