Is chocolate high in oxalate?

In this episode, Jeff Sarris and Jill Harris discuss the relationship between chocolate consumption and kidney stone risk, focusing on oxalate levels in dark and milk chocolate. They emphasize the importance of moderation and pairing chocolate with calcium-rich foods to mitigate potential risks. The conversation highlights the need for personalized dietary advice and the possibility of enjoying treats like chocolate while maintaining kidney health.

Takeaways

Chocolate contains oxalates, which can affect kidney stone risk.
Dark chocolate has higher oxalate levels than milk chocolate.
Moderation is key when consuming chocolate for kidney stone prevention.
Pairing chocolate with calcium-rich foods can help mitigate risks.
It’s important to personalize dietary choices based on individual preferences.
Many people can enjoy chocolate without forming kidney stones.
Consultations can help individuals incorporate treats into their diet.
Celebrating special occasions with chocolate is acceptable.
Portion control is more important than perfection in dietary habits.
Preventing kidney stones doesn’t mean eliminating all enjoyable foods.

00:00 Understanding Oxalates in Chocolate
02:17 The Impact of Dark vs. Milk Chocolate
05:20 Moderation and Compliance in Chocolate Consumption

Jeff Sarris (00:00):
Is chocolate high in oxalate? Let’s talk about that.

Today we’re talking about chocolate. Chocolate is a huge question for various reasons. Obviously people don’t want a lot of oxalate, but there’s also, there’s a little bit of a question mark as to is this going to raise your oxalate and cause kidney stones? So yeah, that’s what we’re going to dive into today.

The Harvard Study Results

Jill (00:20):
So here’s what I’m going to say. It’s very annoying to me. So Harvard did study dark chocolate. Okay. And it’s high. It’s very high. They listed under on the Oxalate food list at kidneystonediet.com says chocolate, dark bar. And one and a half ounce of that, of dark chocolate, is almost 68 milligrams of oxalate. That’s the latest from Harvard.

So that’s high, because it has more cacao in there. So the higher the cacao level, the more oxalates are going to be in that candy bar. Now, milk chocolate, annoyingly so, they didn’t study. Why, Harvard, did you not study milk chocolate? I just, I can’t stand it. What they did study is, if you look under candies, comma, milk chocolate, one and a half ounces of that is seven milligrams.

That was in their revised 2022 Harvard edition thing. So milk chocolate has less cacao, so it will have lower oxalate.

My Approach: Working With People, Not Against Them

Now, if you’re doing a consult with me, I can’t tell you how common it is. If you heard my consult, most people are taking away all chocolate and they’re really sad about it. A lot of people are like, “I don’t even care about chocolate.” So it’s not a big deal for them. Now.

My job as somebody who wants to maintain you being compliant on your lifestyle, the only way we can be compliant long term is to work in treats here and there. So of course you can sometimes have some chocolate. What exactly does that mean? Well, I have patients who say “if I don’t have two Hershey kisses a day, I’m not doing anything,” and they hold me ransom with that. So I say, “Listen, if you talk to me in a consult, the best thing about those consults is I’m going to hear what you must have. And I’ll say, all right, Doreen, I’m going to give you that. But here’s what I want.” And then we work together. And I figure out the prioritize, I’m prioritizing what’s the most important thing for Doreen.

Not just because it’s a rule and she has to do it and blah blah blah, you have to work with people in order to get them to say, “Okay, I don’t mind getting up today because I can have two Hershey Kisses as long as, Doreen, you do this for me. You get your calcium needs met every day.” I would even save a little calcium for those two Hershey Kisses. If you’re drinking milk, maybe just, you know, a little half a cup of milk. Save some calcium for that or have your chocolate kisses with your Greek yogurt. Pair it with some calcium. Okay?

Now, for those of you who are drinking non-dairy milks, is two pieces of chocolate enough to help you absorb all that calcium? Because non-dairy milks you should be eating with the meal. So I would not save it for that. I would put your two little chocolates in with some real calcium, either from yogurt or from lactose-free dairy or whatever.

The Reality: I Don’t Have Patients Making Stones From Small Amounts

Okay? I will tell you this. We do know it has oxalate in it, obviously it has cacao in it. But I don’t have any patients who are making stones because they have a little bit of chocolate even each day. Now, you may say, “There’s no way old lady that I can have just two little bits of chocolate and get on my day.” Well then, no chocolate for you. If chocolate is a trigger food as many of you who tell me it is, then you may not want to bring it in your house. Okay? Now, many people do it that way.

Many people just have chocolate when they go out. They save it for dessert at dinner. Maybe you just want a piece of chocolate cake because it’s your birthday. You’re not making a stone because you had a piece of chocolate cake. That’s never going to happen. I promise you. Have your birthday cake. Have your father’s birthday cake. Celebrate a birthday. Get right back on track.

If You’re Still Nervous About It

If you’re nervous by this advice, “I don’t know, Jill. That stone incident I don’t know either that last stone incident,” you’ll say “I will never think about chocolate again I do not care” or “I’m still I do care a lot but I’m feeling a little bit nervous,” what I tell those people, the next time you do a 24-hour urine collection have your little bit of chocolate, get your calcium needs met that day, and you’ll see exactly what your oxalate level is on your urine collection. So you can feel confident and you can feel calm and you can feel okay with what you’re doing. You don’t have to believe me, that will be the proof in the pudding. Make a chocolate pudding when you do your urine collection.

Jeff Sarris (05:38):
You

Other Chocolate Options

Jill (05:49):
As a matter of fact, a lot of people do like chocolate pudding because that gets them where they need to go and they make it with their milk. Chocolate pudding has been studied and, well, this is a ready to eat one snack cup for Jello chocolate pudding is 13.6 milligrams of oxalate and it has an asterisk on it, which means that was another thing Harvard restudied or it was new to studying this time around in 2022. So you see, you can still have chocolate things.

The Bottom Line: Portion Not Perfection

It’s what you were doing before, where you had a piece of chocolate which led to 22 more pieces of chocolate and then you’re like “screw it I’m gonna eat chocolate for the rest of my life for breakfast lunch and dinner.” That’s what leads to it mostly because you weren’t paying attention to calcium needs. So if you’ve been an avid fan of this show, of Jeff and I doing this every week, then you know that it’s always going to be the same thing. There is a theme. Have a little bit of the thing that could be higher in oxalate.

Get right back on track with your next meal. And always, if you’re unsure about the oxalate, make sure you’re pairing it with a calcium-based food or drink. That’s how we do it. So I have a lot of patients that absolutely have their chocolate. They’re having it in moderation now. They’re not making new stones. They’re getting their calcium needs met. And it’s always going to be about portion, not perfection. I spend most of my days in private consult bringing food back to people, okay, because they’ve taken much too much foods away. And it’s just not something you need to do in kidney stone prevention. It’s just not. You can absolutely prevent kidney stones and still have little hits of chocolate here and there. That’s what I’ve got to say about chocolate, right?

Jeff Sarris (07:25):
Absolutely. Yeah. And if you want to dive deep, you can go right over to the kidneystonediet.com. You’ll see right at the top, free care, premium care. You can choose your own adventure. Like you can work directly with Jill. You can sign up for the course, the meal plans, everything Kidney Stone Diet, or there are plenty of resources, just like this podcast on kidneystonediet.com that are absolutely free just to help you have better doctor’s visits, better results and prevent future kidney stones because we all know that is why we’re here. We just want to prevent them. Yeah, I think with that we will wrap. Thanks for tuning in and we’ll see you next week.

Jill (08:04):
Bye everybody, happy 4th of July!