Kidney Stones

[Rosemary]

Has anyone experimented with diet to avoid kidney stones? My DH has had them in the past, and unfortunately I have them now. He did not change his diet after they passed and has not had a recurrence. But in reading about oxalate levels of foods, I've discovered that many of my favorite foods are on the high oxalate list - nuts, certain legumes, spinach, sweet potatoes, many other vegetables. I'm looking at cutting out the very high oxalate foods, such as almonds, chard, and spinach (except for occasional use), and hoping I can leave the rest in moderate quantities.

[Bastelmutti]

We eat quite a lot of foods on that list, and I was not aware they were associated with kidney stones. I know a couple people who have had them, but to my knowledge they have not changed their diets. Hope you find some good information from others and that you feel better soon!

[loosechickens]

I don't know....we eat those foods in quantity, and neither of us has ever had them, at ages 62 and 70. I seem to remember reading somewhere that drinking insufficient amounts of water, making it harder for your kidneys to process, leads to formation of kidney stones, but don't know how accurate that is. You might check it out, and increase amount of water you drink.

[domestic goddess]

If you have already passed a kidney stone, did you have it analyzed? If the stone is primarily calcium oxylate in composiion, then decreasing your intake of oxylates may be helpful. (Don't forget tomatoes.) If not, then it probably won't have any effect. My dh passed over 100 kidney stones in his lifetime, but not due to diet, but due to a metabolic disorder. It is important to know exactly what the etiology of your kidney stones is. You do need to drink an adequate amount of water to keep the kidneys flushed in almost any event. After my dh had surgery, kidney stones became much less of a problem, though he still had many stone bases in his kidneys that occasionally were passed. It can be a more complex problem than simply what you eat.

[JaneV2.0]

I found some relevant links showing a connection between idiopathic stones and carbohydrates in susceptible people:

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM196901302800502
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1464-410X.1982.tb13599.x/abstract
http://nah.sagepub.com/content/5/1-2/9.short

[Rosemary]

Thanks for the follow-up, Jane. I will check out those articles. I suspect that I have another stone forming.

[reader99]

I've been troubled with kidney stones a lot in the past several months. Cutting out spinach and strawberries and cola drinks was mildly helpful. What has stopped them altogether is taking a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar three times a day before meals. I've no clue why it would do that, but it does. I take in in v-8 juice to disguise the vinegar taste.

[gimmethesimplelife]

I have been troubled by stones the past few years, and what I have done is to buy an herb called chanca piedra - I think it means broken stones in Spanish - in small bottles. I use 20 drops to a small glass of water and since I have started doing this, I have not been bothered by stones. Now I have not had an ultrasound done so I don't know 100% of it's working or not, but the past six months with no stones has been wonderful! Rob

[Tussiemussies]

Hi Rosemary,

There is a book called "Prescriptions For Nutritional Healing." It is excellent in the advice they give using holostic remedies. I have the second edition of the book and tomorrow I will look up kidney stones and see what they have to say. Hopefully some good advice.


Here is the book on Amazon the original was written by a Dr. And his wife, they divorced and she has continued on updating as needed....

http://www.amazon.com/Prescription-Nutritional-Healing-Fifth-Supplements/dp/1583334009/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1378263854&sr=1-1&keywords=prescription+for+nutritional+healing

[Rosemary]

Thanks, Tussiemussies. I've had that book for years along with about 5 other similar references, and always do look there when anyone in my family is having issues. I don't like to take "natural" supplements or medication, so I try to do everything with diet. Food enters our body in the largest quantity by far, after all.

[Tussiemussies]

Thanks, Tussiemussies. I've had that book for years along with about 5 other similar references, and always do look there when anyone in my family is having issues. I don't like to take "natural" supplements or medication, so I try to do everything with diet. Food enters our body in the largest quantity by far, after all.

Hi Rosemary,

Glad you have your references and an idea of how you want to approach your healing. Hope you find what works for you soon...chris