In this episode of the Kidney Stone Diet podcast, hosts Jeff Sarris and Jill Harris discuss the relationship between blueberries and kidney stones, focusing on oxalate levels in foods. They clarify misconceptions about dietary oxalate, emphasizing the importance of balance and portion control in preventing kidney stones. Jill shares practical tips for incorporating blueberries into a kidney stone-friendly diet while maintaining adequate calcium intake. The conversation highlights the significance of hydration and overall dietary habits in kidney stone prevention.
Takeaways
- Blueberries can contribute to oxalate levels, but moderation is key.
- Oxalate levels in foods can vary based on growing conditions.
- Harvard’s oxalate list is a trusted resource for dietary guidance.
- The focus should be on overall dietary balance, not just oxalate.
- Calcium intake is crucial for kidney stone prevention.
- Salt and sugar intake are significant factors in kidney stone formation.
- Portion control is essential when consuming high-oxalate foods.
- Frozen fruits can be a convenient and nutritious option.
- Pairing berries with calcium-rich foods can mitigate oxalate concerns.
- The kidney stone diet can reduce the risk of stones by up to 80%.
00:00 Introduction to Kidney Stones and Blueberries
00:11 Understanding Oxalate Levels in Foods
03:53 The Importance of Balance in Diet
07:10 Practical Tips for Including Blueberries
Did Blueberries Give Me Kidney Stones?
Jeff Sarris (00:00):
Did blueberries give me kidney stones? Let’s talk about that.
So blueberries little, little bundles of joy, but are those fruits giving people kidney stones?
Jill (00:12):
Yeah, and it’s summertime, so people are really housing on some berries, right, because they’re ripe for the picking right now. Blueberries. So blueberries is one of those foods that everybody was eating a ton of before because Harvard said blueberries are low. Raspberries stay away from, they were higher. Now, yes, oxalate. Thank you, Jeff. I don’t know what I would do without you. Oxalate. So it used to be that…
Jeff Sarris (00:32):
And we’re talking about oxalate specifically.
Harvard Changed Their Numbers
Jill (00:41):
Harvard said they were on the lower side, so everyone of course ate blueberries. And Harvard used to say that raspberries were on the higher side, so everyone gave up raspberries. They didn’t need to, but they did anyway, unless they were working with me. And then now blueberries, Harvard restudied. And it says blueberries, half a cup, is 18.5, 18 and a half milligrams of oxalate. So they’ve gone up now.
A couple things. Remember you get a hundred milligrams of oxalate in a bank account. I just sent it to you. And you’re getting a debit card because you can decide how you want to spend your oxalate money. I don’t want you to go over budget so you get a hundred milligrams in there. So if you have half a cup of blueberries at 18.5, let’s just round it up to 19, hell let’s just round it up to 20, you still got 80 milligrams worth of oxalate left.
Okay, so you got plenty of oxalate.
Why Food Oxalate Levels Change
“Well Jill, what the heck? Why should I trust Harvard? They say blueberries are low, now they’re saying blueberries are high.” Whenever anyone studies a food and then studies it even a week later, that food may have a different amount of oxalate depending upon the soil conditions, the sunlight, you name it. There is no, you’ll never, people often say this, “Why ain’t it on a food label, Jill?”
It will never be because there’s too much discrepancies. Whether the researcher isn’t as good as the other researcher was, whether it was the growing conditions of the plant, there’s many different things that go into it. And you’re not going to see people studying oxalate all the time. It’s very expensive. So it’s just something that we have to live with. And why do we go by Harvard? Because I’ve been using this list along with other academics, people, doctors, and institutions use the Harvard List. And I can speak for myself and I can also speak for Dr. Coe who’s been doing this for years. He’s been using the Harvard List since the 80s.
My patients lower their oxalate. I never have an oxalate reading that’s higher than it should be. I never do unless the patient has said, “Jill, I kind of went off the rails that day. But you know, I know, I know, I know.” Or “I didn’t get my calcium needs that day.”
