# Can I prevent kidney stones on a low carb diet?

Source: https://kidneystonediet.com/ep/can-i-prevent-kidney-stones-on-a-low-carb-diet/
Published: 2022-12-20

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December 20, 2022

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![Jeff Sarris](https://kidneystonediet.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Jeff-Sarris-150x150.jpg)

Jeff Sarris

Host

![Jill Harris](https://kidneystonediet.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Kidney-Stone-Diet-Jill-Harris-150x150.jpg)

Jill Harris

Host

This week, Jill answers a listener question about kidney stones and a low carb diet.

Have a question? Leave us a voicemail at (773) 789-8763.\
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 **= Stop your kidney stones once and for all =**

- [Kidney Stone Prevention Course](https://kidneystonediet.com/kidney-stone-prevention)
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**= FREE Kidney Stone Resources =**

- [Kidney Stone Diet](https://kidneystonediet.com/)
- [Free Kidney Stone Diet Resources](https://kidneystonediet.com/resources/)
- [Oxalate Food List](https://kidneystonediet.com/oxalate-list/)
- [Kidney Stone Diet Recipes](https://kidneystonediet.com/recipes/)

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Find more episodes of the Kidney Stone Diet Podcast at [kidneystonediet.com/podcast](https://kidneystonediet.com/podcast)

**= Who is Jill Harris? =**\
[youtube.com/TheKidneyStoneDiet](https://www.youtube.com/TheKidneyStoneDiet)

Jill is a nurse and health coach that specializes in educating patients on kidney stone prevention. For more than 20 years she’s helped patients understand that kidney stones can be prevented with the right treatment plan. It’s one thing to be told to lower oxalate or drink more water, but HOW do you do it? That’s where she comes in. Through the educational resources at [kidneystonediet.com](https://kidneystonediet.com/), stone formers can learn everything they need to know to significantly lower new stone risk.

**= Who is Jeff Sarris? =**\
[youtube.com/jeffsarris](https://youtube.com/jeffsarris)

Jeff’s co-founder of [SPYR](https://spyr.me/), a branding agency based out of Chicago, where he and his business partner Dave help awesome people like Jill create online platforms that make an impact.

He’s also a certified health coach, host of the [Starting Now podcast](http://spyr.fm/now), and developing NFTs and community at [Badfroot](https://badfroot.com/).

Reach out on Twitter! [@jeffSARRIS](https://twitter.com/jeffSARRIS)

## Chapters

- 00:00:00 Seasonal Sweatshirts and Finding Personal Joy
- 00:04:09 Kidney Stone Prevention Course Holiday Discount
- 00:05:51 Rice Alternatives for Weight Loss and Diabetes
- 00:08:51 Core Guidelines of the Kidney Stone Diet
- 00:11:35 Overcoming Nutrition Information Overload and Food Fear
- 00:12:50 Rice Oxalate Content and Portion Control
- 00:15:18 Role of Carbohydrates in Daily Energy
- 00:18:34 Weight Loss and Mindful Nutrition Habits
- 00:20:53 Cauliflower Rice and High-Fiber Food Options
- 00:23:07 Low-Carb Diets and Afternoon Brain Fog
- 00:27:12 Expanding Dietary Variety Beyond Daily Staples
- 00:29:31 Kidney Stone Diet Community and Online Resources

## Transcript

### Seasonal Sweatshirts and Finding Personal Joy

00:00:00 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 host and fellow student, Jeff Sarris.

00:00:21 Jill Harris

Hi, Jeff. And I'm Jill Harris, your kidney stone preventionist. Look at my beautiful aqua sweatshirt.

I love it!

Ocean perfection. Isn't it pretty?

00:00:31 Jeff Sarris

Yeah, I really like the color. Like I, obviously, always wear black, but I love how that looks. And it always gives me the Miami vibes.

I love sort of South Beach.

00:00:40 Jill Harris

And now you all like Miami. I love that.

00:00:41 Jeff Sarris

Yes, spent time down there, so it definitely reminds me of that right now in the in the winter as you can see with the Christmas tree behind you.

00:00:48 Jill Harris

Yes. I, you know, the patients, my students in the Kidney Stone Prevention Course will get on the will get on the Zoom call and we all have our sweatshirts on.

