The Truth about Stevia and Kidney Stones

[@3cardmonty602]

I need for you to speak out about the Dangers of Stevia. I’ve lost 150lbs on Keto. Been on it for 3 years. Maintaining my weight for over a year. I’m a 61 year old, 5’11” male that went from 321lbs to 170lbs. But recently - since December of 2021 I’ve had an issue of low blood pressure - 90/40. I went to the ER 3x’s - resulting in no explanation - all tests came up negative for Heart Disease. I’ve experienced intermittent chest discomfort and Arrhythmias. I went to a 2nd Cardiologist and we found out the culprit is STEVIA. Stevia acts as a vasodilator, as well as a diuretic. I used to make no less than 12 trips to the restroom during the day to relieve myself of fluid. Stevia caused my BNP - indicator for Heart Failure - to go into the 800 levels. I have none of the typical symptoms of heart failure - edema, shortness of breath, but I do have occasional chest discomfort and Arrhythmias. Not good. I’ve since switched solely to Monkfruit as my only sweetener. I felt better after eliminating Stevia on the first day I eliminated it from my diet. Stevia is hidden in so many “Keto” & “Diet” products on the market, as well as supplements. Your viewers, or patients need to know the dangers of using Stevia. It could’ve killed me. It could kill someone else out there. It’s not as safe as they say it is. Or, at least the FDA says it is.

[@HDPersonal777]

I’m luckily extremely allergic to artificial sweeteners so I know first hand and through research of ingredients and processes that they literally are pure poison. Sweet things have high calories, so zero calorie sweetened literally shock the gut, mind, and body. Why not use raw local honey and cure pollen allergies at the same time though?

[@belle42]

I love my stevia! This is very sad news to me.

[@johnprivatetoatlocke3060]

thank you for this reply, I came to this video looking for answers for a substitute sweetener to make a lemonade to help dissolve a kidney stone I have and allow it to pass if it comes to that point. learning that stevia contributes to kidney stone formation was heart breaking and your experience is even more eye opening. had you not mentioned monk fruit sweetener I would have never known about it and had the chance to do research on it myself. I am very grateful. monk fruit looks to be promising and I am going to give it a try as the sweetener in my lemonade. again I thank you, thank you very much.

[@johnprivatetoatlocke3060]

I have another question for you regarding your ketosis diet. I have been under the impression that the "standard" keto diet lacks the necessary nutrients that the human body neds to function properly. with that being known, I learned that its best to only use the keto diet for 6 months at most, then reintroduce carbs and nutrients into your diet again. so i was wondering, how have you managed to stay on a ketosis diet for over 3 years without negative side effects? have you managed to incorporate the necessary nutrients into your diet? would you please share your secrets with me? I learned about a book by Dr. Atkins that has a diet that allows the body to remain in ketosis and is intended to be a permanent diet for life. is this the diet that you are following by any chance?

[@imaxjunior6531]

Looking back i did have pain ay times in my kidney area and Stevia gave me frequent dizziness . Few times i literally thought i was gonna pass out. Stopped and immediately within few days felts better. To bad because it helped me loose 30lbs.

[@djmydlack]

There are 16 servings of Stevia in one teaspoon. That's 2.6mg oxalate in each serving. So, one or two cups of coffee with a squirt in each, a squirt in a cup of yogurt later in the day, all equals under 8mg of oxalate.

[@Stepclimb]

Yes. As a physician, he should know better when dealing with quantities and serving sizes. The 1 tsp of Stevia with 42mg of oxalate is the equivalent of 1 cup of sugar. One would need to consume the equivalent sweetness of 2.2 cups of sugar per day to approach the recommended 100mg of oxalate (from sweeteners). The other forms of oxalate in spinach, peanuts, almonds, potatoes etc are much more likely to put someone over the 100mg threshold of recommended oxalate intake.

[@recoverykonie407]

I do a "doonk" which is like 1/16th tsp and only a few times a week. So, yeah I was like a tsp is a ton. But great new info about kidney stones.

[@user-df5ed1nh1y]

Dr Chan, two teaspoons of sugar are equivalent to 50 mg of stevia, therefore, the amount of oxalates is totally neglectable in one drink, even 5 drinks a day. You would need to drink 200 portions of coffee or tea in order to have a teaspoon of stevia. Also, different processes of purification are available, so oxalates can be removed from the extract.

[@jetryan624]

Pure Stevia in powder form, is even sweeter than the liquid. Had no idea as to major side effects & as diabetic was promoted to me as best natural form to use (coffee, tea). Who knew!!?

[@ellesartelcontar153]

Well, I had a ket diet for a year, and was recently diagnozed with small kidney stone, which I recently had to remove! I would add that I never had any issues with kidney stones whatsoever. So I would pay close attention to which sugar replacement I would use. Seems that oxalate numbers are not just a number, but a significant thing to consider when we try to diet. I think I am going to switch from Stevia and go for erythritol, or a mixed with stevia version, such as Sverve. Thanks for going the extra mile to explain this so us!

[@dr0p0fg0ldensun]

I noticed that one form of stevia had zero oxalates (processed), and the one you refer to (unprocessed) is the one with 42 mg. Can you please explain why we couldn't just use the processed form (whatever that even is)?

[@mr.friday4932]

Yeah I noticed that too. Whats the difference?

