As someone who has kidney stones, I find myself having to manage pain frequently. If you also have them – I am SO sorry. They are not fun at all. However, there are some diet changes that I (try) to follow in order to lessen some of my symptoms.
However, a disclaimer, I am not a medical professional. I have no extensive knowledge of the proper diet to follow. This is simply what works for me and it might not work for you! Please consult with your doctor and if you have struggled with food restriction in the past – I highly recommend that you do not read this article.
With that in mind, let’s move on.
First, cutting out tomatoes, chocolate and nuts has helped a ton.
I KNOW. It has been very difficult. However, since the initial adjustment period, I have found that I have missed eating these foods far less than I had expected. If I have pizza, I choose to have white sauce. If I am craving something sweet, I pick a vanilla option. Nuts are harder to replace, of course. But there are other snacking options! One of my favorites is rice cakes – these are super adaptable, and you can eat them with a number of different toppings! Personally, I will usually grate some cheese for the top.
Next, it’s important to monitor your grain intake – most are super high in oxalates. I haven’t found any replacements for these of course, but I have made small adjustments such as having white rice instead of whole grain. While it is less nutrient-rich, you can still get these nutrients by adding toppings with the same nutrients in them. While not ideal, if it means I will be in less pain, I will choose to make the adjustment.
In addition, make sure you are careful about what you are adding to your smoothies! As someone who used to love green smoothies, I was horrified to find how high in oxalates spinach is. As much as I loved it previously, I found that kale and romaine are perfect alternatives. While spinach is great, it is easy to find replacements for it. Further, raspberries are also quite high on the list – if you add these to your smoothies, consider eliminating them. Luckily enough for us smoothie lovers, things like bananas are fine to add!
Dairy is also something that you will not have to worry about – butter, Greek yogurt, milk – all of these are fine. However, if you are vegan, this may be difficult – things like almond milk and other dairy alternatives do have quite a high oxalate content.
As difficult as it is to adjust your diet, you will thank yourself in the long run. However, changing to a low oxalate diet does not mean you have to eliminate ALL of these foods – you just need to be more mindful when you have them! There are no “bad” food groups, but if you