We look so colorful and pretty. It's so much fun to see these things come alive. So, we taped a batch of shows a few weeks ago, and now we're doing the new batch.

And I was so mad because the next day this shirt came, and I'm like, "Damn!" Well, I guess I'll just have to wear it this session. So, I'm telling you, we all know that I'm also a black shirt wearing fool, but I don't know. I think once you hit middle age, you just start like wearing the rainbow of colors.

I really do. And so, I've been really enjoying the pink, the blue, and I'm going to have State to put more out there. I'm I feel like I'm just a changed woman these days with color, so I'm digging it.

00:01:37 Jeff Sarris

How's everything by you?

Yeah, we're going to start to have to have seasonal lookbooks for you. We'll do photoshoots and everything. It'll be kind of fun, but.

00:01:43 Jill Harris

Oh, boy. Nobody wants to see this mug in a photo shoot. Thank you very much.

00:01:48 Jeff Sarris

But, yeah, like just because there's so much so much option out there with all of this. And it's because it's meant to be inspirational, too. So, it's not just like for the hell of it.

It's just it's supposed to be something to keep us on track and stick with it. And, yeah, I don't know. I always think about now I say "don't judge my joy" like all the time to Amara.

It just comes up. It's just funny. I don't know.

00:02:09 Jill Harris

Oh my god, Jeff! So, I always say that, too. Obviously, that's why we made a hoodie out of it.

But, you know, the fact that people do judge other people's joy, everybody, the world is so the way it is. If you can find a little piece of joy in your day, oh my god, you hold on to that joy, and you love it, and you lick it, and you just have it. So, yeah, don't let anybody mess up.

Don't anybody love judge your joy. Don't let them do that, you know? So, yeah, so everything's okay by you?

00:02:39 Jeff Sarris

Oh, yeah, things are good. Yeah, I never talk about myself. I don't know what to say.

No, it's it's always funny. It's like, "How's it going?" I that's I'm never good with that question. I don't know why, but I ask it all the time just because I like it.

But, but yeah, things are good. It's winter. We're updating a few things at the house, not my office, but the house is all Christmasy.

Really excited about that. This week, I was dialing some things in with that. We I said no tree last time.

We have a tree.

So, we have It's a It's a fake tree, but it's a narrow, 9-foot-tall tree because, you know, the ceilings in there are really high and it just it just like completes it. It Now, it feels just right. So, I don't know, that's been exciting.

00:03:23 Jill Harris

Look, I love trees. I love trees because I love the lights. I mean, it's just warms up your I mean, Jeff, we haven't seen the sun in a week now and it's not going to be coming out anytime soon.

So, it's just a charming way to feel festive, whether you do Christmas or not. I always have like little I have Christmas lights on in my room 25- 365 a year, so I just I love the warmth of little lights, so it makes me very happy. What do we have today?

People are like, "We don't give a shit about your lights. Any of you, we're here to talk about kidney stones." There's always a person in the comments that'll be like, "Are you really going to keep talking at the…" Yes, we are. Yes, we are.

Yes, we are, so know that. That's not going to change because we like talking to each other.

### Kidney Stone Prevention Course Holiday Discount

00:04:09 Jill Harris

And I'll say this, too. You don't like small talk because before we shoot this show, we are talking about in-depth kinds of things. So, you know, Jeff and I are meaty kind of conversationalists.

We like getting right to. And in the Kidney Stone Prevention Course, too, in those group calls, we get to the meat of things. We're not just, you know, talking small talk.

We really try to figure out why it's so hard to change diets, why it's hard to lose weight, how do we stay compliant, why how do we unbundle all the habits we have concerning food.

I want to say this, too. It's still on sale. Get it for the holidays, 40, especially before January 1st comes, people, and everyone is going to pelt you with new diets, bull do.

Make sure you're knowing how to do the Kidney Stone Diet. The course is on sale. It's $40 off at $149.

It also comes with the group calls for a month. After that, it's $19 a month. Cancel it anytime, obviously.

And in the group calls, that's where all the magic happens. The course itself is magical, but talking to me and other people in the group to figure out how you are to change your diet for the long haul, and then practice it, is worth its weight in gold at $149. You'll find nothing like it at that price on the internet.