[@lionelperes6693]

I noticed that as well - what does it mean? I thought the leaves themselves contained 42mg of oxalates but once processed into Stevia sugar it had zero. Am i understanding wrong? Thanks

[@jenniferibarra7737]

Pray for me 🙏my health

[@leadimentoobrien1221]

I have been searching for a while u r the only doctor eho addresses this THANK YOU!, I am gonna watch u forevef now.

[@davyjones-locker1325]

lol this doctor is recommending apartame and sucralose over stevia

[@stangtrax]

Kidney stones or cancer

[@khosbeh5467]

Dear Dr. Chen, I just subscribed to your channel and greatly appreciate the advice that you are providing. Could you please advise on possible/known effects of erythritol both with and without Monk fruit? Looking forward to your reply

[@bulletsforteeth5029]

Hi Doctor Chan, new sub! I've been using Splenda's Stevia for six months, had to go to the ER on Christmas Eve, the pain was that bad and I was experiencing toxic shock symptoms (cold sweats, brown urine), the ER doctor diagnosed me with a kidney stone (left side), gave me an IV and morphine to dull the pain I was in. Luckily there was only one stone, he said I was lucky because he's seen worse. He said he's seen patients with as many as fifteen! OUCH! I love Stevia but I'm cutting way way back on the stuff, I just need to be careful how much I use, doctor recommends to drink lots of water and cranberry juice. I never knew about oxylites? Gonna keep a close eye on oxylite intake from here on out! I never had a stone before, but my first suspect was this Stevia sweetner I was using and apparently my hunch is on point with your recommendations. The doc gave me some pain meds and flow max and sent me home, for those of you in an emergency situation the doctor said you can take 600mg of Ibuprofen every 12hrs (thats what it say's on the bottle), the doc said it helps dilate the urine tubes and helps with pain, but this is not a remedy, if you have a kidney stone go see a doctor so they can catscan you and see what's going on inside your kidneys, there may be something more serious going on and you need to know how many stones you're dealing with. Take care, and good health on into 2022!

[@jetryan624]

I've read conflicting information about oxalate, one said it's high in oxalate, another that it's low on oxalate as when the stevia plant is processed the oxalate is processed out so is very low in it. I know the Oxalate bind with calcium & can cause/make worse kidney stone & other stone development. And that our body sequesters/hides oxalate away on all body tissues because it's so toxic AND that it may contribute to higher inflammation & even auto-immune issues. Thots?

[@gif24gt60]

What about monk fruit or Yukon syrup?

[@leadimentoobrien1221]

Now can u tell us if weed has oxalates cuz i eat cbd when im passsing a k8dney stone

[@recoverykonie407]

Thanks!! I needed to hear about oxalates again and kidney stones.

[@sadiekimmer3950]

I use stevia everyday for years and have two bad kidney stones

[@viajeIectrico]

I used a lot of dry stevia leaves until today - I would say between 2 and 5 tbsp per day, for almost a year... How screwed am I? Im having diabetes like symptoms :( "A 2019 studyTrusted Source reported a possible link between nonnutritive sweeteners, including stevia, and disruption in beneficial intestinal flora. The same study also suggested nonnutritive sweeteners may induce glucose intolerance and metabolic disorders."

[@tragamonedas008]

Hello Doctor Chan; As of today, which plant derived diabetic-friendly sweetener is preferable with no harm to overall health? Thanks a lot in advance.

[@DrRobertChan]

check out this article: www.healthline.com/health/type-2-diabetes/diabetes-stevia#:~:text=Stevia%20is%20a%20low%2Dcalorie,and%20significantly%20increase%20glucose%20tolerance.

[@cindywhittaker3003]

Does stevia irritate the bladder?

[@jenniferibarra7737]

Yes I tested it out . I am peeing 20 times the past hour because I drank a vitamin drink which had stevia . And I noticed when I drink my coffee with stevia I pee more

[@sgill4833]

What about erithitol for kidneys? I think it's very hard on kidneys

[@jeanely348]

So I use a few drops of liq stevia in my green tea, but never a tsp. So I drink that daily and I have had kidney stones. So wondering how many mgs of oxylates are in maybe one drop each?

[@wisernow624]

Not certain on the stevia but Green & black tea, & coffee all have Oxalates!

[@WinterZzzzzz]

No mention of monk fruit. Not convinced on the Stevia thing...wish people would stop defending it so hard.

[@khosbeh5467]

In my comment below, I meant to say what is the effect of erythritol on kidney stone formation. Many thanks.

[@DrRobertChan]

hi khos, i couldn't really find any papers or literature on erythritol and oxalate composition.

[@khosbeh5467]

@@DrRobertChan Dear Dr. Chan, A world of thanks. I appreciate your reply. You are great.

[@minhsao]

wow.... great video !!! really helps me think about my stevia intake :)

[@DrRobertChan]

Glad it was helpful!

[@FunFunFun8888]

1:35 that is unprocesses stevia which nobody uses.

[@PsychicWarrior100]

FDA approved so its safe? clearly you arent very tuned in... nor understand the truth about artificial sugar...

[@lyndavis113]

You're a urologist but not a nephrologist so what would a nephrologist say

[@lizardfirefighter110]

Yeah riiight, the FDA says it’s safe - so it is right! 😳

[@ketokarbs3671]

Exactly Don't trust them at all!!!

[@RSO-IV]

FDA not knowing all. Dont rely all to FDA.

[@teresaolofson1377]

Skittles

[@shoaibakhtar4096]

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