Who doesn’t love a bowl of steaming hot oatmeal for breakfast? It is good for the body AND soul! But, is oatmeal good for kidney stones?
Yes! Oatmeal is good for kidney stones. Read on to learn everything you need to know about oatmeal and why it is good for kidney stones.
Table of Contents
Benefits of Oatmeal for Kidney Stones
It’s not just oatmeal that is good for kidney stones. All whole grains are good foods to eat as a part of a balanced diet for kidney stones.
Yes, whole grains tend to be higher in oxalate. However, whole grains have lots of benefits for kidney stones too! Plus, not everyone with kidney stones needs to avoid high oxalate foods, especially whole grains.
Magnesium
Oatmeal is a good source of magnesium. One cup of cooked oatmeal has about 60mg of magnesium.
Dietary patterns high in magnesium diet may help prevent oxalate kidney stones. (1) And, low magnesium levels have been tied to higher risk of stones. (2) Magnesium binds to oxalate in the intestine, which reduces oxalate absorption and the risk of calcium oxalate kidney stones.
Other foods high in magnesium include nuts, seeds, green leafy vegetables and other whole grains.
Phytate (aka Phytic Acid)
Oatmeal is also a great source of phytate. Although phytate is usually seen as an “anti-nutrient” and something to be avoided, phytate can be good for kidney stones!
Phytate can bind with calcium, which makes that calcium less likely to form a kidney stone. We know that people who eat more phytate are less likely to have kidney stones. (3) (4)
Plus, phytate is found in lots of very healthy foods like oatmeal and other whole grains, nuts, seeds and legumes.
Fiber
Oatmeal and other whole grains are an important source of fiber. Fiber helps fight off constipation and keep our gut healthy!
A high fiber diet is also good for your heart. This is especially important for people with kidney stones because they have a higher risk of heart disease. (5)
Eating a lot of fiber has also been linked to a lower risk and better control of diabetes, cancer, stroke and some intestinal diseases. (6)
Oxalate, Kidney Stones & Oatmeal
Unfortunately, advice to follow a low oxalate diet is often the only advice for kidney stones. A low oxalate diet will NOT help prevent kidney stones for everyone.
A low oxalate diet only matters if you have high urine oxalate on a 24-hour urine test. Many people with calcium oxalate stones do not! If you haven’t had this test, ask your doctor for one ASAP to know what will help your kidney stones. Here are some talking points to help you ask your doctor for this test!
A strict low oxalate diet is not healthy, even for people with high urine oxalate. A strict low oxalate diet will limit other healthy things for calcium oxalate kidney stones like citrate, magnesium and phytate. (7) Ask your Registered Dietitian what is right for you!
P.S – Oatmeal is a low oxalate food anyway!
Oatmeal Serving Suggestions
Make Oatmeal with Milk!
Eating enough calcium is key to calcium oxalate kidney stone prevention. Oatmeal made with milk is a great way to sneak in some extra calcium!
Top with Fresh Fruit
People who eat more fruit (and vegetables!) are less likely to have kidney stones. Add some fruit to your oatmeal to add some more fruit to your day!
Fruit is also a great way to add some sweetness to oatmeal without a ton of added sugar. Too much added sugar (especially from drinks!) can cause kidney stones. (8)
Here are my favorite fruits to add to oatmeal:
- Fresh berries (especially blueberries!)
- Bananas
- Peaches
- Pears
- Cherries
Go Nuts!
Yes, nuts are traditionally a “bad food” for kidney stones. They are touted as “dangerous” because they tend to be higher in oxalate. However, nuts are also a great source of magnesium, phytate and plant protein!
Oatmeal by itself isn’t a very filling breakfast. Add some nuts for extra fiber, protein and heart healthy fat to keep you going until lunchtime!
If you do have high urine oxalate, not all nuts and seeds are high in oxalate. Some of my favorite lower oxalate nuts and seeds are:
- Pistachios
- Pecans
- Walnuts
- Macadamia Nuts
- Pumpkin Seeds
- Flax Seeds
Try Overnight Oats
Experimenting with overnight oatmeal is a great way to add transform oats into a completely different dish!
Simply mix about a 1/2 cup dry oats with a 1/2 cup of milk. You can adjust these ratios depending on what consistency you like! Mix in your favorite fruit, nuts, and maybe even some chocolate chips! Let it sit in the fridge overnight and you have a tasty breakfast ready for you in the morning!
Make it Savory!
Oatmeal isn’t just for breakfast anymore. Topping oatmeal with savory ingredients like eggs, cheese and veggies is actually quite trendy!