And we're offering it to you because everything is kind of topsy-turvy in our world right now, and we respect that. And we respect how much things cost. So, we're lowering the price $40 right now.

Get it if you can. Jeff, let's go.

00:05:46 Jeff Sarris

Yeah, let me dive into this week's question.

### Rice Alternatives for Weight Loss and Diabetes

00:05:51 Jeff Sarris

Hi, my name is Marsha. Last name is Haq. And I watched a video like one year back about your show that has, I'm sorry about the background, my baby, about the kidney stone issues.

So, I don't have any kidney stone issue as of yet, but I want to know, cause I am a South Asian descent, and need rice alternatives for weight loss and, you know, sugar level control, and least amount of oxalate. So, that I can consume every day in moderation with my other foods.

So, what would you recommend? And I don't, you know, and something like I saw like there's so much of information online, and it's just mind-boggling to know what to eat and what not to eat. And I'm trying my best to eat everything in moderation, but since when you cross 30, I need to be more careful because I just gave birth five months ago.

And I have the weight loss issue weight loss thing that I'm focusing on. And I'm also focusing on to maintain my sugar level, though I don't have any sugar issue problem, but though my family has some diabetes issues, so I want to just prepare beforehand. And, you know, I'll really appreciate that if anybody can answer me about the rice alternatives which has weight loss, sugar level control, and least amount of oxalate that I can consume every day in moderation.

Thank you.

00:07:29 Jill Harris

She may not know this reference, but I'm going to say this, "Marsha, Marsha, Marsha." That what That comes from the Brady Bunch, Marsha, which was a wildly popular show when I was growing up. Anyway, I am so impressed by Marsha. I If I could spend an hour talking about how much I admire and respect Marsha, I would.

Jeff would not want to sit here for that, nor would anybody else, but I'm telling you, when I hear a somebody that's so very interested, she said these things, in case you couldn't hear, she had a baby 5 months ago. She is South Asian descent, so rice is a part of her daily life. She's looking for She's looking for rice alternatives because she's She wants to maintain She doesn't have any issues right now.

She says she wants to lose weight because she had a baby 5 months ago. She says that she doesn't have blood sugar issues, nor does she have kidney stones. So, here's somebody who has no health issues as far as those two things.

But she's interested in making sure she doesn't. And this is why I do what I do because that's what this is about.

### Core Guidelines of the Kidney Stone Diet

00:08:51 Jill Harris

If you have kidney stones or not, the Kidney Stone Diet is just a healthy diet. That's it. It is making sure you're not daily overconsuming, on a daily basis, too much sugar, too much salt, making sure you get enough calcium, because you have a skeleton you need to feed, making sure you don't overdo it for oxalate, so that's particularly for kidney stone formers, making sure you're not overeating any food on a regular basis, that's where the portion not perfection comes from, the perfection part meaning we shouldn't be so rigid with our diet that we can't have a lollipop or a cupcake sometimes.

That's ridiculous. And that's why diets don't work. You're going to have your favorite foods.

And the other thing, whether you have kidney stones or not, is getting enough fluids in. We must hydrate our body. So, the fact that she is calling without any of those issues, but still cares, is why I get up every day and do what I do.

That's amazing. So, Marsha, thank you for your call. We appreciate it.

And for anybody that's listening, you don't have to have a kidney stone to do the things we're asking you to do here. We're trying to prevent kidney stones, but I'm trying to help you prevent diabetes, cardiovascular disease, bone disease, high blood pressure, and kidney stones. All of the things that we're asking you to pay attention to, not be perfect at, is so you don't get sick.

When I was a nurse at Nobody asked, Jill. I'm telling you anyway. When I was a nurse at University of Chicago, and huffing it from bed to bed to bed, people with They were very sick.

It would unnerve me. I'm like, "Oh, my god. This is not why I signed up to be a nurse." I didn't want to manage all this once people got sick.

It was a trasty to always feel like you didn't do enough. I wanted to make sure I could help people before they got in a bed. That's what I wanted to do.

