It's a big topic. And look, it always makes sense. I know that people are like, "Oh, she's such a bummer always talking about don't take this and don't take that, that's not going to work." The reason I say that is look, I've been really sick in my life with cancer.
And when I first got my cancer and then it came back and went to stage four, if you think I didn't Google my ass off trying to figure out what can help me live, cuz I had a nine-year-old at the time, you're mistaken. It's not like I don't understand, folks. I do.
You want to do whatever you can to save yourself, save yourself from a ureteroscopy, pain, missed time off work, surgeries, oh my god, all this stuff. And who the hell can even get into a doctor's office anymore? And nobody wants to go into a.
It's hours and hours and hours, and you're suffering, all of it. Guys, I get it. I suffer with illness, so I understand.
And that's why I think it's really important coming from me who understands this, that believe me, if there was an herb or something I could burn on my foot or my toe or if I breathed this or I did, I would do it to get rid of that cancer. I tried a lot of things. I went to functional doctors and functional medicine doctors, all the things.
Hundreds and hundreds of dollars of things. Did you hear Finn?
Am I boring him? He was like… So, I mean I get it.
We all want quick fixes, we want to feel better, we want to make sure we never get fill in the blank ever again. I so get this. So when I'm telling you that I wouldn't waste your money on some of the pills and gummies and supplements that you want to take, that's just that's just my thoughts.
You, of course, can always do what you want to do, but I go by the science here, okay? And people will say, "Well, Timmy took blah and he was passing stones left and right." Was he? I believe he passed stones, but was it because of the tea he drank or was he just drinking copious amounts of fluids?
Also, was it just time for that stone to move? A lot of people pass stones every day. They're not drinking anything.
The stone's just moving, okay? So you've got to look at all the reasons and ways in which what causes a stone to move. Now, apple cider vinegar.
There's little, tiny studies, but worth mentioning, that will say there's a study in Nutrients 2019, and it says that people who eat more vinegar-based foods may have lower urine calcium and oxalate in their urine. This could help lower stone risk. Vinegar may increase citrate in the urine, and remember citrate is something that binds onto calcium, so oxalate can't connect to her.
So, that can lower your stone risk. So, vinegar may increase citrate. But these studies that are being cited are on animals or in a in a research lab, they're not on people.
They didn't put people in a lab and say, "Suck on this apple cider vinegar and let's do some urine studies on you and see what happens." So, in my eyes, we just don't have enough definitive research that shows apple cider vinegar is going to do anything. Now, let's talk about the things that may happen, what I have heard happen in my practice.
"Well, Jill, I was sucking on apple cider vinegar because somebody told me that will help my kidney stones dissolve them." There's absolutely no proof of that, folks. Th- Apple cider vinegar is not dissolving your stones. But, as I said a second ago, people will do anything when they've been sick.
Been there, done that, okay? And when people take too much apple cider vinegar or ACV, as it's known on the internet, it can cause esophageal issues, it can damage your teeth, and it can also cause lower potassium levels, which can increase your stone risk. Now, a lot of you use gummies for all kinds of things.
All kinds of things, and that's fine by me if it's not increasing your stone risk. People love gummies because there's a lot of sugar in those gummies. "Oh, Jill, it's four grams." Is that really where you want to waste a man's sugar?
I'd rather have a little bit more ice cream, quite frankly, but that's just me. There's also there's no guarantee that there's enough vinegar in those gummies to do anything for you. So that's the thing about gummies, too, guys.
Most of these things are not third-party lab-party tested, and so how much is in that gummy you're eating? No one really knows, and that goes with any supplement. Nobody's looking at these supplements.
If they have how much potassium is really in that supplement? How much If you put a whole bunch of apple cider vinegar supplements and you study each of them, they would all have different levels of vinegar in there, which is what people are looking for kidney stone risk. Okay, so also, if you already have reflux, the odds are apple cider vinegar is going to increase your risk of having an attack of that.
So, that's the thing, okay? So if you want to use a little apple cider vinegar because you think it's curing everything that ails you, put it in your salad, that's fine. But as far as kidney stone risk, I really wouldn't waste your money on getting it.
There's no research on humans that has shown anything. It's definitely not breaking up stones. And so, if it were me, I wouldn't do it.
And believe me, I have a huge family history of kidney stones. I'm not taking apple cider vinegar. So, do what you want with this information, but is this helping your stone risk?
No. In my eyes, in my opinion, and it hasn't been studied on humans, that would be no. But your risk for other things could be greater.
Now, do this. The next time you do a urine collection, you may say, "Jill, I want to see, maybe it's increasing my citrate a little." You could take your gummy while you're doing that. But, also, fruits and vegetables will just naturally increase your citrate, so I'm always going to start at the most natural place, and that's what you're putting in your mouth as far as food goes.
That's my take on it.
