# Is this healthy drink good for kidney stone formers? Source: https://kidneystonediet.com/preview/ep/is-this-healthy-drink-good-for-kidney-stone-formers/ Published: 2026-07-21 Updated: 2026-07-26 --- [![Kidney Stone Diet Podcast](https://kidneystonediet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Kidney-Stone-Diet-Podcast-1-1024x1024.jpg)](https://kidneystonediet.com/preview/podcast/) [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbOQuYyYjVI)[Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/is-this-healthy-drink-good-for-kidney-stone-formers/id1528474326?i=1000777748442&uo=4)[Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/0Bo7McA1mIJCMgLZmHo1pu)[Amazon Music](https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/0868148d-adfd-411d-b3f2-71a0ad1461ec) July 21, 2026 --- ![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 Kathleen asks whether her daily hibiscus tea—which she drinks to help manage blood pressure—could be putting her at risk for kidney stones. Jill breaks down what really matters with any tea: how much you’re drinking, how long you steep it, and why oxalate levels can climb the longer a tea bag sits in hot water. She also shares a simple way to test any food or drink against your own 24-hour urine collection to see its real effect on your oxalate levels. **Get Featured!\**Leave us a voice message at [call.show/kidneystonediet](https://call.show/kidneystonediet) to be featured on the show! ## Chapters - 00:00:00 Kidney Stone Risk and Healthy Drinks - 00:00:24 Listener Question About Hibiscus Tea - 00:00:40 Hibiscus Tea Safety and Kidney Health - 00:01:31 Hibiscus Tea Oxalate Levels and Blood Pressure - 00:05:33 Kidney Stone Prevention Resources and Consultations ## Transcript ### Kidney Stone Risk and Healthy Drinks 00:00:00 Jeff Sarris Is this healthy drink good for kidney stone formers? Let's talk about that. 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. 00:00:21 Jill Harris And I'm Jill Harris, your kidney stone prevention nurse. Hello, Jeff! ### Listener Question About Hibiscus Tea 00:00:24 Jeff Sarris Hiya. So today we have a question from Kathleen. If you're out there with a question, you can go to call.show/kidneystonediet or click the link in the description and leave us a message. But let's jump right over to Kathleen's question. ### Hibiscus Tea Safety and Kidney Health 00:00:40 Jeff Sarris Hi, Jeff. Hi, Jill. This is Kathleen in Massachusetts. I love your channel. I love your straightforward speaking to us humans. I've had a lot of questions over the past few years, and you've answered most of them. But I have a new question. I'm not sure that's already been answered. I know people are always looking for home remedies to break up stones, prevent them. And I was curious about hibiscus tea. I do deal with mild high blood pressure. It's not super high, but it's not super low. So I'm just curious what your thoughts are for the tea and if it would damage kidneys or cause further stones? I look forward to your response. Thanks so much. Keep up the good work, guys. ### Hibiscus Tea Oxalate Levels and Blood Pressure 00:01:31 Jill Harris Isn't that so nice, Jeff? Thank you, Kathleen. Well, it's a very nice thing to say and we appreciate that. We try our best over here. Okay, so, you know, in all my years, Kathleen, I'll tell you what, no one's ever asked me specifically about hibiscus tea. So, I love that you ask about it, something different for us. So, is it high in oxalate? I don't see anything that says it's high in oxalate and certainly not going to damage your kidneys. But before I make just a general statement like that, you know, I'm a pain in the tush, Kathleen, I would say, well, if you and I were talking together, I'd say, "Well, girlfriend, how much are you drinking a day?" Because people will say, "Well, I drink it every day." Okay. But you'd be surprised what some people do, Kathleen. They're drinking 20 cups a day. So you said you had high blood pressure, and there is some science that will say that if you have, you know, slightly higher, not if you have super high blood pressure, but if you're trying to manage your blood pressure and, you know, try not to go on a pill or whatever, first of all, stress number one, obviously. Good diet, low salt, all the things. But hibiscus tea has a little bit of science around it that says that it could help lower, you know, high blood pressure that isn't too high. Not if you have super high blood pressure, but a little hibiscus tea is not going to hurt you and it's certainly not going to damage your kidneys. But as always, I'd be like, how many glasses a day are you drinking? As far as the oxalate component of it. So I haven't seen it be listed as high oxalate anywhere, so my general recommendation for all teas are a couple of cups a day. Do not steep it all day long. There's a lot of people that I've talked to in the past, they're like, "Jill, I was having 20 cups of tea a day, and each one, I had cups all over my house and those tea bags were in that cup of tea for like eight hours." I mean steep, steep, steep. So the longer you steep your tea, the higher oxalate it will be. But I'm not worried about it if you're just having a true couple cups of it. And remember what a cup of beverage is: eight ounces. You know, if you go to Starbucks, you'll say get a cup of coffee and it's 24 ounces, you're trying to carry it out of there with a friend, it's so big. So a couple cups of tea every day. I actually have mint tea every day for my stomach in the morning and at night, and it's become a nice little habit for me, but I only steep it for a couple minutes and just enjoy it, even in the summer. So I don't have any problem with you having hibiscus tea. I'm glad it's helping you manage your blood pressure and, you know, I It's definitely not going to damage your kidneys. You're in no fear of that. I'm interested in why you ask that. You can write a comment under this video and tell me what you were thinking when you asked that so I could have more information. And also, if you can put in the comment how many you're drinking every day. And if you're drinking a normal amount of tea, couple cups a day, and you're getting your calcium needs met every day, it should not be high oxalate at all. And as I'm going to remind you or anybody listening, if you're worried about something that you're doing on a daily basis like Kathleen's doing this tea, when you do your next 24-hour urine collection, you can check. Have that food or drink that you're worried about, have it the day of the collection and see what it's doing to your oxalate level. Is it causing it to be higher than the last urine collection you did without that product? Then you can see what's going on. That is always the safe bet. But a couple cups of hibiscus tea, my friend, please enjoy it. And I'm glad you're trying to manage your blood pressure before you have to go on pills, so good for you. And I'm thrilled to hear from you. Thanks for calling. ### Kidney Stone Prevention Resources and Consultations 00:05:33 Jeff Sarris Yeah, thanks again for the call, Kathleen. And if you have a question, again, you can go to the link in the description or go to call.show/kidneystonediet. And if you're ready to dive into everything Kidney Stone Diet, you can find everything at kidneystonediet.com where you can work directly with Jill for private consultations, you can find the All-Access Pass, which includes the Kidney Stone Diet meal plans and the Kidney Stone Prevention Course, and absolutely everything that Jill has ever created in a self-serve format. But I think with that, we'll wrap. Thanks again for tuning in, and we'll see you next week. 00:06:07 Jill Harris Bye, everybody. Thank you, Kathleen.