So, this is why I do the career I do, to try to manage this before you get sick. So, Marsha, the fact that you're getting on that phone and saying all those beautiful things so you don't get sick, because you do have a child, you are responsible for what you put in your body, you want to make sure you're doing the right thing, and also, by the way, people, she said, "I don't know my head from my butt." My words, not Marsha's, but she's like, "There's so much online information, I don't know what to do about anything anymore."

### Overcoming Nutrition Information Overload and Food Fear

00:11:35 Jill Harris

So, one of the biggest things people come to me with, they are like, "I don't know what to do." So, listen. All the smart, smart people that come to this channel, or that I talk to every day, smart people that don't know how to feed themselves. It's because there's so much mis- there's so much erroneous information on the internet with so much crap, that you don't know what to believe anymore.

And guess what? What I hear every day on the phone, you're freaking afraid to eat. I hear it every day.

People are afraid of food. And it makes sense because of what they've just been through, no matter what disease they have. When I was going through my cancer, I fell prey to that, too, being afraid of food, with all that I know.

So, I can't imagine how people feel without knowing or having the knowledge that I do. I had the knowledge and I still was afraid. So, my god, do I have extra passion ever since I got sick.

### Rice Oxalate Content and Portion Control

00:12:50 Jill Harris

So, to answer your question, Marsha, let's unravel this. Number one, "I'm South Asian, Jill. We have rice, daily.

What am I going to do?" I would say, if it's a food you enjoy like rice, and that's part of your culture, and you like it, and you don't have any blood sugar issues, you don't have diabetes, and you don't have a medical professional telling you to get rid of it, this is what I would do. I would have your rice in a in a 1/2 or a 1/4 of a cup portion size.

I would have that a day, okay? Maybe a 1/2 a cup of rice a day. I'd always make sure I have plenty of vegetables with my rice, so you have high fiber curtailing and curbing the blood sugar spike you may get from the rice.

So, I don't ever take away rice. And by the way, white rice is very, very low in oxalate. I think that was another one of her questions.

"Can I have that on a low oxalate diet?" Of course, you can have rice. Brown rice has higher oxalate. Does that mean you can't have brown rice?

No, of course. Have brown rice.

Whenever I have rice, I'm on a low-carb diet. That works for me. I like low carb.

You could do whatever, the diet that works for you is the diet that works for you. So, you've got to eat foods you like. Otherwise, you can't sustain that diet.

That's why keto people will lose weight, gain it back, because they can't sustain not having a carb for the rest of their life. Carbs are not evil. I'm going to say that again.

Carbs are not evil. They are a huge energy source for your body. Our cells need carbohydrates.

That's an energy source, people. Stop taking them off your plate. I eat a lower carb diet because that works for all my bowel stuff, but I definitely eat white rice.

That is a simple carb, but for some reason, my intestines don't mind that. And after all my bowel surgeries, lower carb works better for me. Otherwise, I've always eaten carbs my whole life within portion.

I would never eat a high-carb diet. That wouldn't work for me. I want fiber because I don't want to get diabetes.

So, repeatedly eating high-processed carbohydrate food is not something I'm suggesting.

### Role of Carbohydrates in Daily Energy

00:15:18 Jill Harris

I'm suggesting eating healthy carbs, if that's white rice, fine, eat it with some fruits and vegetables. That will slow the roll on the blood sugar spike. But, certainly, you can keep that in your diet.

As far as how much oxalate, Marsha asked that, how much oxalate? Now, you don't have a kidney stone problem. Does that mean I'm going to tell you to eat spinach and almonds as much as you want?

No, I would tell everybody get about 100 milligrams of oxalate a day. That's the Kidney Stone Diet, okay? 100 milligrams a day, pick and choose you want.

Obviously, spinach is off your plate because it's over 600 milligrams a cup, so that's no. Almonds are like 122 for a very small amount, so that's off your plate, too, and almond bread and almond flour and all that stuff. So, those two things I'd take.

Every single thing is on your plate. Even things that are a little higher in oxalate, and that's where the portion, not perfection comes from, too. "Jill, I can't eat a sweet potato.

Harvard says it's high." But stop looking at the adjectives.

That's why we made the Safe Oxalate list. It is the foods from the Harvard list, but we took away the adjectives, so you, as a grown, responsible, smart adult, can choose the foods you want. Sweet potatoes are something like 28 milligrams of oxalate per cup, so have a cup, then you still got whatever left, 72, whatever.