Oxalate Is the Least Important Part
So believe me when I tell you that oxalate is the least important part of this diet. Once you take away spinach, chia seeds, cashew products, almond products, please listen to me when I say that. Everybody comes to me worried about oxalate. And that’s why you’ll see a lot of oxalate things on this channel, because that’s what everyone is always wanting to know about. Quite frankly, I get sick of talking about it, because I know it’s the least important. “How do you know, Jill? How do you know? Who are you?” I know because I’m looking at 24-hour urine collections every day. I’ve looked at thousands of urine collections in almost 30 years.
Oxalate is never the issue once you take away those foods and get your calcium needs met. It’s the salt and the sugar and not drinking enough water, salt especially. People can lower that for their first urine collection and then three urine collections later, their salt is high again. Salt is the hardest. Getting enough fluids is hardest, but calcium is hard for me because you don’t know how to get it. Once you know how to get it, easy breezy. Not overeating meat, easy breezy. But the salt is hard.
How I Eat Berries Every Day
All right, now hold on, somebody went in my house. Blueberries. I eat them on most days. Here’s what I will tell patients to do. All the other berries are pretty low. I eat every single day, winter, fall, spring, summer, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, every single day. I have kidney stone formers in my family, I use the same oxalate bank account analogy that you do, and I do not have high oxalate. And I never go over my budget, not even near it.
So you could say, “Well, I want to have blueberries every day, Jill, but they’re now high.” But look at your list. The oxalate food list is at kidneystonediet.com. Blueberries are, like I said, round up. It says 18 and a half, 20 milligrams for a half a cup. So have a fourth of a cup of blueberries. So here’s what I do. I have my Greek yogurt. I have it on most days because it’s my calcium source and it’s a good non-meat protein source for me. I use Fage, a lot of people call it “Fah-gay” but it’s “Fah-yeh,” non-fat plain Greek yogurt. I’m not saying that to correct you, I’m telling you that in case you’re like “What the hell is Fage?” Fage, okay, so it’s non-fat plain Greek yogurt. I use non-fat because I have cholesterol issues so I keep my fat low.
And I always put all of those blueberries, all of those berries in my yogurt, probably about a fourth of a cup of each berry. So now I still have all these berries in small amounts, very low oxalate. So there’s, it’s always gonna be about portion not perfection.
The Bottom Line on Blueberries
So you can have blueberries, you just can’t have five cups a day like you were doing when you thought raspberries were high in oxalate. So it’s never about taking these foods away. It’s about stop overeating them in really huge portions and always put them in something like a calcium based product like what I’m doing with my yogurt. So even if I am having a little bit of blueberry, I’m pairing it with calcium so I’m not worried about it. Also it’s delicious. I use frozen fruit because I live by myself a lot now since my son is at NYU. So I use frozen fruit so it doesn’t go bad. It’s picked at the ripest part, so I think it’s better than fresh. And then I put that in my yogurt and it makes it almost like a dessert for me. So it’s really delicious.
So blueberries, please have them. Don’t eat five cups a day of them. Put them in with other berries in your oatmeal or yogurt or however you, or in a smoothie. But if you’re like, “But Jill, I want more berries.” Use the other berries to compensate for the less blueberry portion. Does that make sense, Jeff?
Jeff Sarris (07:10):
Yeah, absolutely does. It’s all balance and portion not perfection, like you always say. And that’s just what it comes down to with all of this. And there’s a lot of parts to the Kidney Stone Diet that’s not just oxalate. That is the biggest question, but you can find everything about the kidney stone diet and how to prevent future stones. You said it’s up to an 80% decrease. Yeah. Reduction in risk just by following the kidney stone diet, which is just a set of simple steps to follow. It’s.
Jill (07:31):
Yes, reduction rate. Yes. Yep.
Jeff Sarris (07:40):
Not magic, it’s just proven through science and decades of experience. Jill’s been doing this for nearly 30 years, as she mentioned, which is uncommon, especially in the YouTube space. You know, like you find a lot of information, but there’s sort of the pain. “Why should we trust you?” Well, thousands of patients have trusted Jill, have trusted her mentor, Fred Coe at University of Chicago for decades and decades and decades.
Jill (07:54):
It really is. Yeah.
Jeff Sarris (08:10):
So if you want to dive in, dive deep, you can find all the free care and premium care at kidneystonediet.com. It’s right there on the homepage and cheers to preventing future stones.
Jill (08:20):
Absolutely. Everybody have a wonderful week.
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