LISTS – AND LISTS
I know you are all looking for THE list. Here is one from a reliable source I have have downloaded on my site to a separate document so it opens with one click.
The reliable source, as it turns out, needed some updating. Dr Ross Holmes, professor, School of Medicine, University of Alabama, was kind enough to review the work of Dr. Michael Liebman who is a professor of Human Nutrition and Food Option at University of Wyoming and determine which food entries on the Harvard list needed changing. We cannot change the original but we have updated our lists accordingly and annotated updates with *** marks. So the lists here are the most recently edited available at present.Fred Coe and I have updates and annotated the list for those with a tendency to perfectionism: Updated table of oxalate foods. Set it at 50% for easier reading. Get yourself acquainted with the lists. They will tell you much of what you need to know. A lot of it will even surprise you. You are not as restricted as you think you are or as you have been told.
A more dramatic list is the 177 high oxalate foods we distilled out of the big list. Here are culprits! Not on this list? Probably not very high in oxalate so far as we know – with perhaps a few exceptions. Note that quantity is critical. For example black pepper is high in oxalate but the amounts used are small enough that total oxalate intake from it is negligible.
Eating a low oxalate diet can be overwhelming and difficult to incorporate into your daily life. I just released a course called The Kidney Stone Prevention Course to help you understand how to implement your physician’s prescribed treatment plans.
LET’S DIVIDE AND CONQUER
FOODS TO WORRY ABOUT
A List of Concerning Foods
We have created two graphs for this article. Of the 177 foods on our master list, many are of concern but can be used in your diet if you control the portion size and how often you use them. There are 30 of them that are worrisome enough to deserve special attention.
Here are the 30. The graph shows mg of oxalate in a common portion. The details of the portions are in the complete list. The foods have in common that all contain at least 40 mg/serving. All other foods for which we have reliable data have less oxalate per serving.
Your budget is about 100 mg/day.
What does this graph mean? Does it mean you can never have chocolate, or a baked potato?
No.
It means if you want to use your whole budget on a treat, do it, but keep track and make sure you do not overspend in any meal or in any one day. Have your baked potato, but maybe share half with your partner. Or, have some hot chocolate but make it with milk because calcium helps reduce oxalate absorption. Eat your cashew nuts, but pay attention to how many. If one handful leads to ten, you cannot have them.
FOODS TO AVOID
The graph to the left is of the very few dangerously high oxalate foods.
There are only six foods, but spinach, being worst of all, has two entries. Be careful of this plot because of its range. It begins at 100 mg/portion and rises to 755 mg/portion in only 7 steps, so the distance from miso soup to spinach is about a 7 fold increase.
Rhubarb and spinach are so high you just cannot eat them. Rice bran is something few will miss, the same for buckwheat groats.
People like almonds but have a hard time controlling portion size. If you can keep it to 11 almonds a day – the portion size that gives 122 mg of oxalate, alright. Otherwise stay away from them.
If you have to eat any of these foods, caution is hardly a strong enough word.
Are you sure you need to eat them?
Why?
WHAT ARE WE SAYING?
We are saying that oxalate is common in foods, and that you have to be careful, but care is a scarce resource. How much care can you give every bite? The graphs say if you eat moderately high oxalate foods – the first graph – be careful.
Watch portions.
If you are eating one of the six dangerously high oxalate foods, stop eating it.
It is too hard to be careful with those six foods. They have too much oxalate for most of you to handle. So, just say no.
WHY BELIEVE OUR DATA?
These data arose from a major effort at the Harvard School of Public Health. A world class expert has curated it twice. Harvard can be wrong and so can Ross Holmes, but both will tend to be wrong less often than the average persons who attempt to put complex data into the public domain. We have always appreciated comments, and if anyone has a peer reviewed publication with different food oxalate levels than ours, we will read the paper and see if it warrants our making a change.
Medical research is endlessly argumentative, and food oxalate is no exception. A recent paper contrasts findings from 6 websites and 2 applications and finds some wide variations. Of the sites, the Harvard site – used here as our reference, and the Wake Forest site – which is a legacy of an outstanding investigative group have most standing with me. Leaf through the comparisons between them in the 4 charts and in the large table at the very end. On the whole differences are modest. The hyperoxaluria and oxalosis list from the paper has been withdrawn from their site.
DO YOU NEED A LIST?
Sure, a list is nice. But we helping you here. Lists can run on to hundreds of foods. The picture is meant for focus. Here are the ones to focus on.
Many of you leave the doctor’s office thinking you will never be able to eat a fruit or vegetable again. If that wasn’t bad enough chocolate and nuts are gone, too. Some of this sadly is true, most of it is not. I am here to bring you good news: Almost everything, high oxalate or not, can be incorporated into your diet safely.
Do you need a low oxalate diet? You may if your stones contain calcium oxalate crystals and your urine oxalate is high enough to pose risk.
If you do need a low oxalate diet, what is your goal? Less than 100 mg of diet oxalate is good; less than 50 mg is ideal.
If you want to read some of the science about urine oxalate and risk of stones and about how we get to the diet oxalate goals, it is summarized at the end of this article.
Here we assume you do need to lower the oxalate in your diet.
CALCIUM FIRST
Low calcium diets can raise urine oxalate, and the solution may be as simple as a proper calcium intake. There is every reason for stone formers to eat 1000 mg of calcium daily to protect their bones. The common hypercalciuria of calcium stone formers puts bones at special risk when diet calcium is low.
Before changing your whole life around, ask yourself if you are avoiding calcium foods. If so, add them back and ask your doctor to check your urine oxalate again. It may fall enough that a low oxalate diet is not necessary.
If low calcium intake is not your problem, and you need a low oxalate diet, here is my take on how to do it.
WHAT IS THE DIET OXALATE GOAL?
Typical diets contain upward of 200 – 300 mg of oxalate. For stone prevention, a reasonable goal is below 100 mg of oxalate daily. An ideal would be about 50 mg daily if that can be accomplished.
To get there, consider the oxalate contents in common serving portions of all of the foods, and make up a plan for yourself.
FRUITS
FRESH
Everyone who comes to me is very unhappy thinking they can never have a berry again. This is Baloney. The only berry that is very high in oxalate is raspberries (look at the list). On the other hand, people do not realize avocado, oranges, dates, and even grapefruit and kiwi are very high and need caution.
This doesn’t mean you can never have these healthy treats. If you incorporate any of these high oxalate fruits into your morning yogurt you can reduce some of the effects of the oxalate content.
Also look at your portion sizes. You really cannot eat a lot at any one time. Dates are not a good bargain: One date is 24 mg!
CANNED OR DRIED
Canned pineapple is a problem.
Dried fruits have to be a worry because the water is taken out, so a ‘portion’ of dried fruit can be gigantic in oxalate content. Figs, pineapple and prunes are standouts. Just think: 1/2 cup of dried pineapple is 30 mg – not a lot of fruit for a lot of oxalate. If you want dried fruit, think about apples, apricots, and cranberry as lower oxalate options.
VEGETABLES
Spinach and rhubarb are standouts; stay away.