I'm not a mathematician. 72 left. Do what you want.

Get your calcium every day. So, you can eat a lot of foods, people. And on a and so, Marsha, specifically for you, the Kidney Stone Diet, when people come to me for weight loss, I put them on the Kidney Stone Diet: lowering sugar, added sugar, not fruits, added sugar, lowering your salt.

By doing those two things right there, you're going to be eating less processed foods because that means you can't go to McDonald's. You can. I'm going to say have the kids meal to tide you over to a healthier meal or have your favorite Big Mac or whatever, then get right back to work.

So, except for spinach and almond products, no food is off your table. Okay? So, when we lower sugar and salt, added sugar and salt, we tend to eat better.

When we're paying attention to that, we eat better. And if you're used to a food that's if you're used to a diet that's high in processed food, you, of course, are going to start losing weight because you're Is it a genie in a bottle fix? No.

You're paying attention to how you're nourishing your body. So, you're being mindful. Marsha doesn't even have a disease.

She's just being responsible for how she nourishes her body. And I applaud her for that. My mission is to make us all aware that this thing, this body that we've been given, it ain't about fat and skinny and how we look and all that crap.

It's about how you fuel it, so it can continue doing the work it is supposed to do for you.

### Weight Loss and Mindful Nutrition Habits

00:18:34 Jill Harris

And so, my whole mission is for all of us not to take our body for granted. Why would we do that? I get a cupcake taste good.

Have one and move on. That's it. Don't beat yourself up about it.

So, Marsha is grabbing the bull by the horns and she's being proactive. I can't ask for anything more from a human being than that. So, she has nothing, you know, preempting, there's no nothing that is starting this except she saw one of our YouTube videos, and she's like, " I want to learn how I can eat better." That's the bigger mission of this YouTube broadcast.

How can we eat better with common sense and with also enjoying food. It's possible, folks, if we just get right back to work. So, keep your rice if you want it.

You may say, "You know what, girl, I don't need it." I don't need it, but I like it, so I have it a few times a week. I eat rice maybe a couple times a week, 1/2 a cup, depending upon what I'm doing that day. 1/2 a cup or less with my meal.

I surround it with a bunch of high fiber vegetables, and I want you guys to go to kidneystonediet.com to find a grocery list on our blog that is Then you or just Google "High Fiber, Low Oxalate Foods, and Jill," and you'll see it, it'll come up, okay? But that's a grocery list you can print, so you don't even have to think about anything.

Low oxalate foods or moderate oxalate foods that you can go to the grocery store and get and also has high fiber. When we eat high-fiber foods, and we should be getting about, you know, between 25 and 35 g of fiber a day, that will keep us full, so we're not snacking in between meals all the time, and that will also keep our blood sugar stable, too, eating a high-fiber diet, and have that stuff with rice.

Whenever I do have rice, I do have I always have vegetables on my plate, but I make sure I have a nice cup of vegetables on my plate as well, okay? So, what else? Rice alternatives?

You don't need rice alternatives, but if you wanted to, Marsha, if they're available by you, I like to do the cauliflower rice, the broccoli rice.

### Cauliflower Rice and High-Fiber Food Options

00:20:53 Jill Harris

Those kinds of things you can find in your in your freezer section. Now these days, you stick them in the microwave for 5 minutes, boom, bang, bomb, you got them. Beautiful!

You don't even have to worry about it. So, great alternatives. You're going to see I think there's butternut squash things you can use.

There's all kinds of rice alternatives, but you also don't have to take rice off your plate. It's not high in oxalate. So, I think I got that all.

Is that correct, Jeff? What did I miss?

00:21:24 Jeff Sarris

Yeah, and the alternatives is all I was just going to add there was I think the cauliflower rices are a great option when someone wants to go that route, like you said. Not obligated to, but like even looking at the list here, half a cup cooked, 1 mg of oxalate for cauliflower specifically, for cauliflower.

00:21:46 Jill Harris

Right.

00:21:47 Jeff Sarris

Yeah, actually, let me type in rice and just see here. Yeah, it's low. Yeah, it's going to be, yeah, white rice cooked 1 cup is 4 mg.

