In this episode, Jill has another Fact or Fiction episode where she talks about cranberry juice and if it can prevent kidney stones.
While cranberry juice can help with urinary tract infections (UTIs), it does not prevent kidney stones. Jill emphasizes the importance of fluid intake and urine output in kidney stone prevention, recommending two and a half to three liters of urine output per day. She explains that staying hydrated helps flush out crystals and waste from the kidneys, reducing the risk of stone formation.
Takeaways
- Cranberry juice does not prevent kidney stones, but it can help with urinary tract infections.
- Fluid intake should be based on urine output, aiming for two and a half to three liters per day.
- Staying hydrated helps flush out crystals and waste from the kidneys, reducing the risk of stone formation.
- The Kidney Stone Diet website offers resources like the Kidney Stone Prevention Course and meal plans.
Jeff Sarris
This week on the podcast, we are doing another fact or fiction episode. Is it fact or fiction that cranberry juice will prevent my kidney stones?
Welcome back to the Kidney Stone Diet Podcast, a show about reducing your kidney stone risk and living your best life. I’m your host and fellow student, Jeff Sarris.
Jill Harris
And I’m Jill Harris, your kidney stone prevention nurse. Hello, Jeff.
Jeff Sarris
You’ve got another kidney stone diet shirt. I like the simplicity of the text just across the front. That always, it always gets me. I love the little icon just in general. It’s, I don’t know.
Jill Harris
Oh God, me too, the little kidney stone he put in there. So Dave, I always like to shout out to him. There’s Jeff and Jill and Dave, the three of us run Kidney Stone Diet. And Dave is the one that makes everything beautiful. The website, all the graphics, the blog post, the newsletter, the shirts, anything that has to do with our logo, he does all of it. And it’s just beautiful. I mean, it’s just beautiful. you know, and Jeff does all the coding and all how everything goes together and all.
If you guys knew what really goes beyond me just showing up and laughing and hooting and hollering, I mean, there’s a lot of stuff that goes, that goes into what we do. The meal plan service alone, you know, for only $24 a month, whatever it is, you get hundreds of recipes. It’s like the photography, the coding of the website, all of it. Just all of it, the recipes, figuring out the oxalate, the added salt, the sugar, the everything, all the notes, the education with each recipe, all of these things.
You know, and the reason I bring it up is so people aren’t like, wow, they’re amazing. The reason I bring it up is because I have this fascination in the world when you’re looking at a business, you’re like, ah, bit boop bop. But when you go behind the scenes of what it takes to do something, you’re like,
Oh my God, it is amazing the work that it takes, you know? So yeah, I mean, you know, the t -shirts and the hoodies and everything that I’m always wearing, Dave does a fabulous job with them. He does, he’s amazing, he’s amazing.
Jeff Sarris
Absolutely.
Yeah. Well, yeah, we’re a good team, the three of us. And I think the big thing is like, like saying, like you see how businesses and things operate, but like it can feel, it can look simple, but simple, it doesn’t mean easy, you know, it takes a lot of effort to create the simplicity because we also want it to be simple for patients, for people with kidney stones. We want it to be simple to get the answers and to also get the support that everyone needs. So yeah, we put a lot of effort in.
Jill Harris
Yes, we are.
That’s exactly right.
Jeff Sarris
And I think, I mean, I know we all agree that it’s worth it. It’s worth all of the time to do everything we can to help as many people as possible.
Jill Harris
Oh my God, it’s worth it. And I’ve been so lately, I’ve always been like this. I’m very sappy in real life and I’ve always been like this as far as grateful. But the Kidney Stone community, the way that it embraces us and above all trusts us. I mean, there’s, you know, almost 30 ,000 people alone just on the newsletter. And then there’s another, you know, 25 ,000 on Facebook between the two groups and Instagram, you know, all the things, right? And so…
When I look at that, and this is pretty stuff I’m talking about. This isn’t paid stuff. I’m just saying free shit, free people signed up to get information from us every week in some form. And I’m like, when I look at that, I’m like, wow, that many people trust us with what we’re saying. And I just, I’m so grateful for that. The people on the, we’re almost at 10,000 subscribers so please subscribe by the way so there’s another 10 ,000 so you know almost 80 -90 ,000 subscribers to all these resources that we have and it’s just amazing that you know people trust us and as a cancer patient myself and somebody that looks outward to get some help on the internet you know I pick who I pick because I trust them.