Check out this Savory Oatmeal with Cheddar & Fried Egg. Yum!
More Breakfast Ideas for Kidney Stones
Of course, oatmeal every day for breakfast gets terribly boring. Variety is the spice of life!
Here are some other breakfast ideas for kidney stones to mix it up:
- Egg scramble with onions and peppers
- Overnight oats
- Low sodium pancakes topped with your favorite fruit
- Avocado toast
- Yogurt with fruit & granola
Happy Eating!
Melanie
Hey Melanie
I have had multiple urine analysis to ensure I am keeping my oxalate level in check. I have learned a lot from reading your articles and joining your classes. Recently I was diagnosed with a very acidic stomach and told to avoid things that I had been taking to help with citrate levels. Rhey are always on the low side and I was told to eat/drink things to build it up. So now a dilemma – how can I keep my citrate levels up but not increase citrate and help with the high acid stomach. My esophagus paying the price! I’m also allergic to milk so switched to oat milk. Can tolerate cheese pretty well but no ice cream !
Hi Brenda! Potassium Citrate in Food & DrinksThanks so much for the kind comment. Honestly, ALL fruits and vegetables will be helpful in keeping citrate levels up since they ALL provide alkali. I talk a little more about this in this article. Also, definitely check out the “citrate” lesson in week 2 of Kidney Stone Nutrition School!
My new favorite “oatmeal” is 1/4 c rolled oats mixed with 1/4 c rolled barley (a.k.a. barley flakes). Both react to soaking and cooking nearly identically, so both “overnight oats” and microwaving for a few minutes work fine as preparation methods.
Yum! Thanks for sharing!
I heard a doctor Lustig say that you can’t really get calcium from milk because the phosphates binds to all the calcium. Could that be true? Does that apply to all dairy? Dr. Lustig is on the Internet a lot talking about nutrition and metabolic disorders.
This is not true at all.
Hi Melanie,
Your site is so helpful! I am so thankful to you!
Do you know how much phosphorus steel cut oats have and how much of it do we absorb (absorption rate)?
Thank you very much!
Hi Danielle,
You can look up the phosphorus content of nearly any food at the USDA National Nutrient Database. I’d assume about 50% of that phosphorus is absorbed, as is the case with any naturally occurring phosphorus in a plant food. This article about phosphorus might be helpful to you!
What is MSK? I’m also a kidney making machine and am new to finding out why. I’m sure diet is a large part, but want to know other possibilities! Thank you!
MSK stands for Medullary Sponge Kidney. It is a rare genetic condition that makes kidney stones much more likely. You could certainly ask your doctor about it!
FYI – I have a doctor in Europe that told me that even though it says ‘oatmeal gluten free’, it actually contains 4% gluten. So I stopped eating it (sad face) and I felt better with in 3days.
Oats are actually gluten free – however the are frequently contaminated with gluten-containing products as they are often processed in the same facilities!
I am a registered dietitian in the acute care setting. I also did not know very much about the specifics of kidneys stones ! An incidental finding from an ultrasound discovered a 4mm non onstructive stone.
I eat oatmeal every morning with walnuts and berries or dried apricots. I cook a big batch and add ground flax at the end. I used to add almond milk and have switched to 1%. My next weekly batch I will make with milk. Thank you for your dedication to kidney health and congratulations on those beautiful twins !
PS Excuse typos !!
Thank you so much Barbara! I’m happy you stumbled across my site. I had oatmeal for breakfast just this morning myself!
cuanto oxalato tiene la avena ?
You can find oatmeal on my oxalate list, located on my kidney stone resources page!
I’ve been searching the internet for days to find the level of oxalates in raw, unhulled barley and in raw, rye groats/berries, but I haven’t found that information anywhere. Do you have any idea whether barley or rye groats are a low or high oxalate food and how many milligrams oxalate would I get when I cook 1/2 cup of either grain?
Hi Heyward! I don’t have a completely accurate oxalate count for those foods. However, I highly recommend whole grains for most people with kidney stones, despite their higher oxalate content. This article explains why!
This is an interesting article from a dietician’s perspective. I have had bad luck with oatmeal and kidney stones, which have always seemed to have been a trigger for stone episodes. I have MSK, which is essentially a kidney stone factory, and my stones are of the calcium-oxalate variety.
I will have to revisit oatmeal, as maybe my bad luck is coincidental. The overnight oatmeal idea is a novel one. Maybe the calcium in the milk binds with free-ranging oxalate, which would be ideal. Thank you for sharing Melanie!