Other vegetables you need to be aware of are tomato sauce, turnips, okra, and yams (sweet potatoes) along with beans of different sorts.
I am not in the business of taking healthy foods away from people. But in the cases above you really must limit; there is just too much oxalate and these foods do not pair well with high calcium foods the way fruits can be mixed right into your yogurt or cereal and milk.
Many of you have been told to stay away from all green leafy vegetables. This is not true. Look at the list. There are plenty of salad options still available for you including kale. Even though tomato sauce is high in oxalate (see below) that is because of concentration. A whole medium tomato is only 7 mg and who eats more than one at a time?
Many of the salad vegetables are so low in oxalate they are freebies. Eat what you want.
POTATOES
These are Trouble! I put them into their own separate group even though they are vegetables.
From french fries to baked potatoes they are very high oxalate items. One ounce of potato chips has 21 mg of oxalate and who eats one ounce? Not I. Baked potatoes are terrible. One comes in at just under 100 mg of oxalate. Mixing sour cream into the potato will not help much; one tablespoon of sour cream contains only 14 mg of calcium. One ounce of cheddar cheese contains 200 mg of calcium, which could help, but it increases calories, salt and fat. But all in all, why struggle so hard? Potatoes are not ideal for stone formers.
DAIRY PRODUCTS
They have no oxalate. They are your main source of calcium. Use them. They can add a lot of salt – cheeses – and can be caloric. But they reduce oxalate absorption and preserve your bones.
For a stone former who has to watch salt intake, increase calcium intake, and lower oxalate intake, here is how to do that. You cannot have as much cheese as you want because of the salt. So portion sizes are very important. Yogurt, milk, even ice cream are good bargains – modest sodium and high calcium. These are a great place to add in a wee bit of chocolate – high oxalate foods – for those of you who cannot live without these high oxalate treats.
BREADS AND GRAINS
Some of the basic ingredients to make these foods are very high. White flour and brown rice flour are high in oxalate so everything you make from them will be high.
BREADS
Even so, as far as kidney stones go, breads are mainly alright because of portion size: not that much flour so one slice is 5-8 mg. French toast and New York style bagels top the list at 13 mg for two slices and 40 mg for one bagel – as much as anyone will eat of either food.
PASTA RICE AND GRAINS
Spaghetti, one cup cooked is 11 mg and most of us eat more than one cup.
Buckwheat groats, one cup cooked is 133 mg – I don’t see many of you saying ‘darn it’ or taking to your bed, but beware. Millet and bulger, wheat berries, rice bran, corn grits, and corn meal, these are widely used and are high. If you are using these, be thoughtful.
Here are some low oxalate options in this category: White rice, hummus, corn flour, corn bran, flax seed, and oat bran are popular and safe.
MEAT PRODUCTS
Since oxalate is only found in plant foods, all the meats are safe. Fish, too.
For our vegetarian friends, tofu and veggie burgers are very high.
NUTS AND SEEDS
These are just dangerous for two reasons.
Obviously they are very high in oxalate.
Secondly, I don’t know anybody who just has a few nuts at a time.
Just like chips no one eats one – the whole jar is more like it.
But, for one cup of pumpkin sunflower or flax seeds the highest is only 17 mg of oxalate and none for flax. For those of you who love foods in this category seeds are the better choice and they can be sprinkled on yogurt and ice cream.
SWEET STUFF
I have good news for my chocolate lovers. I know most of you have been sent home with a list and chocolate is high on it. But if you look at the numbers nuts are a lot worse than chocolate. Chocolate can be mixed in with dairy products, too, so as to reduce oxalate absorption.
Even so I do want to point out that half a brownie is on the high side, and who eats one half?
You can still satisfy your sugar craving but pay attention to your portion size.
Keep in mind, however, that sugar loads increase urine calcium loss which increases stone risk, so there are two reasons why this food group can be a problem.
But even without chocolate, you eat a lot of flour when you eat a piece of cake, so cake can be a problem – about 15 mg per piece, like french toast. Pies are half the risk because of their fillings – unless they are chocolate pies!
CRACKERS AND CHIPS
The big enemy here is potato chips. A one ounce serving contains a whopping 21 mg of oxalate. I repeat: A one ounce serving.
Your best bet in this category if you’re looking for something crunchy is corn chips – one ounce is 7 mg, popcorn – one cup is 5 mg, and pretzels, one ounce is 5 mg.
Crackers are OK mainly because they are small and the amount of flour is not that much.
BEVERAGES
PLANT SOURCES
Hot chocolate is the clear loser at 65 mg per cup; carrot juice is the runner up at 27 mg per one cup. Lemonade, tea, tomato juices, rice dream and the like are better but still high. The are 15 – 18 mg per serving. Lemonade – frozen concentrate – is 16 mg per 8 ounces so be careful about this as a source of citrate.
Soy milk, for those of you who prefer it, is not a good option. It is very high at 20 mg per cup. We have no data from standard sources for rice milk, cashew milk, and coconut milk; almonds are high in oxalate so the almond milk product will certainly be high.
Tea is so commonly used, here are the details. If you brew your own tea it is high in oxalate. The longer you steep your tea, the more oxalate it will have in it. If you use a sweetened instant iced tea one cup has 0 mg of oxalate.
Here are some juices that are low in oxalate and better substitutes: Apple juice, apricot juice, orange juice, grapefruit juice, grape juice. For all the lemonade drinkers, diet lemonade is low in oxalate.
Here is something very important: Coffee is oxalate free – almost, 1 mg for a cup (2 mg/cup for decaf). We already told you that coffee drinkers have a reduced stone risk, so lets debunk the coffee myth here: Drink it as you wish.
DAIRY SOURCES
Everything is good except chocolate milk. Even that is only 7 mg a cup for a sweet treat here and there.
ALCOHOL
What tops the list in this category is a can of beer: 4 mg of oxalate. All the rest are low and, frankly, the oxalate in a can of beer comes with a lot of fluid. This is not the problem area for stone formers.
WATER
If I didn’t say this to you I could not sleep well tonight. Water is the clear winner in this whole category. It is free of calories, sugar, and oxalate. Please use it as your main beverage and supplement with the items above.
SPREADS AND SAUCES
Chocolate, miso, peanut butter, and tahini are all high.
SOUPS
Miso soups is extremely high – 111 mg/cup. Lentil soup is high, and so is clam chowder – the potatoes.
BREAKFAST FOODS
This is a dangerous meal if you are a cereal lover. Many cereals are high in oxalate. I am afraid you need to look them up in the list by brand. Unfortunately the healthier cereals are highest in oxalate because they contain more plant based ingredients. Probably having milk in your cereal is wise, but we have no data to show.
Eating a low oxalate diet can be overwhelming and difficult to incorporate into your daily life. I just released a course called The Kidney Stone Prevention Course to help you understand how to implement your physician’s prescribed treatment plans.
HOW DO WE MANAGE ALL THIS?
The first thing you need to do is to learn and remember what are the highest oxalate foods and beverages. Without this in mind it is impossible to shop and cook intelligently. Here is a short list of the highest oxalate foods all in one place.
