Being a kidney stone former has its struggles. Apart from the sudden bouts of crippling pain, the pain of passing a stone, and recovery from surgery, patients are told to watch their diets to prevent recurrences of stone formation.

Around 80% of kidney stones are made of calcium oxalate1, and patients are usually advised to stick to a low-oxalate diet. With this in mind, lots of our favorite snacks are high in oxalate. These include potato chips, french fries, nuts, chocolate, and more. As people who enjoy our snacks, we found a list of low-oxalate snack alternatives from a reputable source2, and it felt like we’ve found gold.

Refer to the list of high-oxalate foods with their respective low-oxalate alternatives below!

Foods High in Oxalate Low Oxalate Alternatives
Nut products containing almonds, Cashews, Peanuts, Pecans, Walnuts) Popcorn
Potato Chips Graham crackers, Triscuits, Saltines
Chocolate Chip Cookies Oatmeal Cookies, Fig Bars, Popsicles, Pudding, Jello
Grapefruit, Oranges, Tangerines Cantaloupe, Honeydew Melon, Mango, Nectarines
Dates Figs, Raisins
Canned Pineapple Canned Peaches, Canned Pears
Dried Figs, Dried Pineapple Dried Apricots, Apples or Cranberries
Fava, Navy or Refried Beans Soybeans, Mung Beans
Spinach Lettuce
Turnip, Yams Yellow Squash
Asparagus Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower
Collards Kale, Mustard Greens
Potatoes White Rice, Macaroni and Cheese
French Toast, Pancakes Cornbread, Eggs
Clam Chowder, Lentil Soup, Miso Soup Chicken Soup
Peanut Butter Apple Butter
Tomato Sauce Olive Oil
Blueberry Muffins Oat Bran Muffin, Corn Bread

Sources: 

  1. Al-Aown, A., Kyriazis, I., Kallidonis, P., Kraniotis, P., Rigopoulos, C., Karnabatidis, D., Petsas, T., & Liatsikos, E. (2010). Ureteral stents: New ideas, new designs. Therapeutic Advances in Urology, 2(2), 85–92. https://doi.org/10.1177/1756287210370699

  1. Low Oxalate Alternatives. (2017). Retrieved April 26, 2022, from https://regepi.bwh.harvard.edu/health/Oxalate/files

Share this article

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn