Kidney stone dietary taboo list

Long-term intake of large amounts of high-oxalate/high-purine foods, long-term maintenance of a heavy, high-sugar, high-refined carbohydrate diet, and extra large doses of calcium/vitamin C supplements.

The most outrageous patient I have ever seen was a 23-year-old young man. He was in so much pain that he was curled up on the bed in the emergency room and still chanting "I will never eat spinach again." The result was that the composition of the stones was found to be uric acid stones. His habit of eating skewers with iced Coke five times a week was the culprit of the stones. The impact of spinach was not even 1/10 of that of barbecue.

First of all, we have to talk about calcium oxalate stones, which account for 80% of all kidney stones. This is also the type that everyone misunderstands the most. In the past, the old saying was "You can't eat spinach, drink soy milk, or eat tofu if you have stones." Now, clinical research in recent years has updated the view: spinach and other high-oxal sauerkraut are not completely inedible. Blanching them in boiling water for 1 minute before eating can remove more than 60% of the oxalic acid. When paired with a mouthful of calcium-containing tofu or milk, the oxalic acid directly combines with calcium in the intestine to form a precipitate that cannot be absorbed, and cannot reach the kidneys at all. As for soy milk and tofu, it’s even worse. Most of the oxalic acid in soybeans goes with the okara during processing and filtration. The phytic acid in the soybeans can inhibit the formation of calcium oxalate crystals. As long as you don’t drink two liters of concentrated soy milk a day, there is no need to eat it.

Of course, there are some things that you really need to pay attention to. For example, people who eat kale + nut salad every day to lose weight. Last year, I received three cases of three people who developed 3mm small stones after eating salad for three months. The oxalic acid in raw green leafy vegetables was not destroyed. In addition, the high oxalic acid in nuts and the lack of drinking water will put a burden on the kidneys. Don’t just take supplements of vitamin C. One tablet of vitamin C in the health care category is only 1000mg. If you have calcium oxalate stones, long-term consumption will indeed increase the urinary oxalic acid content. Your daily intake of vitamin C from fruits and vegetables is enough, so there is no need to supplement.

Let’s talk about uric acid stones, which account for about 10%. This basically overlaps with the dietary taboos of gout. Don't listen to people who say "you can't eat seafood if you have stones" and just beat it to death with a stick. It's okay to eat steamed salmon once in a while. What you should avoid is the kind of old-fashioned soup that has been simmered for three or four hours, oden, soup and ingredients. The purine content in these kebabs with beer is ridiculously high. I met an aunt in Guangdong who made pork bone soup for her son every day. Both mother and son were found to have high uric acid, and the son also developed two uric acid stones. Oh, by the way, don’t believe that “drinking soda water can dissolve uric acid stones”. Only medicinal sodium bicarbonate prescribed by a doctor is effective. Commercially available soda water either adds a lot of sugar or does not have enough alkalinity. Drinking too much will increase blood sugar.

The remaining infectious stones and cystine stones have little to do with diet. The former mainly needs to control urinary tract infections, while the latter is a genetic and metabolic problem. Dietary restrictions are of no use. Just follow the doctor's advice and take medicine.

By the way, there is a point that has been controversial for many years: can you drink milk if you have kidney stones? It used to be said that high calcium would aggravate stones, but now the latest urology guidelines clearly state that a normal daily intake of 800-1000mg of calcium (about the amount of a carton of milk + an egg) can reduce the intestinal absorption of oxalic acid and reduce the risk of stones. Only those who take three or four calcium tablets a day and consume more than 2000mg of calcium will increase the probability of stones. Don't blame milk again.

Every time I read a report to a patient, I always add that there is really no need to dare not eat anything. An aunt was diagnosed with calcium oxalate stones before and did not touch any green leafy vegetables for half a year. In the end, she fainted and was admitted to the hospital due to low potassium and fatigue. It was completely worth the loss. In fact, what is more important than taboos is to drink enough 2000-3000ml of warm boiled water every day. If you are really hungry and want to eat hot pot, drink two more glasses of water after eating, which is much more useful than worrying about whether you can eat hairy tripe.

Oh yes, one last reminder, don’t believe what is said on the Internet about “drinking Coke Fossil” or “eating fungus to expel stones”. I have seen several people who believed in Coke Fossil, but the stones did not fall off and their blood sugar went up a bit. If the stones really exceed 6mm, you should see a doctor instead of relying on folk remedies.