BREAKFAST
For those of you who love cereal because it is quick and easy check out the list and see if the one you love is high in oxalate. If it is, choose the next best one with lower oxalate. Put milk in the cereal.
Alternatives to cereal that are also quick and easy: Yogurt or cottage cheese and fruit. The only fruits to worry about are raspberries because no one puts oranges on their yogurt. Bananas, peaches, blueberries and strawberries are perfect toppings.
More trouble, but no oxalate, eggs any way at all. Boil a batch on Sunday and have them for the week for breakfast, and snacks, too.
Your breakfast coffee is free and so is your water. For juices use orange, apple, pineapple, grapefruit – all great. If you want tea, don’t steep more than a minute and consider adding milk to it. Green tea is better than black.
LUNCH
Typically you are grabbing a salad or a sandwich for lunch, so what now? Many clients tell me they no longer eat salads because their physicians told them to stop all green leafy vegetables.
I’m bringing salads back to you.
Arugula, iceberg, romaine lettuces, and kale, are fine as your base. Stay away from spinach. Here are good toppings. Cauliflower, corn, cucumber, mushrooms, onions, peas, scallions, squash and zucchini are all fine. Tomatoes are fine, too; it is only the sauce that is high. Broccoli and green pepper are moderately high so watch the portion size.
Sandwiches will cost you between 12 and 16 mg of oxalate depending on the bread you are using – 2 slices. This doesn’t mean you can never have a sandwich, it just means you have to keep track of how much. You can have 50 to 100 mg daily. What goes inside between the two slices of bread is usually cheeses and meats which are oxalate free. So sandwiches are not something to be afraid of.
SUPPER
Beef, chicken and fish are all fine, and those the main courses for most of us. You will run into problems if you are a pasta or potato eater. If you are you need to limit the amount of times you have these foods each week and also the quantity each time you use them. Substitutes are a problem: White rice is a nice substitute for potatoes but there are few others. It is more veggies that have to fill in – very healthy but not as much fun.
Here is a recipe for cauliflower – ‘mashed potatoes’ you will like and even think, sometimes, is the real thing. There are many versions on the web, choose the one that makes you happy but be careful about the ingredients.
There is also quinoa which is not on our lists, but may well be high. A recent scientific article on this plant does not give oxalate contents which suggests they are not reliably known.
I have recently put together a private FB page called THE Kidney Stone Diet. It is a group that helps educate you on your physician prescribed treatment plans. As you can imagine, oxalate comes up in many posts. I moderate it to keep it clinically sound. Come on over and join the discussion!
URINE OXALATE AND RISK OF KIDNEY STONES
I promised you some science – here it is for those interested. It concerns only highlights from the food – urine oxalate research recently performed and seemingly germane to the problem of how stone formers should control oxalate intake.
The most useful data about urine oxalate we have so far is from three cohorts studied by Dr. Gary Curhan. Two are cohorts of nurses one a cohort of physicians. These people have kept track of many aspects of diet and health for decades, and among their records are onset of kidney stones.
As he did for urine calcium, Curhan measured urine oxalate in properly selected subgroups from each cohort, including people who did and did not begin forming stones. From these samples he could calculate the relative risk of new onset of stones in relation to 24 hour urine oxalate excretion.
The two nurse cohorts are red, the physicians – all men – are blue. The dotted line at 1 is the risk threshold: Above that line, risk is present.
The top of each crosshatched bar shows the mean relative risk for each of the five urine oxalate ranges. Clearly the mean goes up as urine oxalate goes up.
But the mean relative risk has a range of uncertainty around it. The bottom of the solid portion of each bar is the lower 95th percentile for that range of uncertainty. When that bottom lies above 1, risk is very likely to be present.
For both the women and men groups, that point is reached between 25 and 30 mg of urine oxalate a day. Therefore one wants to try to get urine oxalate below 30 mg daily and even lower, below 25 mg daily if possible. The average urine oxalate excretion among the women in this study was close – 26 and 28 mg/day for those who did not form stones and just a bit higher for those who did – 28 and 30 mg per day. The men are a problem: 39 and 41 mg/day for those who did not and those who did form stones.
This is not diet oxalate, it is urine oxalate. Urine oxalate is how much the body makes and how much is absorbed from foods. Mostly, we can control only the second part – how much is in the food.
HOW MUCH DIET OXALATE DAILY
All dietary advice depends on having a reasonable goal in mind for oxalate intake. My goal of 50 – 100 mg of oxalate from food daily is not unreasonable given the research that has been done in normal people and stone formers.
Holmes and colleagues found a urine excretion of oxalate of about 10 mg/gm urine creatinine in normal 
people eating a synthetic oxalate free high calcium diet (graph at left). As diet oxalate increased, urine oxalate rose from 0 to 10 mg/2500 kcal/d, urine oxalate rose steeply from 10 to 14 mg/gm urine creatinine. It rose more slowly, from 14 to barely 15 mg/gm urine creatinine as diet oxalate was increased to 50 mg/2500 kcal/d, and more or less at the same slope thereafter so that an increase from 50 mg/2500 kcal/d up to 250 mg/2500 kcal/d increased urine oxalate only from 14 to 18. The closed symbols are whole food the open symbols synthetic diets.
From this work the percent oxalate absorption could be calculated as around 10 – 15% and the contribution of diet oxalate to urine oxalate excretion as around 25 – 40% when intake of oxalate was between 50 and 350 mg/2500 kcal. Therefore one can consider a whole food 1000 mg calcium 50 mg oxalate as a usable low oxalate diet, and a 150 – 250 mg oxalate diet as relatively high.
The balance between diet calcium and diet oxalate does not matter greatly if diet calcium is high. Among normal men and women eating 1000 mg/day of calcium and 750 mg/day of food oxalate, 24 hour urine calcium was about 110 mg/day and oxalate about 44 mg/day.
If the calcium oxalate balance is altered so calcium intake is 400 mg and 20 mg of oxalate at breakfast and lunch, and 200 mg of calcium and 710 mg of oxalate at dinner, as compared with simply 333 mg of calcium and 250 mg of oxalate in all 3 daily meals, urine oxalate is lower after the high calcium low oxalate meals, but only slightly higher after the high oxalate low calcium evening meal than when calcium and oxalate intakes were balanced. This means that when diet calcium is at least 1000 mg daily the balance of calcium to oxalate within any one meal is not likely to affect stone risk.
Seiner and colleagues make clear that stone formers are different from normal people. They divided male and female stone formers into 2 groups of 93 people each, one with urine oxalate above 0.5 mmol (~50 mg) of urine oxalate daily and the other with urine oxalate below 0.4 mmol (~40 mg) daily. They found virtually identical calcium and oxalate intakes: 845 vs. 812 calcium and 101 vs. 130 mg daily of oxalate respectively in the lower and higher urine oxalate groups. But the below 0.4 mmol group excreted only 27 mg of oxalate daily on average, whereas the high oxalate group excreted 64 mg daily. In other words diet was not responsible for the higher urine oxalate excretion, suggesting a difference of oxalate absorption. Those prone to high oxalate excretion seem, therefore, to most need diet modification.
