# What is the best food to eat when you have kidney stones? Source: https://kidneystonediet.com/ep/what-is-the-best-food-to-eat-when-you-have-kidney-stones/ Published: 2021-12-07 --- [![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=tjgt56CmTR0)[Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-is-the-best-food-to-eat-when-you-have-kidney-stones/id1528474326?i=1000544218218&uo=4)[Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/38jtvHavhlITtDKp5wFb92)[Amazon Music](https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/0868148d-adfd-411d-b3f2-71a0ad1461ec) December 7, 2021 --- ![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 what may be the most frequently asked kidney stone question on the internet: “What’s the best food to eat when you have 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 Searching for a Single Kidney Stone Solution - 00:03:46 Core Guidelines of the Kidney Stone Diet - 00:06:55 Combining Prescription Medications with Dietary Changes - 00:09:24 Researching and Managing Long-Term Kidney Health ## Transcript ### Searching for a Single Kidney Stone Solution 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. 00:00:22 Jill Harris And I'm Jill Harris, your kidney stone prevention nurse. Jeff, we've done a lot of shows today! 00:00:26 Jeff Sarris We really have. Yeah, there's just so much to talk about, too. Like, we haven't had as many, voicemails, which, by the way, if you do have a question, that number is 773-789-8763. But we've been, yeah, going down the FAQ route for these episodes because there is so much to talk about and people always have questions and, we're going to do one that's a little, Specific today, that I think, I think it's good because we all want sort of a quick fix. We want that thing that like, what do I do? What is the one thing I do to be healthier? So, yeah. The question is, what is the best food to eat when you have kidney stones? 00:01:06 Jill Harris Yeah, so I, well, I love how you just did an intro for that because you're absolutely right. And I think, I think, let me fix my, my t-shirt like I got all dressed up for this. I think what you said is extremely true. We, as people, find it all-consuming and very irritating that there's just not one pill. There's just not one thing. "What is it, Jill, that I need to do that never make a kidney stone again? Is it lemon juice? Is it chanca piedra? Is it water? Is it Calcium? Is it oxalate? Oh, it's oxalate, isn't it? What is it, Jill? What is it? What is it?" People, there's not one thing for any health problem. There's always going to be, and this is why it's hard for us, right? There's not one food. There's just not. It's a lot of different things. No matter what medical condition you're dealing with, no matter if you're trying to lose weight, it's not going to be this mysterious, you know, the one thing about losing weight is get rid of carbs. Well, is that really practical? Are you supposed to go to every function and every holiday without putting your lips around a starch again? Are you kidding me? Is that even, that's just, I'm not a fan, as you can tell. Now, for you keto people or paleo people, it's absolutely fine if you dig that. So if you dig that, I'm all for it, man! But what about the millions of people that try it, lose weight, and then gain it back, which is what happens, right? Most people are not that committed and they can't give up a Cinnabon for the rest of their life. They just won't. And when we deprive ourselves, We're going to overeat somewhere. It's going to happen, okay? So anyway. So, there are diets that are made up, "Just do this, and you'll be skinny mini." Well, eventually, you'll gain the weight back. That's the message there, for most people. For kidney stone disease, and when I go over these urine collections with people, they're like, "Oh! Oh! Really? All of this?" Yes! "My doctor didn't tell me any of this! This is complicated!" Your doctor has four minutes to be with you, because he has 50 people waiting after you, okay? And he might want to see his kid one day. So, Jeff, where'd you go? 00:03:39 Jeff Sarris I don't know. I just saw the camera went out. Let's see. You can keep going, and I will fix this while you're talking. ### Core Guidelines of the Kidney Stone Diet 00:03:46 Jill Harris Okay, good. So, the point is this: it's going to take, when I'm going through a urine collection, I'm like, "We're going through citrate, and volume, and oxalate, and calcium." And in essence, people, it's all of it. The Kidney Stone Diet will help prevent kidney stones. It will. But that means you have to pay attention to your sodium. You have to pay attention to all the added sugar you're eating. You have to get enough calcium to feed your skeletons and to get rid of the excess oxalate in your body. Get enough fluids to pee out two and a half to three liters a day. Lower your oxalate to about 100 milligrams a day. Don't overeat meat protein. So, it's all of that. There isn't just one food, but there is one diet that can certainly help, and that is the Kidney Stone Diet. And actually, whether you're dealing with kidney stones or you want to lose weight or a lot of things, cholesterol, if you're going to go on a lower sugar, lower added sugar, and lower sodium diet, you're going to be eating healthier foods. So, you can help a lot of health conditions with the Kidney Stone Diet. It's actually what the USDA recommends for we Americans anyway: paying attention to sugar, paying attention to salt, getting enough calcium, all the things of the Kidney Stone Diet will help. And the biggest thing are these other mantras I talk about: portion, not perfection. That's a big deal in any kind of health condition, in kidney stone disease, in obesity. So, is there one thing to fix any of the problems you have? No, there isn't. Don't let anybody fool you by saying there is. Is there one way to fix your marriage? No, you're going to have to take several steps to do that. Is there one way to be a better parent? No, you're going to have to take several steps to do that. Maybe that's why, you know, these kinds of things are hard in life. It takes a lot. It's never just one thing, or it's very rare that it's just one thing. So, In essence, maybe we tricked you a little, and you can, you could say you're mad in the comments, but this is something I get asked a lot: "What is the one thing I can do to prevent kidney stones?" That is always what I'm asked. There is not one thing that's more important than the other. Now, some of you will, all of it has to be done in conjunction, but some of you will have a lot of the things taken care of by the time you see me, and you do just have two things, Maybe even one thing, but that's rare. It's usually at least a couple things going on in your urine collections that are, that is increasing your risk to make new stones. So, I guess the answer is, there is not one trick, but there is one diet that will help. Also, I want you to recognize, too, that there are a lot of people in the kidney stone, in the kidney stone world, patients that do have to go on medications. There are certain medications that will help kidney stone formers, too. ### Combining Prescription Medications with Dietary Changes 00:06:55 Jill Harris But you don't get out of doing the diet. It goes in, in conjunction with doing the diet, just so you know. Are you there, Jeff? I don't like it when you're not with me in space. 