Oxalates in food

@rabbitmommy How very frustrating! I can relate. In the past I had kidney stones. Apparently one lodged in my left kidney just above the ureter. The symptoms resolved and I thought I had passed the stone. I couldn't afford a follow-up scan at the time so nobody knew it was still there. Eventually that left kidney completely atrophied. We didn't discover THAT until my GFR dropped after a bout of flu so I have only one functioning kidney. I went on a renal diet and switched from a plant-based diet to primarily vegetarian and, recently, to vegan and my GFR has gone from 28 to 37 in less than a year. Then, like you, I learned that much on a renal diet, especially a vegan one, has oxalates. I am NOT suggesting you do what I did. I threw up my hands and decided to stay on my current diet since right now it's working. I know I'm risking stone formation and I'm not happy about that but don't know what else to do.

I do know that most kidney stones are formed from calcium and oddly enough, CKD reduces the amount of calcium (and reduces the amount of urine,) hence reducing the likelihood of stone formation. This was one of the reasons I chose not to limit foods with oxalates. Personal choice, that. I'm not advocating for anyone else to do so.

It may sound counterintuitive but reducing dietary calcium isn't the answer. Pairing calcium-containing foods with oxalates in foods actually can help and so can reducing sodium. So can adequate hydration for those not on fluid restriction.

I've done a lot of research on pphosphorus, potassium, sodium, and protein content of various foods but have avoided trying to find out if what I now eat is high-oxalate. I guess I don't want to know. Recently someone in one of these groups posted a list of oxalate content in food, perhaps @CollenYoung or @rosemarya can find that list because I would like to have it also.

Is this what you are looking for? You might need to scroll halfway down the page.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/3rd-stage-kidney-disease/?pg=3#chv4-comment-stream-header

@rosemarya, thank you! Just what I was looking for.

I have Stage 4 kidney disease due to severe oxylate damage. We don’t know why, though I believe my unknowingly at the time high oxylate diet was a big factor if not the cause. My GFR was at 16 but after adjusting to a low oxylate diet, I’ve stabilized at 22-24. My question is can you really improve you GFR, and if so, how best to do so? There don’t seem to be a lot of oxylate experts around. Thank you.

@randyr Kudos to you for improving your GFR! I have stage 3 CKD and only one functioning kidney, the other has atrophied, possibly from stone blockage. I also am an insulin-dependent diabetic so finding an appropriate diet has been a challenge. Within about 3 months or so after going on a vegetarian diet my GFR went from 28 to 35. Then when I converted to a strictly vegan diet, GFR went up to 35 within a couple of months. In some ways a renal diet conflicts with a diabetic diet so it's been a bit difficult to balance it all out. Despite having had kidney stones in the past possibly causing my left kidney to fail and atrophy, I've had so many other dietary considerations to contend with I haven't even tried to measure oxalates. I'm not going to tell you you shouldn't watch oxalates just because I haven't been able to, I'm telling you there's hope. I eat plant-based foods only, no eggs, no meat, and no dairy - no animal products whatsoever - and am quiet satisfied with my meals. I'm not saying a veggie diet would help you, I know only that it helped me.

Thanks so much. Where do you get your protein?

@randyr Rice eaten with legumes (such as peas) form a complete protein. Rice and 2 other kinds of vegetables form a complete protein. True of corn as well. And most bread, flour tortillas, vegan noodles, etc., contain protein. In fact, 1 C flour contains about 13 grams. 1/2 C cooked green beans has about a gram. So does a cup of almond milk. 2 T nutritional yeast contains 4 grams and lends a non-dairy cheesy flavor to pastas and other dishes. 1 slice of tofu contains 6-8 grams. The National Institutes of Health recommends 0.36 grams per pound of body weight daily for stage 3 CKD. The standard for healthier people is about 50 grams daily but CKD patients should take in less. My neph doesn't want me to go over 35 grams a day. I usually get that much from pasta and rice combined with several vegetables and right now I do eat some oatmeal, which is fairly high protein. I also eat nuts (sparingly) for the protein. Since I'm not too worried about oxalates at the moment, I do eat some things which have medium-to-high oxalate content such as the oatmeal, chickpeas (sparingly,) and the tree nuts.

I have found this website to be very helpful in calculating nutrients in food, although it doesn't list oxalates. :https://nutritiondata.self.com

Thanks. Unfortunately, the cause of my kidney disease is oxylate damage. Thus, I need to steer clear of those foods high in oxylates, such as beans, nuts, soy products and flour (other than coconut flour).

@randyr 1/4 C coconut flour has about 6 grams of protein. If you're on a 35 gram daily protein restriction like I am that's a little less than a sixth of your intake, quite a bit.. One 2-inch piece has about a gram and a half of protein, a bit over 50 mg phosphorus, 160 mg potassium, 9 mg sodium. Many salad veggies are very low in oxalates but still contain small amounts of protein.
https://kidneystones.uchicago.edu has a list. So does http://www.thevpfoundation.org

Cabbage, chives, cauliflower, cucumbers, endive, kohlrabi, mushrooms, radishes and water chestnuts are low oxalate veggies. Peas, which are legumes, are also low-oxalate.