Knight and colleagues found a wide range of oxalate absorption among 38 calcium oxalate stone formers eating a self choice diet. Urine oxalate excretion (vertical axis) varied with percent of diet oxalate absorbed (horizontal axis). The mean absorption centered around 5%; a few outliers absorbed over 15% up to 25%. This supports what Seiner found – some stone formers will have urine oxalate levels very responsive to diet oxalate and sans a research protocol we will not know. This is another good reason to keep diet oxalate low – 50 to 100 mg if possible.
PROTEIN AND GELATIN
Diet protein intake does not affect urine oxalate excretion. In 11 normal people fed a 1000 mg calcium, 51 mg oxalate, 3000 mg sodium fixed diet, varying protein intake from 0.6 to 1.6 gm/kg/day – a very wide range – did not alter urine oxalate appreciably (mean values were 23, 23, and 25 mg daily for the three protein intakes) even though oxalate precursors like glycolate rose markedly (25, 22, and 46, mg daily).
Jello is a source of hydroxyproline which converts to glycolate and oxalate, and oral loading with gelatin can raise urine oxalate. Ten normal people eating a 1000 mg calcium, 150 mg oxalate diet (typical normal level) were fed supplemental gelatin as one quarter of daily protein intake. Urine oxalate was 24 mg daily vs. 17 mg daily when the same diet was supplemented with whey protein – containing little hydroxyproline – as a control. So lots of jello is not an ideal plan for stone formers.
Where does this leave us about how much oxalate is alright for a day. If diet calcium is high, as it should be, at about 1000 mg, then one should try to limit diet oxalate below 100 mg daily. Perhaps this is most important in those patients whose baseline oxalate excretions are higher – in the range of above 40 mg daily.
Eating a low oxalate diet can be overwhelming and difficult to incorporate into your daily life.
For those who need special help, I run an online course: The Kidney Stone Prevention Course to help you understand how to implement your physician’s prescribed treatment plans.
I am new to thi and am producing calcium phosphate stones. I am confused what I can eat. My doctor said I might have renal kidney acidosis,
Hi Sandra, Here is my best take on how to proceed in general. This is about renal tubular acidosis, something only your physician can diagnose for you. Regards, Fred Coe
Thanks very much for cogent discussion of a complex topic.
We are grateful that you have takent the time to share your expertise !
I do not have a specific quetion at this time, but I am suffering with the unbearable pain of renal calculi and under the car of a urologist in my town.
I have joined the FB group and will follow along, your guidance is helping me to adapt to this nutritional path.
Incidentally, I cannot eat any dairy products at all, and I am trying to understand the interactione between dietary oxylate and dietary calcium intakes.
Any further references that you recommend on that subject would be very well received.
Thanks again !
Happy New Year!
Hi Kent,
You can read this to better understand the oxalate-calcium connection.https://kidneystones.uchicago.edu/low-oxalate-diet/
Best, Jill
Also here are two lists from my site all prettied up:https://kidneystonediet.com/good-oxalate-list/
and the original Harvard list:https://kidneystonediet.com/eating-a-low-oxalate-diet/
Best, Jill
Hi Kent, Higher calcium intakes much lowers urine oxalate. You can use calcium supplements or supplemented foods, but need to place the added calcium with the larger meals or those with abundant oxalate in them. Regards, Fred Coe
Hi Jill, what about just plain oatmeal? and what if i make oat flour from those rolled oats? i saw some oat cookies that contained oat flour, oat bran, flaxseed, honey, egg whites, raisins… and i want to make sure i’m keeping to low oxalate. and how about corn chips? is that high or low?
Thanks,
John
Hi John,
Corn is low so we can assume that corn chips are low. Here is your safe list to check some of your fav foods:https://kidneystonediet.com/good-oxalate-list/.
My patients do eat oatmeal and still lower their oxalate. Make sure you are incorporating all the aspects of the kidney stone diet.
Best, Jill
Hi, I am only 22 years old and rapidly producing possibly Calcium Oxalate stones. My Dr prescribed this diet but my FAVORITE / CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT foods are spinach, almonds, cashews, quinoa, all beans, tomato sauce and feta….. Would give up chocolate any day for these foods… Can I really NEVER have my favorite foods ever again for the rest of my life? it feels like a cruel joke…
Hi Claire,
Read what I say about your favorite foods here:https://kidneystonediet.com/good-oxalate-list/
Best, Jill
Having trouble finding information on coconut flour. Good or bad.
Also, my stone analysis showed 20% calcium oxalate monohydrate and 80% uric acid dihydrate. Is there a specific diet for uric acid stones.
Thanks for your input.
Hi Robin,
My patients have been using coconut flour and maintaining lower oxalate values. Remember, the kidney stone diet is much more than just lowering oxalates. Keeping animal protein in check (read this:https://kidneystonediet.com/how-to-calculate-your-protein-needs/) and getting your calcium needs met too are very important. Read about the entire diet in this post:https://kidneystones.uchicago.edu/the-kidney-stone-diet/.
Please read this on HOW to use your oxalate list and also I have a SAFE oxalate list here:https://kidneystonediet.com/good-oxalate-list/
Best, Jill
Hi Robin, Given uric acid stones, oxalate is a nearly trivial matter. Your urine is too acidic, and alkali will prevent new stones and dissolve ones – at least the uric acid portions. The calcium oxalate part may from from high urine calcium, or oxalate, or low urine citrate, or some combination – here is an excellent review of the whole matter. Given the dihydrate form of calcium oxalate, high urine calcium is the likely factor Regards, Fred Coe
Hi Jill, such an interesting read. I produce calcium oxalate stones, so I’m planning to incorporate your plan. Question – is white chocolate high oxalate like regular chocolate? Thanks for the response.
Hi Sara,
You can have it. It is low. But. Don’t forget the sugar and sodium aspect of this diet. The Kidney Stone Diet is so much more than oxalate. Here is a great list that I composed from Harvard but with just the safe foods:https://kidneystonediet.com/good-oxalate-list/
Best, Jill
Hello. I notice when I eat foods high in animal protein, and calcium, they tend to give me a lot of kidney pain, as well as making my urinary output less, like the flow is interrupted. When I eat yogurt regularly, I notice its worse. How would I go about getting a diagnoses if I don’t pass my stones and they are too small to see on imaging. When I notice stones starting to form, I stay away from high Oxalate foods, and have to cut down on animal proteins, including yogurt. While I know I need to steer clear of Oxalates, I can’t figure out if it is the protein I should avoid or the calcium, in addition to oxalates. I’m also curious about PH1 and read some literature that mentioned that the liver is involved and it can lead to deposits of Oxalates throughout the body. What type of diagnostic testing is done for this?
Hi Kami, I am not so clear about your situation. Do you indeed form stones? As for oxalate, the amount is determined using 24 hour urine testing, and no other tests will substitute. But if you do not form stones, I am uncertain as to why you would be concerned. Regards, Fred Coe
This is very informative but something I don’t understand. Why is corn meal high in oxaltes but corn flour low? Aren’t they the same thing only ground different?