And so, and it’s very important as a sick person or somebody that has an ailment, you need to trust the people you’re listening to. And so I just want to say thank you. Jeff and I are, you know, we’re just always kind of amazed how many people take the time to listen to what we’re saying. And we value you just as much as you value us. So thank you for that. And I know people are like, just get to it Jill about cranberry juice. But I’ve got to say it, it comes on like my heart feels like a little bursty about it and I’ve got to say it.
So I said it. That’s it.
Cranberry Juice and Kidney Stones
Jeff Sarris
Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, with that, we could dive into today’s fact or fiction. So does cranberry juice prevent kidney stones? Which that’s one that I feel like I’ve heard for a very long time. Like even before I knew anything about kidney stones, I don’t know why that just always has seeped in. I feel like since I was a kid, but I don’t even know why I would have heard it then, but it came from somewhere.
Jill Harris
Oh yeah.
It’s a very popular myth that cranberry juice will prevent kidney stones. I think people get a little confused and rightly so. A lot of kidney stone patients will have UTIs. Cranberry juice can help patients that have UTIs. They will not do anything for kidney stones. So, you know, I’ve written about this before in, I have an article on the 28 myths of kidney stones on my blog at kidneystonediet.com. And I write about this and I say cranberry juice. So here’s the thing, if you’re looking for cranberry juice, it counts toward your total fluid intake. So it’s fluids. That’s great. That will prevent kidney stones. That will help prevent kidney stones, more fluids. But I want everyone to notice, turn it around, Buster Brown, and look at your label for cranberry juice.
Make sure it doesn’t have any added sugar, first of all. And second of all, it has a lot of just natural sugar. It’s concentrated in there. But we don’t count natural sugar in the kidney stone diet, Jill. I know we don’t, but that doesn’t mean we should have 80 grams of natural sugar from cranberry juice every day. Especially if you’re a diabetic or somebody who has any kind of glucose intolerance or anything like that. Plus, it’s calories.
Personally, I don’t want to drink my calories. So let’s be clear here. UTIs and cranberry juice, they go together. Cranberry juice and kidney stone prevention do not. Meaning, do not specifically reach for cranberry juice because you think it’s going to prevent kidney stones. There’s nothing magical in there that will. However, it is added fluid, so that is helpful.
I personally would not choose a juice for added fluid. But you may say, look, Jill, I’m just putting a little bit of it in a glass of water for flavoring. Perfect. I just am always very careful with my words, and I don’t want people to think, did that old lady say she could? Emma, did she say that we could have cranberry juice and that’s going to prevent? No. I’m saying have a little bit. It counts toward your total daily fluid intake. I wouldn’t suggest drinking a ton of cranberry juice because it has so much natural sugar and even though we don’t count natural sugar in the kidney stone diet, it doesn’t mean we can have as much as we want especially for people who have, who are trying to lose weight, who have diabetes, who have to watch the amount of all sugar that they’re consuming. So I just want to be very clear about that.
There’s nothing magical about cranberry juice preventing kidney stones, but it will count towards your daily fluid intake. Don’t use it as a main thing, okay? Anything I, did I mess that up in any way Jeff? I don’t want people to mistake what I’m saying.
Fluid Intake and Urine Output
Jeff Sarris
No, not at all. Yeah, and I was just going to say just to reiterate, how do you quantify how many fluids you should take, you should consume in a day?
Jill Harris
Yes, so we’re annoying Dr. Coe and I. Fred Coe, make sure you go look at his website. It’s just nothing but science on there for all my little science-y friends at kidneystones.uchicago.edu. I’m also on that website. So people always want to say, how much should I drink a day? Many doctors will just generically say 100 ounces, whether you’re a five foot woman or a six foot man. That’s what they’re going to say. And a tiny little woman like that is going to have a heck of a time taking in a hundred ounces. The man, not so much. But we shouldn’t give that generic order. Especially if somebody’s eating a lot of fruits and vegetables, they may be getting a lot of fluids from that. So what Dr. Coe and I say, and other people too, we want two and a half to three liters of urine out of you.
And because we’re also very different, it may take me a lot more to drink to get that output than it does Jeff. We’re all very different. If I’m on a high salt diet, I’m gonna have to drink a lot more because my body’s gonna have to, will retain that fluid, right? To get the same output as somebody who’s not eating a high salt diet. So there’s so many different factors. A total gym rat who’s sweating all the time, they’re gonna have to drink more fluids to get that much output.
