# The number one way to prevent kidney stones Source: https://kidneystonediet.com/ep/the-number-one-way-to-prevent-kidney-stones/ Published: 2022-04-19 --- [![Kidney Stone Diet Podcast](https://kidneystonediet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Kidney-Stone-Diet-Podcast-1-1024x1024.jpg)](https://kidneystonediet.com/podcast/) [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3SlvjWGyeo)[Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-number-one-way-to-prevent-kidney-stones/id1528474326?i=1000558042634&uo=4)[Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/6uw4s0PMii7eItTY8GBLl5)[Amazon Music](https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/0868148d-adfd-411d-b3f2-71a0ad1461ec) April 19, 2022 --- ![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 the age old question, what’s the best way to prevent kidney stones? Have a question? Leave us a voicemail at (773) 789-8763.\  \  **= Stop your kidney stones once and for all =**\ • [Kidney Stone Prevention Course](https://kidneystonediet.com/kidney-stone-prevention)\ • [Kidney Stone Diet Meal Plans](https://kidneystonediet.com/mealplans/)\ • [24 Hour Urine Collection Analysis](https://kidneystonediet.com/24-hour-urine-analysis/)\ • [Private Coaching](https://kidneystonediet.com/coaching/) **= 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/) 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, Executive Producer of the Netflix documentary Minimalism, and host of the [Starting Now podcast](https://spyr.fm/now). Reach out on Twitter! [@jeffSARRIS](https://twitter.com/jeffSARRIS) ## Chapters - 00:00:00 Spring Break Trip to the Florida Everglades - 00:04:17 Psychology of Habit Change and Channel Giveaway - 00:06:27 Dietary Factors That Increase Kidney Stone Risk - 00:09:19 Core Guidelines of the Kidney Stone Diet - 00:14:15 Calcium and Oxalate Binding in High Oxalate Foods - 00:18:39 Kidney Stone Prevention Resources and Listener Hotline ## Transcript ### Spring Break Trip to the Florida Everglades 00:00:00 Jill Harris SPYR. 00:00:13 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 And I'm Jill Harris, your kidney stone prevention nurse. Well hello, Jeff. 00:00:25 Jeff Sarris How's it going today? 00:00:27 Jill Harris Okay, so, 00:00:29 Jeff Sarris You're ready to jump right in. 00:00:30 Jill Harris You're freaking Yeah, well, it's So, today we're going to talk about the number one way to prevent kidney stones, so stay tuned for that. But I do have to say this, it's like, "Okay, so It is the day before Easter." Whatever it is, April 16th or something, and it is freaking freezing! I had a scarf on today. Now, you would think, "Well, you're in the Midwest." We never get sick about talking about the weather here because it's always Even though we live here, you're just shocked that you're wearing a scarf and mittens April 16th. It's ridiculous. 00:01:03 Jeff Sarris Oh, yeah. Yeah, I mean, I am ready for summer because Oh, but also, you were recently on a trip. How was your trip? We haven't talked about that at all. 00:01:13 Jill Harris Oh, that's right. Yeah, so I went to Florida during spring break, which was hilarious, but I had a very nice accommodations and, you know, I did I stayed away from all the spring, Spring break craziness, obviously, cuz I'm a middle-aged woman and I don't do spring break craziness. So, yes, it was just I have to say I just did not do much of anything. I went to the Everglades, though. I did do that. 00:01:38 Jeff Sarris Oh, nice. 00:01:39 Jill Harris And that was freaking amazing. Have you ever done that? 00:01:41 Jeff Sarris So, I've only sort of driven through, I've never like, done anything. 00:01:46 Jill Harris Oh! You got to do it! Like the big fan on the boat, and you're like You're like a hoverboard, but in a swamp. I don't know, it's amazing. 00:01:55 Jeff Sarris Nice. 00:01:56 Jill Harris Lots of alligators all over the place, it was really beautiful. And then one day, too, we went to We wanted to go see, deep sea fishing, but it was it was like this, so we were like, "No." So, they just took us like Before the sea got real deep and we did like baby fishing, which you got like thousands of fish. We put them back, of course, but they were little, so it wasn't like you were catching big things, but whatever. Just to be out of this weather for a little while. Those were the only two things I did. Otherwise, I really just lay around by the pool with my sunscreen on, of course, and it was The weather was amazing, which you know with Florida cuz you've been. You know, it can be hit or miss, right? There's no guarantee. So, I mean, I just feel so lucky cuz it's been years since I've taken a full week off. It's been years! So, I really appreciated the time away, really did. 00:02:48 Jeff Sarris Yeah, that's the challenge. The challenge with running your own business is you could work nonstop through trips, through everything. So, like I was really glad you were taking a little bit of time for yourself, like as much as you need, of course, but like to actually take time for yourself is so important. 