So, it is, like you were saying, it's there's the options there. One has more carbs than the other, which is something totally fair to be like, "I want to reduce the carbs, reduce the sugar," but like you said, like the whole diet is focused on lowering salt, lowering sugar and added sugars. So, collectively it is going to help.

And I just wanted to mention, you said half a cup of rice, that's probably cooked, right?

00:22:21 Jill Harris

Yes, thank you. Yeah.

00:22:22 Jeff Sarris

Yeah, because uncooked, that would sort of balloon into a fair amount of rice, but yeah, cooked rice, sort of when we're looking at the measurements for quantities. But, yeah, I mean, I, too, like you know this, but, like, low carb has been such a huge part of me sort of dialing in where I feel best. And it's been 12 years now where I've I'm not no carb.

00:22:45 Jill Harris

Yeah, let me ask you this. I'm going to interrupt you because I think it's important that, you know, I think it's important that, because you're very healthy, too, obviously, birds of a feather. But would you like to tell people your journey about that?

Like why did you, at 12 years ago, wake up one day and say, "Hey, this is what I'm thinking." Tell us.

### Low-Carb Diets and Afternoon Brain Fog

00:23:07 Jeff Sarris

Yeah, I mean, it was something finding the information through sort of like-minded individuals and finding a certain a specific author in blog, he had a book, called The Primal Blueprint, so it was sort of ancestral health and the paleo diet and this and that, and all of this stuff, realizing all the science connected to it, and how valuable that is for living a better life.

Like that's the whole thing about this show is to live a better life. Like that's that's what we're trying to help people do. And it's not that I wanted to optimize just like I want to live Sort of the thing is live long, drop dead.

Like I want to be vibrant as long as I possibly can. And I like to think I'm still relatively young. I just turned 40.

But like things change as life goes on.

And I noticed when I worked a job, every afternoon, I just had that brain fog. I was completely asleep, 2:00 p.m. I just like I wanted to take a nap every day.

And then I was like, "Oh, wait. As soon as I take if I'm not having pasta at lunch and I'm having like high-quality foods." Oh, wait a minute. I'm not sleepy in the afternoon.

All these little things started to happen where I was learning I was having these really dramatic sugar spikes and crashes. And I was like, "Oh, I'm cognitively improved. I'm a better person when I'm not doing that.

And it's I'm able to do more of the things that I want to do with my life and experience it in a richer way." So, carbs, specifically, that's that. But then everything else just with health and wellness and diving into like reducing processed foods and focusing on plants, animals, I always said nuts and seeds until we met.

It was like those were the three things, but then I was like, "Oh, I knew nothing about oxalate." Spent when did we when ever we started this, but I was like almost 10 years in, 8 years in to really like doing health coaching and different things around there. Oxalate never entered the picture. And that's what I think is so valuable, too, because all the low carb and things, especially then, it wasn't everywhere and you don't know what you don't know.

And I felt like I understood health. And then it's like, "Oh, oxalate." And it's like, "Oh, wow, I have been a spinach and almond fiend, and I have lucked out thus far." Understanding that just, you know, happened to work out so far. Like who knows, like there could be there could be stones in there.

00:25:35 Jill Harris

Yeah. It could be stones in there. Yeah.

00:25:36 Jeff Sarris

Yeah, but it's not anything I ever had on my radar. And now with what I know, I changed that part of how I'm approaching my diet, like my actual day-to-day diet, but.

00:25:50 Jill Harris

Well, yeah. I think I think it's so important, too, what I what I love teaching so much is that, you know, what I hear every day is, "Jill, I've been eating the same thing for 25 years." It's like, you know, or I hear this every day, "You know, I did this to myself, Jill." Again, you didn't know what you didn't know. But so, because I've talked to so many people throughout the last 24 years, I know what people do, not because I'm Einstein, because people have told me, so I know what people do.

And what they do is they find a healthy food and they just think the more I eat it, the healthier I will be. And it makes total sense. I mean, it makes total sense, unless you're a kidney stone former.