Somebody who lives in Arizona where it’s hot, really hot in the summer and they’re construction work and work outside, they’re going to have to drink a lot more water because they’re sweating their fluids out. So that’s why we say here’s the output. You get there how you need to, but that’s what we’re looking for, right? So we don’t say the hundred ounces, but I will say, because then people push me, they’re like, I need to know. So I will, when I’m talking to them.
That’s why private consults are so valuable because I’m asking them, do you work outside? Do you eat a lot of fruits and vegetables? Haven’t had a veggie since 1976, Jill. Okay, so you’re not getting extra fluids from that, right? So you gotta talk to patients and find out what their lifestyle already is. And then you can say, it seems like this much fluid would be right for you.
But typically we are sticking with the two and a half to three liters of urine output. That’s what we want to see. How do I know Jill? Well, I tell people if you’ve done and you better have, if you make a kidney stone, you better do a 24 hour urine collection people. I can’t tell you how many things are on that test that you would never know is wrong with you unless you did the urine collection. That’s a must if you want to prevent kidney stones. So you need to see what’s going on.
So once you do the urine collection, you can see what is going on. And then you get these jugs, you collect your urine in them. And I always tell people, keep those jugs. Because once in a while, you may want to pee in your jug and find out, am I lower than the two liters? It’s months later where you’re not worried about stones anymore, because you just forgot about the whole incident. So once in a while, my kidney stone patients,
They save their jugs and they pee in them to say, oh good, I’m still there. Oh my God, only a liter’s coming out of me these days. I better get my shit together, you know? So that’s what I tell them to do. But typically, the easy way without peeing in a jug, if your urine looks like water coming out of you, you’re very hydrated. You’re doing an excellent job. The darker it is, the more you should drink.
Okay, just like when you first get up in the morning and your urine’s a lot darker, because you know, it’s concentrated from sitting in your body throughout the night. You know, you want, and that’s why when you get up, you want a glass of water, start that process right away. The darker your urine is, that’s all waste that’s been sitting in there. The longer your urine is sitting in your kidneys, in your body, the longer those crystals are looking to hang out with each other. This is why we want you to drink, flush them out, flush them out, flush them out, flush them out.
So they’re not, I think of them, just my own thoughts, as little magnets. And when they’re in your urine, these crystals, calcium oxalate crystals, calcium phosphate crystals, uric acid crystals, all of these crystals are looking to join together. When you flush them out, no chance of that. So this is why we want patients to be hydrated. That’s the whole reason, not to be annoying. We don’t want those crystals to find each other in your urine, in your kidney.
We want them out of you. That’s what the kidneys are doing. They’re filtering your blood, getting all that junk that we don’t need, throwing it into the urine, getting it out of your body. That’s waste, right? So we want to keep that process going. When you don’t drink for long periods of time, those crystals sit in there and they’re really, they’re not social distancing, they’re not wearing masks, they really want to hang out together. So that’s why we want you to drink so much water.
So cranberry juice will not prevent kidney stones.
Jeff Sarris
Yeah, I think that’s a perfect encapsulation of all of it and the whole jam it and the importance of fluids and everything. So if you’re out there, oh yeah, that much is so funny. We talked about it off camera, but it’s huge.
Jill Harris
Look at my mug!
Jeff Sarris
Yeah, if you’re not on YouTube, if you’re just listening, you’ll want to hop over to YouTube and just see the mug is as big as Jill’s head. It is wild.
Jill Harris
It’s 30 ounces. So this is how, I like to say I’m efficient, but I’m really just being lazy. What I usually do is I have my big thing and I just keep filling my glass, but I’m just getting so bored. Plus I’m like doing weight resistance while I’m picking up this glass, because I’m telling you, I think I’m getting carpal tunnel from it.
Jeff Sarris
Oh no. But you’ll have a nice bicep on that right side where you’re drinking. Nice. Sweet. So yeah, for everyone out there with a question, the number is 773 -789 -8763, but definitely head over to kidneystonediet.com where you can find all of the free resources and the premium ones. So the Kidney Stone Prevention Course where Jill takes a deep dive into all of these topics and really outlines it step by step. What you need to be considering, how you need to approach diet to reduce your risk by up to 80%, which is enormous.
And then we also have the kidney stone diet meal plans, which every week you’ll get an entire week’s worth of breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack recipes to stay on track. They’re inspiration. You don’t have to follow them to the letter or anything like that, but you can find all of that and more.
So I think with that, we will wrap for this week. Thanks again to everyone for tuning in. Thank you, Jill, for all the info and we’ll see you next week.
Jill Harris
I love you, Jeff. Everybody have a great week. Bye, guys.
Jeff Sarris
Love you too, bye.
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