Friday Favorites: Kidney Stones and Oxalates in Spinach, Chard, and Beet Greens

[@NutritionFactsOrg]

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[@seanmartin706]

Several years ago, i lost a ton of weight on a plant based diet. Unfortunately, i didn't have much variety in my diet and was eating almost nothing but sautéed spinach and mushrooms, with almonds for fat. I was buying these all at Costco at least weekly. This led to rapid weight loss, but also kidney stones that stand as the most excruciating pain I've ever experienced. My doctors were not much help in determining the cause, insisting that I had been dehydrated, with no recognition that my diet was EXTREMELY high in oxalate. Thank God for Nutrition Facts and Dr. Greger for videos like this that taught me too never make that mistake again!

[@relaxgood5214]

Dr Greger, I had 3 painful kidney stone attacks that landed me in the hospital three times. The first was in 1998 and the last was in 2012. I went plant based in 2014 and have had no events since then. I still eat spinach and other high oxalate greens.

[@vusiehusie]

Dr Greger is the beacon of hope in the sea of misinformation ❤

[@BrandonGolets]

I drink a lot of water. Hopefully that will be enough to prevent kidney stones. I eat a lot of spinach, beets, almonds & cashews. So far, so good.

[@veganintegratedhealth]

that what man I knew did, and it cure his stone.

[@reinux]

"On further questioning, the patient admitted to drinking sixteen 8-oz glasses of iced tea daily." I love how judgmental that is.

[@meman6964]

Been plants only since 2017. Had kidney stone removed then. In 2023 MRI showed 1.5 mm stones in each kidney 😢. I printed out Harvard ocalates list. Changed my foods, next year MRI, no stones at all. Chard, spinach, almond milk and butter and nuts, beets, Switching to lower ocalate choice of greens and mylk was small price to pay for living free of kidney stones!!!!!

[@Katgirl2024]

I eat tons of greens. Never had a kidney stone.

[@friedux2065]

In the same boat unfortunately, antibiotics wiped out my oxalate degrading bacteria according to biomesight, have to avoid high oxalate foods or I get bad arthritic symptoms.

[@naldebol]

One of the best and most useful videos ever by you folks.

[@misterx3188]

How can I cultivate Oxalobacter formigenes in my microbiome?

[@soilikasanen]

Give them fibers!

[@adiohead]

Eat plants

[@ninjaturtles12121]

fiber!

[@adrianad6809]

Thanks!!!

[@plantbasedposer]

It's more than kidney stones. The ADA's 2016 paper now acknowledges that oxalates block calcium absorption and that high oxalate greens are a poor source of calcium. Unfortunately that news hit our family too late and my daughter suffered the consequences as I believe it caused her to develop a type of scoliosis from calcium deficiency. Luckily it reverses when the deficiency is corrected. I do also believe that dietary hyperoxaluria needs to be studied more as I've noticed improvements in my lungs and sinuses and in my kids as well since lowering all oxalates in my PB diet. My chronic lung clearing that I thought was long COVID disappeared completely on LO diet.

[@zk4929]

How did you reverse it?

[@Maya-Alexdog]

I was just in the ER for a stone, 8mm and it caused a rupture in my kidney. No pain meds, waited 11 hrs to see a DR. 😢 I have a stent & waiting stone removal procedure. I eat little meat & dairy.

[@aychingao]

I know you are not going to answer but here goes my question: does beet supplements have oxalate too ?

[@ninjaturtles12121]

How do you make your hibiscus tea doctor and how much of it do you drink a day/recommend?? thanks in advance.

[@vietnameseamericansocialpoliti]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all. 💘🤝🙏✍

[@karissawess]

I had heard that pairing higher oxalate foods with foods higher in calcium can help them bond in the stomach to reduce kidney stone risk (for example cream in tea or spinach with cheese). Is there much truth to this?

[@murtazwa]

Yes correct.. when they bind it reduces both calcium and oxalate absorption

[@LeileeBaker805]

Yes i had a 3.5 stone worst pain 7 days. Im Lactose intolerant so not much calcium in me but now I tolerate cottage cheese daily. No spinach salads or juicing anymore. Swapped out romaine for spinach just a few almonds not a handfull. Limit tea, no dark beer or cola. Lots if water sometimes distilled and lemon. The hardest was limiting😢 raspberries but if you check they are very high in oxalates.

[@mariag1640]

Does anyone know whether Arugula has a high oxalate content? I would like to know as I have a daily salad made with two cups of Arugula and other veggies.

[@venom24678]

@@mariag1640 Arugula is low oxalate

[@murtazwa]

@mariag1640 You could have googled it but no Arugula is low in oxalates. similar to Kale

[@mariag1640]

@ Didn’t think of it. Thanks for answering anyway.

[@gt777p]

I am a 62 year old male. I have had kidney stones 7 times previously and now I have Osteoporosis. Apparently there is a link with kidney stones and Osteoporosis

[@TXDHC]

Just curious. Did you consume a lot of soda in your lifetime?

[@TrueIndianAccent]

How about keeping insulin low? Still, can we get stone ? Can boldy hold is in low insulin environment?

[@adiposerex5150]

Very good info. Helped me significantly.

