In this episode of the Kidney Stone Diet podcast, Jill Harris discusses the importance of understanding oxalates in foods, particularly Brussels sprouts, and how they fit into a Kidney Stone Diet. Jill emphasizes that most people can safely consume up to 100 milligrams of oxalate daily, and that portion control and adequate calcium intake are crucial for managing oxalate levels. She also highlights the benefits of meal plans designed for kidney stone prevention, which provide a variety of delicious and nutritious recipes.
Takeaways
- Brussels sprouts contain 17 milligrams of oxalate per half cup.
- Most people can consume up to 100 milligrams of oxalate daily.
- Portion control is essential in managing oxalate intake.
- Calcium helps lower oxalate absorption in the body.
- Meal plans can include foods that seem high in oxalate.
- Fear of oxalate toxicity is often unfounded.
- Regular exercise can help manage kidney stone risk.
00:00 Introduction
01:30 Debunking Fear-Mongering and Anxiety Around Oxalate
03:32 Portion Control and Calcium for Oxalate Management
05:01 Enjoying Brussels Sprouts and Other Foods on the Kidney Stone Diet
06:29 The Kidney Stone Diet Meal Plans
07:43 Conclusion
Jeff Sarris (00:00)
How much oxalate is in Brussels sprouts? Let’s find out.
Jill Harris (00:04)
Bruxelles sprouts. So a lot of people will take them off thinking they’re very high oxalate. Now, my motto is with oxalate, you get 100 milligrams of oxalate a day. Unless you have male absorption issues, your doctor may have said less, typically it’s 50. But if you don’t have male absorption issues, and male absorption issues are things like bowel disease, Crohn’s, colitis, you’ve had a bariatric surgery, you’ve had major abdominal surgery that leaves you having a hard time absorbing nutrients. Most of you do not have that, so you can get 100 milligrams of oxalate a day. Brussels sprouts are 17 milligrams, says Harvard, for a half a cup. So people might say, well, that’s a lot of oxalate, Jill, not if you have 100. And there’s so many low -oxalate foods that you can absolutely fit.
Even if you wanted to have whatever, 37, know, 35 milligrams of oxalate, have a whole cup. I mean, you know, listen, I just made a salad for the meal plan and I know people are going to be like, what the hell? She put Brussels sprouts in the salad, but I only put half a cup in a whole salad that’s going to serve three people. And also if you should, if you cut them up or shave them, you get a lot of taste for a little amount. And so,
Believe me, some of the foods that are on the Harvard list that you’re nervous and you are restricting yourself from eating, you don’t have to. Often I will hear, Jill, there’s nothing to eat. Jill, there’s nothing to eat. Then clearly you just came here and haven’t listened to me because there’s plenty to eat. So people get very, very anxious about the oxalate portion of the Kidney Stone Diet because it is the one thing you’ll definitely see.
talked about on the internet. You will also see and hear a lot of fear mongering about how oxalate is so toxic and it’s killing you. Again, now almost 26 years, I’ve never had anybody with oxalate poisoning, oxalate toxicity, oxalate dumping. I’ve never had that in my practice with the thousands of patients I’ve dealt with. I’m just telling you what I have experienced. So…
People are running around very anxious because they just had this crazy pain from kidney stones, obviously. They Google kidney stones and they will find everything about Oxley. And every list they look at has something different. We use the Harvard list here at Kidney Stone Diet. We use the Harvard list because we’ve been using it for decades. And when I see people’s follow -up urine collections during my urine consult with them,
They may first have, they came to me with 75 milligrams of oxalate. They had 75 oxalate in their urine. Then they work with me for one time. Then they call me for the follow -up urine collection. We go over that so they can be prepped for their doctor office visit. And their oxalate’s now 22. And it’s not because they took away all the foods. It’s because they stopped eating spinach, chia seeds in abundance every single day.
But the main thing as we always talk about, is it Jeff? What is it besides lowering oxalate
Jeff Sarris (03:32)
Yeah, portion not perfection is a huge part.