And then, next thing you know, and then you start Googling and then there's so much crazy information. So, I think that, you know, people who get to us it's because they had a kidney stone, but then we get a captive audience, and this is what I love, then it's not just about teaching about kidney stones, it's how can we teach overall nutrition in a way that has I'm trying to put common sense back on people's plates because the diet industry has taken it away from us.

We are lost.

### Expanding Dietary Variety Beyond Daily Staples

00:27:12 Jill Harris

And just like Marsha says, "I don't know what to believe on the internet. There's so much conflicting information." And we all know this because everybody also has their own belief system on what a healthy diet is. And one of the reasons I can talk about diet for so many years is, number one, this diet ain't going nowhere.

You're lowering your salt, you're lowering added sugar, you're getting enough fluids, again, you're making sure you get some calcium, whether it's a dairy source or non-dairy source, not overeating any food, including meat protein, and, you know, and watching oxalate, of course, but that's the least important thing, and not overeating any food, people, and not eating the same darn foods over and over.

Now, when you're first starting the Kidney Stone Diet, I get people want to feel safe and they want to eat the same things for a while. I get it. But after they've had their feet wet for a while, I like them to broaden their horizons.

There's a bounty of food in our world. Go try some different foods other than a freaking banana. I mean, come on, you know.

There's so many beautiful fruits.

When I first get on the phone with people, people are like, "Oh, my god, Jill. I just want my banana." I'm like, "Oh, I'm going to give you homework. I'm just saying, pick one fruit, I don't give a damn what it is, just pick one." Then I'll get on a phone call when we're going over their follow-up urine collection, "Well, Jill, I tried that fruit, and guess what?

You're a pain in my ass because I love, I have two fruits now I eat plus the banana." And that's how we build up more nutrition for this beautiful body of ours, right? So, it's but it's slow, people. It's a process, right?

And then, as Jeff changed his diet 12 years ago, he's learned things along the way, and the one thing about diet and nutrition, guys, there's it's such a new field, right? I mean, we're always going to learn new things, but it hasn't changed much in my 24 years, the things I'm talking about, right? Because we're we're asking people to just try to be more rational about how they're approaching diet without any tricks and, you know, you know, not being tricky about it, just eating food within normal portion size, enjoying your favorite things here and there, and, you know, it's a process though, learning how to do it.

It just is, and also to go against diet culture and say, "It ain't quick and easy, folks." You've got a little learning curve ahead of you.

### Kidney Stone Diet Community and Online Resources

00:29:31 Jill Harris

So, if you feel overwhelmed or anxious right now, that's absolutely normal. So, just stick with us here on this YouTube channel, go to kidneystonediet, there's so much information, go to the Facebook page, Kidney Stone Diet with Jill Harris, something like that, it's a private page because people post their medical stuff, so it's a closed group, people can't read it from your other Facebook groups, and kidneystonediet.com for so much free information, Spotify, what else, Jeff?

I mean, we're all over. TikTok, freaking Instagram, go look. It's all over, free.

00:30:05 Jeff Sarris

Yeah, I think that's a perfect spot to wrap because that encompasses everything. There's so much free information. We want to reach as many people as we can with the tried and true.

Like you said, the health info isn't what's changing. It's the perception of it. Like what this is, this hasn't changed forever.

But you get the on again, off again diets, like, "Oh, drink this juice, do this. It's a quick fix." Those things are always changing, but the actual how we fuel our bodies hasn't. We're still the same humans we've been for millennia.

So, it's just how we work. But, anyway, thanks again for your question, Marsha. If you're out there with a question, the number is 773-789-8763 and we'd love to feature your voice on a future episode.

And, yeah, I think this is a perfect spot to wrap.

00:30:57 Jill Harris

And subscribe to the channel!

00:30:58 Jeff Sarris

Yes, definitely.

00:30:59 Jill Harris

I mean, come on, people. You need to help us with that. We don't ask for much.

Subscribe to the channel and write something in the comments because we love building the community here, so that's really important to us, too. I love answering those questions on the YouTube on our YouTube channel here.

00:31:12 Jeff Sarris

And if you're listening on Spotify, a little review goes a long way, so Spotify or Apple. But, anyway, thanks again for listening and we'll see you next time.

00:31:21 Jill Harris

Thank you, Marsha. You're the bomb. You're the bomb.com, Marsha.
