Weight lose and kidney stones [Archive]

drheather

02-15-2010, 09:11 AM

Hello, I've been on the program for just over 3 weeks now. I feel more energy and my mood has been a lot better. I have been trying to find out what would be the best diet for me. I have been on low fat and low carb diets in the past. And I have lost weight with both. But your system recommends more of the low carb diet. But now I get kidney stones very easy and it all started when I was on a low carb diet (The Zone). Can you recommend a diet? Thanks!

Hello and thanks for writing in! I am glad to hear that you are using the PCOS System.

Regarding the kidney stones, do you know what type of stones you are forming? The type of stones you form may dictate what diet you follow.

Also keep in mind that a lower carbohydrate diet does not mean high protein. There are many diets that reduce carbs and increase protein. We do not recommend more protein but more vegetables in the diet, lean protein and healthy fats.

If you are forming uric acid stones, as you know, for some reason your body cannot tolerate large amounts of animal protein. Therefore we would NOT recommend a high-protein, low-carb diet for you.

We think you would benefit from a moderate protein diet with protein mostly coming from low or moderate-purine sources, such as tofu, nuts, eggs, dairy, fish and poultry.

Vegetables should comprise the bulk of your diet. The veggies that are higher in purines and therefore are often not recommended are: asparagus, mushrooms, and spinach. However, I found a source that states that even though those vegetables are high in purines, they may not raise the risk of gout. I'm not sure what the recommendation for you should be, based on this conflicting info. You could ask your doctor what he or she thinks of these particular vegetables in your case.

When you do eat carbohydrates, try to eat whole-grain, unrefined foods rather than refined carbohydrates. For example, avoid pastries, cookies, and table sugar. When eating bread, opt for whole-grain bread like rye. Choose brown rice over white rice, whole-wheat pita over white pita bread.

Here are some other foods that are recommended for people who need to eat a low purine diet:
Fresh cherries, strawberries, blueberries, and other red-blue berries, Bananas, Celery, Tomatoes, Vegetables including kale, cabbage, parsley, green-leafy vegetables

Foods high in bromelain (pineapple)

Foods high in vitamin C (red cabbage, red bell peppers, tangerines, mandarins, oranges, potatoes)

At least 12 glasses of water per day

Essential fatty acids (wild salmon- fresh or canned, flaxseed, nuts, seeds)

Remember, lowering carbs doesn't mean just adding protein, but taking in lots of veggies too!

It's also important to really remember to drink enough water. Dehydration is well known to trigger kidney stones. Caffeinated beverages contribute to dehydration so if you can limit your coffee and soda intake, that's a plus.

Also, since you can't be on a high protein diet, please make sure that exercise is a priority. Exercise will certainly help to improve your insulin sensitivity.

I have a feeling that you are going to need to experiment a little to find which diet works the best for you in terms of balancing the problems with kidney stones and the weight gain & insulin resistance. I think the key is going to be replacing refined carbohydrates with vegetables, so that you are not drastically increasing your protein levels, but also so that you are not relying on refined carbs for your calories.

Again, knowing the types of stones will be helpful. I would also ask your doctor what limitations they recommend and we can also help with that. I look forward to hearing back from you.