00:03:02 Jill Harris Yes, I, of course, went on the Kidney Stone Diet, Facebook page because that I have to keep up with, and but, and people were like, "Jill, I thought you were supposed to be on vacation." But that Facebook page I just love, too. So, you know, it's not like it's a burden for me, so. And then, you know, when you get back from a vacation owning your own business, you I have been working every weekend since. So, I have been nonstop working and that's why you don't take off as much because you know what you're going to catch what for coming back! So, it can be difficult, you know? But, you know, thank God that you and I love our jobs. So, you know, imagine if we didn't love our jobs, Jeff. It would be terrible. 00:03:43 Jeff Sarris Oh, yeah. Yeah, it's why we do what we do because like this is just This is who we are, like who we are at the core. And it's like we're creators, we're sort of artists in our own way in what we're creating, and also like in our lanes, and your lane is within kidney stones. 00:03:58 Jill Harris Right, right. And so, you know, when you when you truly and, you know, this is shit's on every stupid bumper sticker, but when you love what you do, you really don't feel like you're ever working. So, I love talking about a healthy lifestyle. I love talking about, and I know you're into this kind of stuff, too, is what helps humans change? ### Psychology of Habit Change and Channel Giveaway 00:04:17 Jill Harris You know, nobody is any nobody's way different than anybody else, right? So, what helps us change? Why don't we change? What are we afraid of? Each person is a little different, so what I say to one person may not help them, but it will help another one. So, that, the psychology of change and habits and all that, that's so exciting and fun for me. So, I'm always interested in learning new ways to communicate that effectively for patients so they can live a healthier lifestyle because This what we're asking people to do is not easy, and if it were easy, then there would be no podcast on this and there would not be a multi-billion dollar diet industry if this were easy. It's not, so. 00:04:58 Jeff Sarris Absolutely. So, before we dive into the, to the topic today, I just wanted to mention if you're not already subscribed, it would mean the world to us if you could, subscribe, hit that little bell for notifications. It goes a long way. I just wanted to mention that up front, just because, yeah, we are so close to what are we up to right now? Do you remember off-hand? 00:05:17 Jill Harris We're at like 4,500 subscribers, and I'm throwing it out there, people. I'm going to throw that out here. I've We have a newsletter and I'm always offering things in that newsletter for my kidney stone folks. There's like over 20,000 people on it, and so it's a great way to keep abreast what's going on in the kidney stone world, all the offerings from the Kidney Stone Diet, but also I've been doing a little raffle. If you subscribe to the YouTube channel, Email me at jill@kidneystonediet.com, say that you subscribed, and I will put you in a raffle to win a free consult with me. I'm picking two people. So, we'll do whatever we can. I'll be giving away free things if I have to get you to subscribe now! Subscribe, please! 00:06:01 Jeff Sarris Yeah, definitely! 00:06:01 Jill Harris Do it for us, please! 00:06:03 Jeff Sarris Yeah, because it goes a long way because we're just trying to get out to the most people we can, the like good information because there's a lot of there's just so much information out there. And Jill has the experience. We want to reach as many people as possible. So, thank you so much for everyone who's already subscribed. And yeah, if you haven't already, it'd mean the world if you do. But why don't we dive right into this episode? This week's topic which, again, is the number one way to prevent kidney stones. ### Dietary Factors That Increase Kidney Stone Risk 00:06:27 Jill Harris Number one way to prevent kidney stones! Okay, so you're not going to like what I have to say because you're looking for some quick fix, some flower to smoke or some kind of dance or some kind of roller coaster ride. It's not that. Eating and drinking the way one should, which would mean to you to follow the Kidney Stone Diet. Now, listen, before you're like, "Oh boy, she tricked us." Not tricking you. People ask me all the time, "How can I prevent my kidney stone?" The Kidney Stone Diet. Why, is it something like magical? No. People form kidney stones for many different reasons and we'll do a video on that, too, soon. But many of the reasons have to do with diet. When we eat too much sugar and salt, it will leach calcium out of our bones and dump it into our urine. When we have too much calcium in our urine, that will increase our risk for kidney stones. If we don't drink enough fluids, we will increase our risk for kidney stones, and we should be peeing out 2.5 to 3 L of urine a day. If we eat way too much meat protein, this could cause us to leach calcium out of our bone and also increase uric acid levels. That is another kidney stone risk factor. When we eat too much oxalate, too much think lots of spinach, lots of almond products, And we don't get enough calcium in our diet, that will increase our kidney stone risk. If we don't get enough calcium, also part of the Kidney Stone Diet, when we don't get enough calcium, we put ourself at risk for not only kidney stones, but also osteoporosis. The only way to lower urine oxalate, well, number one is to eat less oxalate, But also, is to get enough calcium so the calcium and the oxalate bind together in your digestive tract and lead in the stool. If you don't have enough calcium, oxalate