Hi Wayne,
I can only assume that it is the concentration per ounce of the product that leads to higher oxalate content.
Best, Jill
Hi Jill, fellow Renal RD.
I feel I am quite well versed in diet for stones. I am confused though that from memory where I read somewhere that cranberry juice is high in oxalates but in your list you don’t mention it and cranberries itself are low. Can you confirm and provide reference so I can have for future. Thanks.
Jennifer
Hi Jennifer,
Harvard (patient’s call this my list, but it is Harvard’s), says cranberries are low and they did not study the juice itself. There was a tiny study done by Mayo that sites there was an increase of calcium oxalate stone risk by drinking a liter per day. No one should be drinking that much juice of any sort, but I thought I would cite it here: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16006907
Hope this helps,
Jill
Dear Jill,
I have a kidney stone sitting quietly for a long time now in my right kidney. I also happen to have high creatinine levels (1.15 mg/dl) and uric acid level of 8.6 mg/dl. There are many foods i have to avoid which can cause my levels of uric acid and creatinine to shoot up but help me with oxalates. How do I find a balance? I do not want to be on medication just yet as I am only 30 years old. Do you have any suggestions for me?
Hi Sneha, at age 30, high serum creatinine and uric acid point to some possible kidney problem, and the answer is not found in diet oxalate. I would think your physicians will focus on the cause and kind of kidney disease. As for the stone, it may be uric acid, and they can tell by its radiological density from the CT scan that has shown it. For you, 24 hour urine testing is important, as one major cause of kidney disease and stone is high urine oxalate, diagnosed only from that test. Regards, Fred Coe
Hello,
There are so many contradictions. The article mentioned Hummus as a safe food. I make hummus but it has Tahini which is ground sesame seeds which is a no no on the list .
Hi Hannah,
Please read this article:https://kidneystonediet.com/good-oxalate-list/
Best, Jill
What types of kale are best/worst?
Hi Michael,
Not every kale has been studied so we don’t have reliable numbers. Eat a variety, in normal portion sizes, get your calcium intake to where it should be, and you will be golden. Read this: https://kidneystonediet.com/good-oxalate-list/
Best, Jill
What about olive oil? I see conflicting information on other sights about olives in general, but not much about olive oil.
Thankyou,
Amanda
Hi Amanda,
Olive oil is fine to have. Oils do not have oxalate. Also, it would serve you best to stick with one list. We use the Harvard list as it has proven to work well for our patients, but that is also due to the fact of them getting their RDA of calcium as well. The kidney stone diet is more than just an oxalate list. Here is a SAFE oxalate list that I derived from the original Harvard list. I like to look at life as glass half full so providing a list of all the safe foods has been helpful to my students. You can find it here and be sure to read the article that accompanies it.https://kidneystonediet.com/good-oxalate-list/
Best, Jill
Last month I passed a 6.5MG kidney stone. That stone was sent to a lab, where testing determined it to be an oxalate kidney stone. My urologist provided a sheet of paper that lists low, medium, and high oxalate foods. I will also be following the list of low oxalate foods on the University of Chicago websites. Why do various websites that seem to me to be reputable sources (i.e. Harvard Univ., Mayo Clinic, The University of Michigan Health Service, etc.) disagree so widely on what is and what is not a high oxalate food? Websites in the advice they provide regarding low oxalate foods totally contradict other websites on the same topic. Thank you for your reply.
Hi William,
Please read this article to find the answers to your questions:https://kidneystonediet.com/good-oxalate-list/
Best, Jill
I wanted to ask if taking 10g of collagen supplement daily for types I, II, III, V and X will increase my oxalates? Thx
Hi John, collagen contains hydroxyproline that can convert to oxalate, so you should measure your 24 hour urine without and with the supplement to be sure. If your diet is a proper one, meaning adequate in calcium – that blocks oxalate absorption – the supplement might be better. Here is an article on the kidney stone diet, what I have put together from what science is available. Regards, Fred Coe
What are the side effects of being on a low oxalate diet? loss of other nutrients, lack of sleep? etc. Thank you!
Hi Roberto,
There are plenty of fruits and veggies one can eat on a lower oxalate diet. Please read this and get my safe list:https://kidneystonediet.com/good-oxalate-list/ You will not have the side effects you ask about.
Best, Jill
What about homemade split pea soup with ham and onions but no carrots or celery? Also why are brussel sprouts high but cabbage is low? Thanks!
Hi Cathie,
Here is the safe oxalate list I prepared based upon the Harvard list showing that you can eat so much and still maintain lower oxalate levels in your urine. This is a portion game and the soup you ask about is just fine. Getting your calcium is very important.
https://kidneystonediet.com/good-oxalate-list/
Best, Jill
Hi I dont see anything on the list about sprouted whole wheat flours? And I was wanting more information on quinoa?
Hi Jeannette,
Harvard did not study all foods. Read this to understand what to do if there is food not listed on the list.https://kidneystonediet.com/good-oxalate-list/
Best, Jill
(Can you delete my other post please? I would rather not have the photo on the site. Thank you so much!)
Hello, I was wondering about lemon and lime juice. I’ve read that it’s a great way to help prevent stones from getting larger or forming together. I didn’t read anything about that on the page, and I was wondering what you’ve learned about that and if it’s true. Thank you for all of this information and for your work.
Hi C, I have deleted your prior post. Lemon and lime juice have no known purpose except as a way of raising urine citrate. Some prolific writers have popularized these juices without data on their efficacy and I do not see a point in them. I presume you have been evaluated as to the cause of your stones, here is a good place to check and see if that is true. If your urine citrate is low, and there is no reason to not use potassium citrate, one can find many better ways to do this than by using juices. If there are other problems, the juices can be altogether useless (there mostly are) and other approaches helpful. Regards, Fred Coe
Hi Jill
I recently sent in a question about whether pumpkin is low oxalate as I couldn’t see it on the list ( and apologies if it is there).
I am now also wondering about spirulina, barley grass juice and mustard and collard greens?
I’m seeing contradictory information across a number of online lists so it’s tricky! Thank you so much for your wonderful articles and lists. Nice to know it’s recent info too.
Thank you.
Hi Angela,
Find out what to do when you do not see your fav food on the Harvard list:https://kidneystonediet.com/good-oxalate-list/
Best, Jill
Hi Angela,
Read this to find out what I say when something is not on the list:https://kidneystonediet.com/good-oxalate-list/
Best, Jill
Hi Hanna,
My doctor recommended to take calcium supplement 10 min before each meal. I am curious to find out does it make a differentce if I take calcium citrate, Tums or any other calcium suppliment. Has there been any studies done about calcium supplements helping oxalate kidney stone patients?
