Chip J. (St. Augustine, FL) on 01/27/2019:

The first thing I did in 2008 was to cut high oxalate foods from my diet. Spinach, black tea, beans (both green and dry, in fact any legume), processed chocalate, white and sweet potatoes and carrots were the first things I dropped. This took stones from appearing every 15 to 18 months to 3 years.

Then I discovered the University of Chicago's kidney Stone web pages, they are awesome. From them I learned how stone formers have a different body chemistry and that just 50 MG of oxalates can cause stones to form.

Their list of the amount of oxalates in foods was the most comprehensive I had seen. Learning about different foods validated my decision to eliminate high oxalate foods but really showed the need to watch what you eat because oxalates show up anywhere. One tip they gave was to take a high citrate supplement. It turns out that citrate binds to oxalate ions and stops them from being released into the body. I elected to take Magnesium Citrate. I also stumbled onto the “Trying Low Oxalate” yahoo users group. They have lots of members who must limit oxalates for lots of health reasons, (endometriosis is just one). Something I would have not thought of are high oxalate spices and supplements.

From them I found out that just one packet of Stevia sweetener has 47 mg of oxalate (I switched to monk fruit extract which has zero oxalate.) Their list of foods is even better than the University of Chicago's. This past August I received another ultrasound, I asked to be tested because of all the steps I had taken. (I have had them after every stone I had ever passed, normally there would be 2 to 4 small stones still present.) This time I was found to be stone free. One final tip, I heard from one food manufacturer, they claimed that only unprocessed cocao had no oxalates. That even dark chocolate is processed and has oxalates.

I hope that my story helps others get rid of their stones.