gets reabsorbed back into your body and you get higher oxalate levels. So, all of the things, each part of the Kidney Stone Diet, fluids, calcium, salt, meat protein, oxalate, sugar, added sugar, all of these things must be Your goals must be met from the Kidney Stone Diet. You can go to kidneystonediet.com to get that goal list. And also Exercise, being a healthy weight, because another risk factor for kidney stones is obesity. So, that's super important. ### Core Guidelines of the Kidney Stone Diet 00:09:19 Jill Harris So, why do you think I can get up for 23 years and talk about this diet every day, all day long? Because what we are promoting here is a is a healthy diet. Get enough calcium. Dairy or non-dairy, folks, don't yell at me you don't drink no animal. You don't have to, use non-dairy sources. Stay away from almond milk. Getting enough calcium, lowering salt and added sugar. That means you're going to eat less crap and you're going to be eating less processed foods, not overeating meat, I'm looking at you guys, keto, okay? You can eat your meat, just don't eat it in a an abundance, okay? Getting enough fluids. Is that it, Jeff? And lowering oxalate. So, now, the oxalate part isn't necessarily a healthy thing, okay? So, but for kidney stone formers, and that's pretty much why we can call this the Kidney Stone Diet, because the oxalate part's thrown in there. This these sets of these sets Jeff! 00:10:22 Jeff Sarris What is it? 00:10:25 Jill Harris This set of goals, these sets of goals, this set of goals 00:10:32 Jeff Sarris I'm nothing without you. 00:10:34 Jill Harris This set of goals. So, although it will prevent kidney stones. It's just healthy. Anybody listening to me scream about this, you want to lose weight? I have two people in my Kidney Stone Prevention Course right now in the accountability calls, one has kept off, so far, 90 lbs I think, the other 50 lbs. Come on! It's a healthy diet along with other all the other mantras we say: portion, not perfection, you know, eat responsibly, don't overeat all the time, move your body. It's so very important. So, The number one way to prevent kidney stones is to make sure you're eating and moving and taking care of yourself. Now, some of you will still get kidney stones despite the Kidney Stone Diet. Very few of you, by the way, but some of you will also need medications thrown in, so recognize that, too, because some of you have hypercalciuria, which just means genetically you're prone to too much calcium in your urine, and you will be have You will have to be put on a medication. But, that medication don't work as well unless you're doing this diet, as well. So, all of it goes hand in hand. The number one way to prevent kidney stones is follow the Kidney Stone Diet. Do it, I promise you will lessen your stone risk. There is no doubt about that. And, plus, you'll just be healthier people because, again, it's just a healthy diet. All right, that's it, I'm done. 00:12:03 Jeff Sarris Well, yeah. And to find the resources and the goals, if you just go to kidneystonediet.com/start, which I'll bring that up right now, we have the start here page which breaks everything down. You can right at the top, what is the Kidney Stone Diet, you can find that article. There's oxalate food list, so you know what's safe for oxalate. Obviously, the podcast you're listening to, the Facebook group, and then the week- weekend wellness newsletter where every Saturday Jill is sending out a free email where yeah, obviously free, but it's sending out an email to just keep you on track and sort of inspire you to keep moving along in your day. But all of this, so it's sort of the number one way to prevent is a lot of things, like which can be a little daunting, but this is why we're here with the show, why Jill's here, why she's checking in with you every Saturday, and all of these things, the Facebook group, because This one set of goals, it is one cohesive set of goals, will make a it will have a very positive impact on your kidney stone risk. And that is what we're what we're here for is to reduce that risk and hopefully make it so you never create stones again. 00:13:10 Jill Harris You know, and I'll say this, people are always like, "Jill, I want a natural way." There ain't no more natural than what we're talking about here. We're talking about eating well! There don't There's not What's more natural than that? Yes, you can smoke a herb if you want. I guess that's natural, but this, what I'm talking about, don't get more natural than drinking water and lowering your sugar and salt and eating really Natural foods, not processed. I'm going to ask I want to create community here, I'm not trying to be sneaky, I'm going to tell you why I'm adding the question of the day. I'm adding the question of the day because I really want a robust community here like we have on the Facebook page. So, the question of the day is, When you found out about the Kidney Stone Diet, what was the number one thing you were shocked to find out that would help prevent stones? Put it in the comments so we can talk about that. 00:14:02 Jeff Sarris Yeah, whether that's whether that's today, or if you've been along for the ride for a while, like with us on this journey through the podcast or on Facebook, definitely, like what was the first thing that really caught you off guard? Cuz I know for me, ### Calcium and Oxalate Binding in High Oxalate Foods 00:14:15 Jeff Sarris Understanding that connection between calcium and oxalate was something that I didn't realize because in my mind, I think with a lot of people, it's like, "Oh, calcium-oxalate stones, that means too much calcium," 00:14:28 Jill Harris Exactly. 