Kidney Stones

[neurosense]

Too much of a good thing? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
For 67 years I had extraordinary health due to good genes, exercise, and nutrition, including a preference for foods high in natural antioxidants. But as more foods were recognized, I large daily doses of chocolate and grape juice. Bam! Within a couple months I had an arthritic thumb, and blood in my urine on a routine physical -- which turned out due to an extremely painful (and expensive) kidney stone. The following research indicated that the primary culprit was foods high in oxalic acid – in the grape juice and chocolate I added, and in my other antioxidant foods!
Look at the correlation in my diet:

Antioxidant Capacity ratings, according to:
http://www.naturalantioxidants.org/Total_Antioxidants.html
Some of the highest antioxidant foods, (in units/serving of 100 grams or 3.5 oz.)
Dark chocolate 13,000, nuts 4-18,000, kidney beans 14,000, blueberries 9,000, strawberries 3,500, concord grape juice 2,800, whole grain bread, potatoes, oats 1,500,

“Less high oxalate foods may help prevent kidney stones ” According to:
http://patienteducation.upmc.com/Pdf/LowOxalateDiet.pdf (University of Pittsburg Medical Center)
They suggest less than 40-50 mg/day, and have tables showing foods with 2-10 and >10 mg oxalate/serving
>10 mg = chocolate, concord grape juice, high fiber bread and cereal, most potatoes and beans,
soy, nuts, blueberries, strawberries, carrots, tahini, instant coffee, etc.
2-10 mg = other common fruits and juices, vegetables, and starches.

So I was probably over the healthy limit of oxalates/antioxidants before adding chocolate and grapes.
DISCLAIMER – This is anecdotal, so either you can accept this warning and not overdo the suspect antioxidants, or see if it explains your pain after the fact.

[MarshaC]

I too suffered from kidney stones for the first time in my 57 years. Looking at the foods high in oxalates made me a believer in the fact that they can cause stones. I was eating lots of chocolate and nuts in the few months prior to the attack. I also ate whole grain bread, thinking it was good for me. I used to eat peanut butter on wheat toast for breakfast. I have been very good at resisting these foods because I never want to go through the pain of kidney stones again.