Jill Harris (03:35)
Yes, portion non -perfection and getting your what needs met. Calcium. Calcium. the only way we can lower oxalate in our body is to make sure we’re getting our daily calcium needs met, which is generally up to a thousand for women and men and 1 ,200 for postmenopausal women. All right, so when we get enough calcium, calcium and oxalate join in our intestines and then the oxalate leads to the stool.
Jeff Sarris (03:41)
Mm -hmm.
Jill Harris (04:05)
If we’re not getting any calcium in our diet, whether it’s from non -dairy or dairy products, oxalate gets reabsorbed back into the bloodstream and then we have higher oxalate levels. So that’s just as important. If not more important, I have people that don’t change anything about their diet except take away spinach and almonds. They just get their calcium needs met and their oxalate plummets, honestly. And they’re still eating things like Brussels sprouts and other.
higher oxalate foods, but not the highest oxalate foods. So like Jeff said, portion, not perfection. If you don’t have five cups of Brussels sprouts anymore every day, you’re going to have lower oxalates. So you can still have them. You just have to watch how much you have them with. yes, that is something I would definitely make sure I had a dairy source with, whether it non -dairy calcium based beverage or dairy, whatever you prefer, whatever works for your lifestyle. So yes.
you can have Brussels sprouts. Absolutely. They are so delicious. Roasted Brussels sprouts, especially now we’re taping in fall. It’s, they’re amazing. Use them if you’d like.
Jeff Sarris (05:11)
Absolutely. And you mentioned the meal plans and there are other foods throughout the meal plans that people might at first glance be shocked to see included in the recipes. And for anyone who doesn’t know meal plans, it’s a Kidney Stone Diet meal plans at the kidneystonediet.com and every day you get breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack recipes to keep you on track. But yeah, I mean, it’s not that you are pulling away everything that anyone could ever enjoy. There are just
Jill Harris (05:40)
Absolutely, absolutely and all the oxalate is all figured out on every recipe. know, and I’ll put notes with each recipe. Yes, I use Brussels sprouts, but you can see the whole dish is, you know, less than 10 milligrams of oxalate. So people are like, my God, I can have Brussels sprouts again. So, you know, my family has kidney stones. I certainly don’t want to get them and add those to my medical, add that to my medical list. So,
Jeff Sarris (05:41)
Yeah.
Jill Harris (06:05)
All these foods that I make in the meal plan, people are always like, Jill, what do you eat? What do you eat? You work out, you eat right, I want to eat what you’re eating. Get the meal plan for a month. I mean, you’ll get over 100 recipes for 24 bucks. It’s a subscription model. Cancel when you’re done, when you’re done using it. But those are the foods I eat, and they are fiber -packed, protein -packed, you’ll get calcium.
They’re ideas and inspirations. Of course you can tweak them to your lifestyle, but there’s something for everybody. Gluten -free, low carb, vegetarian, vegan, and substitutions when a dish doesn’t, you know, if it’s a meat dish, I’ll say get rid of the meat and put this, you know. So it’s a very successful product. It shows people that yes, there’s plenty for you to eat and you get your life back. And the meal plan, a lot of people buy it.
just to get an idea of really what can they eat every day. So it’s been a very successful product. We’re very happy with that. We’re very pleased that you’re finding it beneficial to you, especially when you’re starting out here. I have people on the meal plan, they’ve been on it since the beginning.
Jeff Sarris (07:13)
Mm -hmm. yeah. And it keeps growing. That’s the thing. There’s always fresh recipes is it’s just, you’re amassing just an amazing library of recipes that you’ve created. But yeah, so yeah, you can find that. You can find the kidney stone prevention course and everything else Kidney Stone Diet related at kidneystonediet.com. And again, if you want to leave us a voicemail to be featured on a future episode, the number is 773 -789 -8764. Previously it was 8763 So.
Jill Harris (07:23)
Absolutely. Yep.
Jeff Sarris (07:43)
773 -789 -8764. Leave us a voicemail and we will feature you next time. So I think that that will wrap and have a week.
Jill Harris (07:45)
New number.
Everybody thank you and go roast some Brussels sprouts.
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