00:14:29 Jeff Sarris Where it can also actually mean the opposite, not enough calcium. And that was something that really blew my mind, and obviously, if you're brand new here and not super familiar with all the details, definitely head over to the site, kidneystonediet.com, where everything is broken down, or we have a catalog now. What is this, this is episode 84. We've 83 other episodes of the show, so you can find so many of your questions right along this list, whether you're on YouTube, on the podcast, on the website, but yeah, that for me, that was one of the things that really blew my mind, and just the fact that oxalate Is so prevalent in a couple foods. Like I came from paleo, keto, sort of that world, and I didn't know almonds could be such a detriment to someone who is in that space, or someone who is in the space of in the sort of realm of creating stones. But also, for me now, like I'm avoiding almonds because like not because I'm just like afraid of oxalate in general, but knowing how just Overwhelming that is in terms of oxalate, I'm like I don't want to lead to creating lead myself to create stones one day because I did spend a lot of time eating a lot of almond products. 00:15:41 Jill Harris Well, that's the thing and I always tell people, because they'll come to me and they say, "Jill, I can't believe I gave myself a kidney stone." But we don't know what we don't know, and we It's human nature to want to consume large amounts of said healthy food because more of it will bring more health to us. It makes perfect sense. It just so happens in the kidney stone world, it doesn't work that way. And so, this is why our mantra of portion, not perfection or all food, except spinach and almonds, in moderation. I mean, you know, if one just ate a few almonds a day, got their calcium every day, did their fluids, lowered salt, lowered all this stuff, do the Kidney Stone Diet, But they only ate a few almonds, They probably wouldn't have got a stone, right? Cuz they were doing all the other things, they were getting enough calcium. It's the combination of eating all the spinach, all the almond products, almond flour for paleo, keto, almond flour, almond milk, almonds, almond butter. You know, we're over-consuming the same product day in and day out in very large quantities Along with, this is so very important, these two words, along with not enough calcium. And it is counterintuitive To think that you're supposed to I hear that all day long, "What the hell, Jill, I'm supposed to eat calcium? My stone was a calcium oxalate, did you not see the stone analysis?" "I saw it, Bob, but let me tell you about calcium." So, you know, the calcium has to bind with the oxalate. It forms a calcium oxalate stone in the kidney and in the urine. And so, you know, people It so doesn't make sense that still some doctors say, "Get off all calcium." And then, what happens? Patients' oxalate values get worse. So, it's it's it's confusing. Makes sense that people don't understand that, but I always get so sad when people say they feel so bad about themselves cuz they're like, "I can't believe I put myself through this." You didn't know what you didn't know, folks, and who would know this unless you get a kidney stone, right? Nobody's googling kidney stones if they don't if they've never had one, who cares about them? So, the reason I love kidney stones, though, is because then people have to learn how to eat healthy, and the pain that they've endured and all the surgeries, perhaps a nephrectomy where they lose a kidney, Then they're like, "Oh, let me see what she's saying." 00:18:07 Jeff Sarris Yeah. 00:18:08 Jill Harris So, I get my audience because of the pain that people have been through, right? So, it makes patients want to change their diet. So, it's selfishly, as a nurse, it's been very rewarding for me because I actually get to help people that want to change based upon health reasons, not just to look adorable in a new tank top, okay? So, it's it's it makes me happy that people do want to learn, so that's great. That's the one good thing about stones. That's it, though. ### Kidney Stone Prevention Resources and Listener Hotline 00:18:39 Jeff Sarris Yeah, yeah, it's just that impetus to dive deeper. But yeah, so thank you for tuning in today, and again if you haven't subscribed already, if you hit subscribe and that little bell, it means the world to us because it really helps us reach more people. And if you have a question that you would like answered on the show, the number is 773-789-8763 and we will feature your question on a future episode. And again, yeah, just head over to kidneystonediet.com where you'll find all the details, everything about the Kidney Stone Diet, the free weekly email, the link to the Facebook group, which is a very active group with an amazing community of people. 00:19:15 Jill Harris Love them, love them, love them. 00:19:16 Jeff Sarris Yeah, but I think that'll be a good spot to wrap this week. So, thanks again for tuning in and we will see you next time. 00:19:22 Jill Harris Thank you for tuning in. Bye! 00:19:25 Jeff Sarris Bye.