Thank you,
Bella
Hi Bella, Your physician is right in that calcium will block oxalate absorption and reduce urine oxalate. THe issue is that one must also assure the extra calcium will not get into the urine and raise risk of stones. That requires either control of diet sodium or use of thiazide. Here is a good article on the calcium – oxalate story, and here is one about the entire kidney stone diet that includes the extra calcium and the sodium issues as well. Regards, Fred Coe
Hello,
My dr suggested me some supplements before diagnosing kidney stone that includes Calcium 300-600mg/ day
Magnesium, omega-3 and vitamin D x2000-3000 iud / day. My question is if I continue taking them will it effect anything? Also, due to my gastric issues I’m already on very restricted diet like gluten free and dairy free how do I I incorporate calcium if I’m restricting dairy ? Thanks
Hi Mara, I am not sure about the situation. Do you have stones and your physician is prescribing calcium for prevention of stones. Or did your physician prescribe calcium and you think the calcium caused your stones? Regards, Fred Coe
I have had 2 different doctors tell me to add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to my water once a day to keep the stones from forming. So, I find this article interesting. The rest of your foods were on the lists they gave me of foods to avoid.
Hi Tamra, Lemons and their juice have no proven role in stone prevention, and I shun them. Here is a lot better plan for stone prevention. Take a look. Regards, Fred Coe
Dear @jharris
I found the oxalate diet list on your website, which is based on the Harvard list.
I also read on your site, that one can drink coconut milk instead of cows milk.
The question is:
How do I know the content of oxalate for coconut, coconut water , coconut meat etc.
when there is none of these listed in the oxalate food list ?
I also found
contradictory informations on the internet about coconuts ( as coconut Is a nut and thats why its really high in oxalates ) as well as for kale. ( kale = dark leafy greens have a lot of oxalates )
Can you help me out on this ?
Where can I find scientifically solid informations about the oxalate content of coconuts and its products ?
Any Harvard or other scientific list ?
looking forward to hear from you soon
kind regards
Charlotte
Hi Charlotte,
There is not much science on coconut milk. BUT. My patients use it and maintain low oxalate values on their urine collections. Kale has been studied and it is low in oxalate. We stick to the Harvard list bc our decades worth of follow up urine collections from patients have proved to be evidence that it works. We are also giving patients the calcium advice which is just as important if not more important than the oxalate issues once you take away the highest oxalate foods. Read this safe list article too:https://kidneystonediet.com/good-oxalate-list/
Best, Jill
walnuts ok to eat with oxolate calcium stones?
@Jill Thank you so much , that really helped a lot!
Every other thing I’m reading says avocados are a low oxalate food. Why do you say otherwise?
Hi Jill, thank you so much for all the articles!
The information is great, so inspiring and important. The explanation on damaging effects on sugar and fructose
is so clear, thank you!
The oxalate content lists are a very useful tool indeed.
Is Oat bran cereal (I like Bob’s Red Mill) safe for those on low oxalate diet?
I noticed some lists say oat bran has high oxalate levels, some say it has very low.
Is small portion ok for every day?
Hi, my doctor prescribed my UROCIT (Potassium Citrate) to prevent stones. Should this help as a long term plan along with diet restrictions?
Hi DLR, diet oxalate is a small part of stone prevention, potassium citrate only one possible approach. Real stone prevention depends on the stone crystal type and what is found on 24 hour urine testing. Here is my favorite article on the way to do it. See if it works for you. Regards, Fred Coe
This is the most helpful breakdown I have seen in the 10 years I have been trying to control oxalates! Thank you.
For those of working to actively monitor oxalate intake, here’s another way of looking at the same data, sorting it by oxalate content. It really gives some perspective to just how many foods you CAN eat if you are just careful about the portion size.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1O_mnpZOFYCxKoi7WVfPFN13e6e9CTbyk-pPfIJIym24/edit?usp=sharing
Hi Greg, Good stuff. But I need to emphasize that an undue concern with food oxalate is probably not of prime importance – although very ingrained in stone prevention. A proper diet sodium and calcium level make diet oxalate rather less consequential. Likewise, both the lower sodium and higher calcium promote health: bone, blood pressure. Even so, convenience is a virtue – a good target is 200 mg of oxalate intake, 100 being probably too restrictive. Most important, is an oxalate diet needed, is urine oxalate high, is it the main problem causing stones? Regards, Fred Coe
Hi Fred,
The results of both my episodes with kidney stones were that I form(ed) calcium oxalate stones. A dietician recommended a change in diet to limit oxalates (which more or less flew in direct conflict with the low dairy/animal protein, high nuts/legumes diet I had been pursuing to combat elevated cholesterol). In fairness, she also told me that I could still eat just about anything I wanted as long as I drank plenty of milk with it, and that the single most important factor was how much water I drank and how regularly I drank it. I’ve probably been a little too heedful of oxalates, and the info you’ve provided really reinforced that just taking a little care to balance your diet is the best (and probably sanest) approach. Thanks again!
Greg
Hi Greg, The ideal diet for stone prevention is one that both prevents stones and gives the highest likelihood of reduced risks for other conditions that associate with stone forming. Higher diet calcium, reduced refined sugar, moderate protein intake, reduced diet sodium, all these reduce stone risk and other risks, so it is the best option. Above 2.2 liters/day of urine volume, stone risk does not go down further, so water is important but not a good monotherapy. Low oxalate diet, the same. Use 24 hour urine testing to see how diet affects stone risk, and you will have the best chances. Regards, Fred Coe
Espectacular summary! Thanks
In my case I have issues (insomnia and altered sleeping) when eating some oxalates rich foods but also with histamine rich and sulphur ones.
Can oxalate disbalance pushes to the disbalance of both sulphur and histamine one?
Root beet is problematic for me and it does not have histamine or sulphur but has oxalates. But beer/wine, low in oxalates are a problem (1/2 glass) but rich in histamine.
What do you think?
Can oxalates move the balance to the others (histamine and sulphur)?
What calcium supplement is safer? Calcium carbonate?
Thanks!!
Hi Pedro, Are you a stone former? Is your urine oxalate high enough to be the cause of your stones? Apart from people with stones, or those with very high urine oxalate levels, special diets are not necessary or even a good thing. So be sure. If you are a stone formers, and your urine oxalate is high enough to cause your stones, take a look at this article to be sure about the role of diet oxalate. Regards, Fred Coe
I have never had kidney stones but have one kidney due to donating. I’m in good health but am concerned about not stressing my kidney. Do you think that limiting oxalates is a good idea for my situation? Thank you!
Hi Michelle, Oxalates do not stress kidneys, and I do not favor trying to lower them in your case. But blood pressure needs be monitored and your goal is an ideal of below 120 systolic below 70 diastolic. Some experts argue that high acid loads might pose risk to one kidney, but no proof. Even so it is ideal to keep diet protein at 1 gm/kg/day. Occasional check of urine albumin or protein is also a good ideal. Regards, Fred Coe
How is it possible that animal protein is OK? I understand this is an article on eating a low oxalate diet, but the context is for kidney stone formers. I’ve had 7 calcium oxalate stones in the last five years and the second thing on the Doctor’s list in terms of diet modification, right behind drinking more water, is to reduce animal protein of all forms. You even suggest eating hard boiled eggs as a snack. I also see this same advice whenever I search for Kidney Stone diet. This seems like a big disconnect to me. Can you explain?
