Some of the lowest oxalate vegetables are lettuces like romaine, bibb and iceberg, as well as radishes, water chestnuts and cauliflower, which is being turned into pretty much anything these days.
Too much of this chemical can become poisonous when consumed. In small doses, it causes kidney stones. Luckily, romaine lettuce is a green extremely low in this chemical! So switching up your salads to this on occasion can be very beneficial.
Leafy greens that are generally considered lower in oxalate include: Arugula. Bok choy. Broccoli.
Vegetables that contain oxalates are not good for your kidney stone diet. Stick to vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, carrots, green beans, tomatoes, kale, cabbage, and lettuce. These vegetables do not contain oxalates and can help you decrease the risk of kidney stones.
Iceberg Lettuce
It is a great source of fiber and water (which just happens to be critical for kidney stone prevention). Plus, it is very low in oxalate!
Some plant foods extremely high in oxalates include, but not limited to: Leafy greens – spinach, Swiss chard, kale, collard greens, celery, parsley, endive, beetroot greens, dandelion greens, and turnip greens. Root crops – beets, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and parsnips.
Blueberries and blackberries have only 4 milligrams of oxalates per cup.
Some examples of foods that have high levels of oxalate include peanuts, rhubarb, spinach, beets, Swiss chard, chocolate and sweet potatoes. Limiting intake of these foods may be beneficial for people who form calcium oxalate stones which is the leading type of kidney stone.
Your safest bets include iceberg, arugula, Bibb, Boston, red leaf or green leaf lettuces. If you are not on a blood thinning medication, raw spinach, romaine and kale are good options as well. Keep your lettuce portion to about 1 cup or ½ cup if choosing kale or raw spinach.
Eating avocados will not have an effect on forming kidney stones. Learn more about the kidney stone diet.
Low Oxalate (1 cup raw strawberries = 4 mg oxalate)
Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and cherries are all wonderful low oxalate fruits for a healthy kidney stone diet. Raspberries are the one berry exception, coming in at 48mg oxalate per cup. Strawberries make a great addition to yogurt in the morning.
The potassium in iceberg lettuce is low, making it great for a kidney diet.
Calcium is a nutrient that is found in dairy products, such as yogurt, milk and cheese. You need to eat calcium so that it can bind with oxalate in the stomach and intestines before it moves to the kidneys. Eating foods with calcium is a good way for oxalates to leave the body and not form stones.
Low-oxalate vegetables which are also low in calories, include cabbage, chives, cauliflower, cucumbers, endive, kohlrabi, mushrooms, radishes and water chestnuts. Peas, which are legumes, are also low-oxalate.
Milk, hard cheese, yogurt, ice cream, sour cream, cream cheese, cottage cheese, buttermilk, custard and pudding do not contain oxalate.
All varieties of apples are low oxalate. By themselves, apples are the perfectly portioned portable snack!
White or wild rice. White bread, cornbread, bagels, and white English muffins (medium oxalate) Saltine or soda crackers and vanilla wafers (medium oxalate) Brown rice, spaghetti, and other noodles and pastas (medium oxalate)
Low oxalate protein and dairy include eggs, meat, poultry, fish, yogurt, cheese, milk, and butter. In addition, coffee, water, and fruit juice are considered low oxalate.
The ingestion of the lemon juice seems to dissipate a effect of great quantity of citrates which in turn increases the excretion of oxalates. The presence of these two elements simultaneously: citrate and oxalate compensate for their opposite effect.
Leafy Greens
They are high in vitamin A, C, and K, all of which have anti-inflammatory properties. Anti-inflammatory leafy greens do not include iceberg lettuce, which has very little nutritional value.
As chocolate is considered as a high oxalate food (Williams and Wilson, 1990, Massey et al., 1993, Noonan and Savage, 1999, Mendonça et al., 2003), The Oxalosis & Hyperoxaluria Foundation (OHF, 2004) recommends that affected persons should avoid eating chocolate.