[@potrebitel3]

Wasn't there another clip on the Calcium complexing agents - if a stronger soluble complex is formed with citric acid for example, even a higher oxalate will have less of an effect. Similar discussion on the vitamin C and its effect - complexing and pH effect? Everyone in my family has kidney stones - they also live in an area with very hard water. I was always considering my WFPB diet choice as the reason for no having stones. Until I got them too... Mixed - oxalate/phosphate.

[@Alexander-ok7fm]

Thank you!

[@emergentform1188]

Wow killer info, love it, hooray dr. G!

[@Groucho_Marxist_ASMR]

Doesn't calcium chloride react with oxalic acid to form insoluble and unabsorbable calcium oxalate?

[@garyharnish2395]

Dr. Norman Walker said cooked greens binds the calcium to the oxalates. When raw they were separate

[@Gaias.Garden]

As a forager, I am looking at growing Goosefoot or Fat hen chennepodium album and it’s very high similar to spinach. Fun…

[@LandryFitNutrition]

hello which study for the list at 8:23 Please

[@JustOneAsbesto]

They show the reference when the chart appears. Tabarnak.

[@meepable]

The biggest questions are do we shrink the kidney stones with certain foods? How do kidney stones released? I looked around and it seems it is not heavily researched. I would like to know how to manually release those kidney stones < 0.1mm :D

[@ninjaturtles12121]

how about arugula??? I eat 2 handfuls of it everyday.

[@ryker4549]

I don't eat much spinach just sometimes in my smoothies and I never drink ice tea or any tea and a few years ago maybe 3 and half I got a teeny weeny tiny kidney stone the doctor said she can't even believe they found it and I've been vegan for over 7 years now

[@SabineErhart]

If one wants to reduce high cholesterol levels as an oxalate superabsorber, what could one use? Isn't Amla Powder extremely high in Oxalates? What else could one use?

[@Thats_Right80]

is AMLA high in oxalates???????//

[@LeChat084]

The use of the same term "Very high" for a range from 15mg to 755mg seems odd. Doesn't it need some others steps (or other terms) ? 1-2 very low 3-4 low 5-10 moderate 10-14 high 15-755 very high

[@ukidding]

i currently have a kidney stone. I drink lemon water to get rid of it.

[@DrSpooglemon]

Kale really is the definition of a superfood.

[@AndrewPawley11]

I love this channel!

[@nazokashii]

So important! Thank you

[@garyharnish2395]

I have no good bacteria in my intestines. They said that I had gang green in my intestines. And liver failure

[@zandiskoul]

Awesome

[@Audrey_1110]

What I learned from this video: JUST EAT KALE! 🥬

[@absw6129]

When I first saw the title, I thought this was some kind of recipe where he would cook kidney stones with spinach 🤣

[@MushookieMan]

Cronometer says I'm getting 975 mg of oxalates, should I be worried? Nobody in my family has had kidney stones.

[@ninjaturtles12121]

what source are you getting it from??

[@MushookieMan]

@@ninjaturtles12121 From sweet potatoes

[@highimwolf]

Can we bioengineer spinach without oxylates? Really annoying not eating a super food cause of extremely painful kidney stones

[@vermontmike9800]

Careful, you’re going to trigger GMO warriors. Lol.

[@johnl764]

I understand when you quit eating oxalate foods your body starts dumping and can also cause stones.

[@raquelbelnap7252]

Greens are not necessary and my constipation was cured when I went 0 plants.

[@ChoicelessAwareness]

Just drink lots water n lemonade 🍋

[@rondaf6180]

...and of course I hate the flavour/texture of most greens except for silverbeet/chard and spinach. 🙄

[@sidilicious11]

They do taste better than kale, but…..I’ll stick with kale. It doesn’t taste bad, just bland.

[@merkinatorz7678]

@@sidilicious11 yeah I can't deal with the texture of kale. I feel like I'm eating pubic hair. 😄

[@metabolights]

Calcium binds to oxalate. Eat cream or cheese with greens. Alternatively, ensure your supplements have adequate calcium + Mg + K2, & digestive enzymes. Or, drink Kefir with your meals.

[@vermontmike9800]

Ok, sounds like I’m moving to baby kale.

[@jmesg]

It is good to eat foods high in oxalates. The key is to also eat foods high in calcium. Calcium helps oxalates not to form kidney stones or damage your kidneys.

[@adrianad6809]

About tea: what kind of tea is this for?

[@HappyCat3096]

Black tea has a lot. Green tea has some oxalate, although it appears to be safe in moderation.

[@veganintegratedhealth]

Oxlate is destroyed by HEAT. eat those veggie lightly steam, not RAW.

[@Spooken]

There are kidney stones in my spinach?!

[@hclyrics]

Popeye takes issue with this video.

[@hendrikgrundling5323]

Mic the Vegan did a very interesting video on the role of oxalobacter in the gut microbiome, which has a large role in lowering oxalate concentration in the body:- kzbin.info/www/bejne/fGe0g6SmaZqmsMU

[@Amy_Watson]

Vegans glossing over oxalates is like carnivores who gloss over cholesterol.

[@atruenut]

Did you watch the video?

[@Amy_Watson]

​@@atruenutyes, he's wrong and not abreast of the most recent research. Everything he says and does is 100% cultured to promote a veganist agenda. Note he will never directly debate any credible opposition. Plant based propaganda.

[@MaverickRam]

We found that in our case the person took too many pain killer medicines in that year and got kidney stones but never before or after that, i.e., just from consuming spinach regularly in diet.