Hi Bill,
We are pretty clear in stating “eat moderate amounts of protein”. It is when patients overeat it as in a high protein diet that they run into issues. Low-fat milks and eggs too do not increase uric acid levels. Stick to normal amounts of protein for your healthy weight. Read this to help you figure that out for you:https://kidneystonediet.com/how-to-calculate-your-protein-needs/
Best, Jill
How is grapefruit juice ok but grapefruits aren’t?
Thank you.
Hi Laurie,
The concentration of the drink or food will play a part. The juice is diluted and doesn’t include the pith.
Best, Jill
I’m about to go to 2 lodges in Trinidad/ for a 10 day birdwatching trip and can no longer take my usual snack food (almonds/kind bars) because of calcium oxalate stones. Do you know of anything I can buy that is easy to pack and take on the trail during the day that is low in oxalate?
I use your information to control my intake at home and have had good results (24 hr urines) with it. Appreciate all the information that enabled me to make the changes necessary.
Thank you,
Marianne Kogon
Hi Marianne,
Go to my closed fb group and use the search bar to find tons of snacks my patients use on their trips to remain kidney stone diet compliant.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/kidneystonediet/791700764690817
Best, Jill
I can’t seem to find a oxalate count for fresh Jalapeños. Do you have a number?
Hi Elizabeth,
I have no numbers on jalapenos. But, this is mainly a portion game and since one doesn’t tend to eat a cup of them at a time, I would assume they are fine. Make sure to get your daily calcium from food each day. Also, I have the very first SEARCHABLE oxalate list here (list by Harvard):https://kidneystonediet.com/good-oxalate-list/
Best, Jill
Just got home from my doc and I’m overwhelmed and confused. I’ve had calcium oxalate stones and my 24 he urine shows both high levels of calcium and oxalate. Do I still increase my calcium to counter the oxalate? Doesn’t make sense to me. Help!
Btw. Thanks for all the info you’ve provided in this article.
Hi Nicole, You are reading the wrong article, because it is too limited. I would suggest a more general approach article to give yourself some perspective, and then consider what to do. As you will see, there are steps to diagnosis, and you can see if they have all been followed. Assuming your stones are not from an underlying disease (in the article) the high calcium is probably genetic and will respond to reduced diet sodium. If you manage this and urine calcium falls then higher diet calcium will lower urine oxalate without raising urine calcium. I have written ‘if’ a few times, meaning you will be best off reading the introductory article and following all of the steps to a proper diagnosis and treatment plan. Regards, Fred Coe
Are the Stevia Sweetner Packets, the processed product, that have no oxalate? You state unprocessed Stevia Sweetner has 42 mg. Where would you buy that, though I don’t want any oxalate. How do you know which Stevia Packets are OK?
Hi Gladys, read the label of the packet you want. Some packets contain actual stevia plant – so called organic – other are just chemical stevia. Chemical stevia has no oxalate in it, stevia from plants has oxalate. Regards, Fred Coe
i have been keto for 2 yrs. Just developed lichen sclerosus and am finding high oxaltes can contribuye to this, I do eat a lot of peanuts and almond so am cutting them out. I also take collegen in my coffee,,is this an issue. I am having urine tested to find out how much oxalates are in my system..
Hi Cheryl,
Too much collagen can increase stone production https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2268952/
Here is an article I wrote about keto and stones:https://kidneystonediet.com/fad-diets/
Best, Jill
Can I substitute powered peanut butter for the real stuff?
Hi Lori,
Powdered PB will have even more oxalate than regular PB as it is concentrated. BUT> If you can control the portion size of regualar pb you can still have it. Read the article that accompanies my safe oxalate list:https://kidneystonediet.com/good-oxalate-list/
Best, Jill
Does MSM increase oxalate urine crystals?
Hi Kelly, To date no one has found any serious side effects from MSM. I see no relationship between it and calcium oxalate crystals. Regards, Fred Coe
Excellent article, thank you for posting it. What about other green leafy vegetables out there like – collard greens, mustard green as an example? Can you recommend a link we can check specific foods and their oxalate levels? Thank you, thank you,
Iris
Hi Iris,
Go here for your searchable oxalate list:https://kidneystonediet.com/oxalate-list/
Best, Jill
Thank you for your response. If I may ask, what is your opinion or knowledge about the oxalate in fermented soybeans? It’s important because it is a known calcium regulator food (K2). Does the fermentation process effect the oxalate in the soybeans? Thank you again,
Iris
How many oxalates do white kidney (cannellini), chick peas, and lentils have each? These are the 3 main types of beans we eat in my household.
Thanks!!
Hi Concetta,
Harvard did not study them. But my patients do eat them they just make sure to eat normal portions of each of them and get your recommended daily calcium.
Best, Jill
I have sarcoidosis and last fall developed calcium crystals. I thought I had a urinary tract infection, although I am not prone to them. I had a very high degree of “discomfort”. It was not determined to be directly related to my auto immune disease. However, I have to watch my vitamin D levels. If I am correct in my understanding, I am potentially developing the crystals in relationship to the affects of D and sarcoidosis, which again was never determined to be directly related. The doctor Did a multiple biopsy procedure on my bladder , in December and there were no abnormal results. The abnormal looking spots were sited were detected by a CT scan. I asked if the abrasive nature of the crystal/stones would actually have possibly injured the tissue. A lot to try and figure out and much I am doing on my own. I think I am even more challenged with a Vegan diet. Thought and Ideas are greatly appreciated.
Hi Mary Ellen, Sarcoidosis raises urine calcium via activation of vitamin D stores to 1,25D – calcitriol, so you may be making crystals because of that high calcium and possibly other factors. You need the same kind of evaluation as any stone former, and here is a good place to start. Given you have Sarcoidosis treatment is more complex and diet not a likely major benefit. The main findings will be in your 24 hour urine values, and treatment will center on them. You cannot expect to figure this out on your own, it is a major medical issue. Regards, Fred Coe
I follow a paleo diet and recently passed a 5cm stone with the help of a procedure and mesh basket. My 24 hr urine showed an extremely high oxalate level. I was drinking water with Hydrolyzed Collagen Powder for a number of months before passing the stone. Spinach, meat, eggs and almonds were also a frequent part of my diet.
Could the extremely high amount of hydroxyproline found in the collagen powder be the root cause of the stone?
Thanks,
Harris
Hi Harris, Collagen can do it – the hydroxyproline. Stop it and get another 24 hour urine. Spinach is also terrible – why do people eat it?? Fred
I’m just looking into oxalates, but not related to kidney stones. I’m 35 years old. I’ve recently had a lot of digestive issues pop up, CIC (a less painful version of IBS) has apparently been a life long thing but has worsened in the last several months. I also picked up OBS about 2 years ago. Seems to work on a 5 day response time to added sugar content (fruits are hit and miss, dates seem fine but grapes trigger it so I don’t believe it is oxalate DIRECTLY causing the issue). I’ve controlled that primarily by chopping all desserts out of my life and avoiding anything with meaningful added sugar content. Quite healthy. Also these last two years have coincided with A1C values of 5.9 (2018), 5.8 (2019), and 5.7 (2020), so all prediabetic despite low (2018) to no (2020) added sugar intake and regular exercise. I have no idea if the raised A1C is connected to the OBS.
