Beware the Super Foods

I had to laugh when my husband brought home a list of foods he should try to avoid. He had just suffered through a second round of kidney stones, the first round being five years ago. With the first round the doctor just says, “Yup, you had a kidney stone. If you get one again we’ll look into why.” Because hopefully you won’t have one again. Well he did.

So this time the doctors kept the stone and analyzed it, to see what it was made up of. It was the most common kind of kidney stone, made up of calcium and oxalates, whatever those are.

Interestingly enough, oxalates are very prevalent in many of the “super foods,” like kale, spinach, peppers. They are in lesser quantities in berries, again considered  very healthy.

So, do we “eat healthy” or try to avoid kidney stones?

To keep calcium and oxalates from binding together to make stones, my husband downs two shots of lemon juice every day, as recommended by his doctor. (The doctor actually recommended drinking two glasses of lemonade every day, but since my husband doesn’t want the extra sugar calories, he’s drinking the lemon juice straight. He has learned that it is best to drink the lemon juice before a meal, rather than after, as after is more likely to induce some heartburn!)

And, for my part, since I am generally in control of what is served for dinner, no kale (yeah!) and only moderate amounts of the other super foods, but still plenty of healthy fruits, veggies, grains and proteins.

I predict, unless the people eating all of that kale are also eating a lot of lemon juice, there is going to be an epidemic of kidney stones in the relatively near future. I hope I am wrong.

Published by

Heather Holbrook

I found out that I have Autism upon having a son with the same "disorder." Ironically, I was voted, "Most Likely to Succeed," by my high school classmates. But had I been born now, instead of 40+ years ago, I would have been considered a different sort of special. This site was started to encourage other Autistics and the people who love them .

11 thoughts on “Beware the Super Foods”

  1. I’m impressed with how you give a lot of information in a very concise manner. Often I get bored reading “what’s good for me” kinds of information. This was interesting. I see you have decided to follow me so I’m glad to follow back. Will see you often I hope.

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    1. My thoughts exactly! My son is always asking, “Will this hurt me if I eat to much of it?” My answer is always, “Yes, pretty much anything will kill you if you eat too much of it. But just about everything is just fine to eat in proper proportion.”

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  2. Every time you think you’re eating good, something like this comes about! Best wishes fighting those kidney stones!!

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