00:07:04 Jeff Sarris I know, I'm still here. I'm having a little trouble with the camera, so we may continue this episode just with me invisible, I think! I'm just swapping out the battery just to see if that'll fix, fix it, but yeah. I mean, that is the thing, we all want that simple fix, the quick fix, but it just, it isn't there, unfortunately. It's– 00:07:26 Jill Harris It's just not, and I'll have people say, "Oh my gosh, Jill," when they first come to me, they're like, "This is really overwhelming." But within, if they're doing an hour consult with me or they're doing the Kidney Stone Prevention Course, i- they always get it. So, I have done this for so long that I can get this stuff, I know, I know how to say it. I know who I'm talking to, so I may tweak what I'm saying a little bit different, but I do get the message across. I promise I do. So, when people work with me, they come to me overwhelmed and they leave going, "Oh, my god, thank you." And I'm not saying that to, play my own guitar. I don't know the analogy. I'm not saying it to– 00:08:10 Jeff Sarris Toot your own horn. 00:08:11 Jill Harris Thank you. What the hell, guitar? I'm more of a rock and roller, I guess, and less of a band girl. But anyway, I'm not saying it to– I'm not saying it to toot my own horn! I'm saying it so you know that this is doable, so you know that you don't have to be overwhelmed. You just don't! And, and you're saying, "Well, yeah, girl, you're telling me to pay for something." Don't pay for nothing! Just keep watching these YouTubes. Do you know how many things I've learned in my life by watching YouTube? And then, eventually, I was like, " let me buy this because I want to get it over quick." I'm watching a hundred hours of YouTube. But I'm just saying, don't pay for nothing. Go to kidneystonediet.com, go to the blog, go to the start page. There's so many ref- resources there. I have a, free recipes on the website, and also this YouTube channel has, I don't know, 50-plus susies on it. So, start doing your research. Just like there's not one answer for any problem we have in our life, this one being diet, it's going to be a combination. But also, you've got to do some education, too. You've got to grab the research. ### Researching and Managing Long-Term Kidney Health 00:09:24 Jill Harris I already know that you're interested in helping yourself because you found us here. And so, please, do whatever you can to also engross yourself in the research. When I want to learn something new, I really throw myself into it. So, do that because this is about your health. Do you know how many patients that I've I have and they've lost their kidney or they now have chronic kidney disease or th- they have hypertension now or they have, they have other things due to, they lost a kidney! I didn't say that. We've been doing a lot of podcast today. But all due to kidney stones. So, you'll have an increased risk of those things because of all the surgeries you have to do, the time lost off work, the pain, the unexpected stone incident. So, all of that, people, the reason I get up every day and do this work for 22 years is because y- you can get help with this. I promise you, you can. So, grab our free resources. There's not a quick fix for any problem you have in the world. There's just not. You're going to have to do some digging. You're going to have to find the right person to help you, and then you're going to have to do the work. The end. 00:10:35 Jeff Sarris Yeah, and I mean, the digging, you've you've encapsulated all of this for people on at kidneystonediet.com and through the course and through all of this. So, like it takes a lot of the self, self-guided, self-motivated effort. But also, you've encapsulated things in a way that makes it, it makes it very consumable, very doable for someone. So, you don't have to worry about, you're not doing any original research. You're not trying to find everything because Jill has spent these decades working with people and knows what works and how she can help, everyone on an individual basis. Which, on that note, I mean, through the Kidney Stone Prevention Course, you have the one-on-one, or not one-on-one, the group, sessions that happen all the time. 00:11:18 Jill Harris So much fun. 00:11:18 Jeff Sarris Yeah, and that is such a valuable piece of it because, as Jill always says, every- everyone is a little different. I mean, we have this framework, these goals that the Kidney Stone Diet sets out to help you, achieve. But along those lines, you also, your, you're going to have your own situation. Each one of us have our own situation. So, yeah, it's so valuable. Like I think it's immensely valuable. And like if you want to learn more, head over to kidneystonediet.com, and you'll see it right on the home page where you can learn more about the course or subscribe to the email newsletter or any of the free stuff that's that's out there. 00:11:53 Jill Harris Yep. 00:11:54 Jeff Sarris But yeah. So, I'm back on video now, but I think that's a good spot to wrap. So, again, thank you for listening to the show. And, if you give us a little subscribe and thumbs up on YouTube, it goes a long way. And I think, that'll do it for this week. So, thanks, Jill. 00:12:07 Jill Harris Thanks, that was awesome. I miss you, though. I don't like it when you're not here with me. 00:12:11 Jeff Sarris Yeah, I know. It was weird. I mean, but I don't know why the camera just decided to call it quits. But, yeah, we're back now, so it's all good. 00:12:20 Jill Harris All right, awesome. Thanks, guys, so much. Have a great week! 00:12:22 Jeff Sarris Yeah, see you next time. 00:12:23 Jill Harris Bye!