When I looked into oxalate as something that can be an irritant to the digestive system I realized the main vegetable I eat is spinach (often quite a lot of it), with a lot of almonds and other nuts. Simultaneously, I’ve reduced dairy intake because I’ve never been a big fan and I don’t have the lactase gene so I’ve felt better when I don’t eat it.
An additional variable: I was on a lot of different supplements to try to help with the OBS. I’ve cut almost all of them out now (with the exception of pumpkin seed oil, which seems to be the most obviously beneficial), and also recently stopped taking magnesium which my doctor asked me to start taking to help with the then undiagnosed CIC. This loss of magnesium made things worse, which I guess makes sense as I’ve heard magnesium can help control oxalate levels as well?
Essentially, I’ve realized that I’ve steadily and massively increased my oxalate content while reducing dairy since first trying a “whole 30” diet in 2014, culminating in a 30 day test of near-vegan diet that left me feeling bloated, tired, and weak by the end of it (January of this year), to include big problems with bowel movements that have a gastroenterologist putting me on miralax and just going through a colonoscopy at 35. Very large daily intake of spinach, dates, and almonds, no cheese or milk anything.
I haven’t had kidney stones, but as you can tell, a lot of things are popping up. As I try to understand what is happening to my body oxalate looked like it could be related but the high variety of information and the fact that most searches for oxalate relate purely to kidney stones makes this difficult.
So I guess here’s my question: I may not be particularly sensitive to oxalate (or I might have a stone on the way, who knows?) but can massive (think 1000+ mg easily) of oxalate a day cause other problems? As I’ve tried to focus on resolving my OBS for the last few years, now the CIC has popped up, and as I’ve tried to reduce the number of supplements I’m on things have gotten worse. Part of me just wants to tough it out and let me body adjust to a new and different normal state, but the old idea that “I can adjust to anything” is just a lot less true than it was when I was 22.
Hi Ben, Apart from stones and – when very high – renal damage, oxalate has no known effects on health. If you are concerned about oxalate intake and potential stone or kidney disease consequences have your physician order a 24 hour urine panel for stone disease – it has all the measurements you need. Single tests from local labs often mismeasure oxalate, so do not depend on them. Food oxalate has no known role in producing GI symptoms. Regards, Fred Coe
Dear Jill and Dr Coe,
I don’t think I can overstate how much I’ve relied on your truly amazing website, especially after seeing several urologists for kidney stones who didn’t seem to know much about some of the topics you cover. Especially diet! It could almost make me believe they didn’t want me to know how to avoid stones, since mine were almost certainly a result of the amount of chocolate I was consuming (a very low sugar variety which I take as a brain “medicine” since I can’t tolerate psych meds). I was able to continue enjoying the mental benefits of chocolate by using your list to avoid other foods with oxalates, helped also by discovering I can tolerate A2 milk, to add dietary calcium. (I always knew it must be casein, not lactose, I couldn’t tolerate. Now hoping adding milk to my diet might be good for my pre-osteoparotic bones as well.) These changes seem to have finally stopped new stones from forming. My only question: I use a lot of lemon on salads for the citrate benefit, and wonder why lemonade is “very high” (15mg per 8 oz) on your list, and Diet Lemonade “little or none” (1mg)? Many thanks to you both!
Hi Melinda,
I hate how Harvard uses adjectives. Read this article I have written to introduce the “safe oxalate” list. It is derived from Harvards, but I have taken the qualifiers away and only listed foods that you CAN have. I am a glass half full kinda gal!
Not sure why Harvard says it is high, but you don’t want to drink regular lemonade anyway as it has too much sugar. I ask all my patients who have been told to use lemons, “do you need to?” Or are you just using them as a prevention measure?
Best, Jill
Many thanks, Jill — your simplified list is awesome! I eat very low sugar including my chocolate (83% cocoa). And I love lemon juice in salad dressing, was just hoping it can’t hurt. It seems too bad the mistake about lemonade being high in oxalates since some will think lemon is bad and not let themselves enjoy it. I remember Dr Coe said something on a page here about how he “detests” lemon juice, but assume that’s just personal preference?
Hi Melinda, it is a preference, I detest it. Fred
Hi Melinda,
It won’t hurt, he just thinks that it is not a generic fix for prevention in general and one should get a urine collection to see if it is even needed-and he doesn’t like it. 🙂
Best, Jill
Thx for info.
I have Barretts & studies on Black Raspberry Extract has been shown to help .
Any idea how much Oxalate is in a serving of extract ?
Best , steve
I had an OAT saying I have high oxalates, I don’t eat gluten or dairy due to hoshimoto’s. After reading this site; could my low calcium intake and eating a paleo diet be a cause of high oxaltes?
I do not form stones. Would calcium supplements help? If so which type and amount is best?
Bren
Hi Bren, Smart question, and I think you are right. Calcium supplements with your main meals – perhaps a Tum with each – might be good for bones and will lower urine oxalate. Be sure and measure 24 hour urine oxalate and calcium so you know how high the urine calcium gets – stone risk is always a risk with calcium supplements. Be sure your physician knows you are doing this! Regards, Fred Coe
I had to have a 6 mm kidney stone removed and the biopsy showed calcium oxolates. I have never had a kidney stone before . I will have to change my diet. Thank you for your interesting articles and lots of guidance!
Hi Jill,
There is a new searchable oxalate that may be helpful to you when changing your new diet!https://kidneystonediet.com/oxalate-list/ Let me know if I can help!
Best, Jill
Thank you so much for the lists and information. I was (and am) getting so many conflicting “allowances” and values. Have changed from so many potatoes, but still learning. Some lists show oatmeal is low and some show high. I was eating a lot of chia seeds and chia oil also. Do you know the oxalate value in those items? I would also like to know about Stevia (Walmart sells Pyure) and the MCToil and coconut oil. Any help? Thank you again.
Hi Marion,
Stick with one list as to not make yourself confused. We use the Harvard list as we have for decades and our patients fair well with it. Oils and stevia have no oxalate. Find the list on my site in a searchable form and I also made a “safe list” from the original Harvard list that you might find helpful;https://kidneystonediet.com/oxalate-list/
Best, Jill
Dear Jill,
This is be most informative website I have found. Thank you so much for the time, references and details. I was hoping to find some examples of good oxalate-calcium combo, for example, yogurt + fruits (banana, strawberries) = good, but not with raspberry. Could you provide other examples? What could we pair with beets and nuts? What goes well with carrot juice? Thank you again for the attention! I learned a lot!
Hi Selena,
I think it is easiest to have a glass of milk or nondairy “milk” like flax or pea to help with each meal. For snack, yes, blueberries and yogurt. Beets are very high and I would really stick to the portion size and maybe pair it with goat cheese? Nuts? Stay away from most but you can have pistachios and swiss cheese? I also have taken the Harvard list and made a “safe list” from it and a searchable list. Check both out here:https://kidneystonediet.com/oxalate-list/
Best, Jill
Thank you for the suggestions and the list. It’s time to be creative in my recipes. Take care!