black tea = kidney stones?

A couple days ago I realized that regular tea goes down better and faster than water. I use splenda in it.

But I remember a discussion from a couple of years ago that said that we are more likely to develop kidney stones if we drink a lot of regular tea.

Does anyone remember that, or what the 'verdict' came to?

Denise in Ark

Well... there is a mixed bag here.  You need the liquid -- water, tea, however you get it down -- you NEED it!  There are schools of thought that say foods high is oxalates cause more stones, but then others who say tea is actually good for stone prevention.  Who knows!?  Actually, unless you have stones, catch them and have them analyzed -- you don't know what is causing them. Then there are doctors who will tell you that because stones are calcium, you should reduce your calcium intake -- WRONG!  It's a lack of dietary calcium that can contribute to stones... I had a bout of kidney stones and testing showed more stones lying in wait -- so I started adding lemon juice to my water since lemon juice or even lemonade helps to reduce the size or break down stones. Personally, if you don't have a history of stones and the tea is going down well... I think you should stick with it. 

The tea and kidney stone relationship is due to oxalates.  I may be wrong but I believe it is Dr. Maguire that suggests his patients not drink tea due to this.   Red

You are correct, however, the nut I met with did not jive with it as much, because other foods are high in oxolates and he does not restrict them (strawberry's, spinach and a few others)

OK, this is tea related, but not stone related:   I have read lots of places that TEA can interfere with the absorption of IRON..

Hi Denise, Being British my family go through more tea than you Americans drink coffee - perhaps 12 - 20 cups a day.  Drinking tea is a national pastime!  Havng said that - none of my family had stone problems. I love drinking tea but I now drink more herb type teas - especially 'white tea' 'green tea' and all the fruity, minty ones.  These are great for getting in the water - especially earlier on with your DS.  I love any tea with ginger = great for upset tums or excess wind!

It was indeed Dr. Maguire who told his patients to stay away from tea. I remember in the hospital after my surgery, they had brought tea for me in the morning & I remember saying to my surgeon that I thought I was to stay away from tea, she said it was okay.  We had the conversation along the way that as long as you weren't drinking gallons of it every day, it shouldn't be a problem. As for what Red said, it intereferes with iron absorption, I have heard that too.  I have been instructed to stay away from ANY caffeine while taking the vitamins because it interferes with absoprtion... Jen

Hi Denise,  I drink an Arnold Palmer every morning.  Basically I make 32oz of lemonade (lemon juice with splenda and water) and then I add a rounded tablespoon of Nestea instant tea mix.  That is my first 32 oz of liquid.  After that I usually drink just the lemonade component and leave the tea out. Most days I get in another 64oz of lemonade.   There are studies that show that drinking lemonade can reduce the risk kidney stones so I figure the lemon is off setting any issues the tea may be causing.  I can't drink coffee due to fibromyalgia so tea is my best caffiene source and I love it.   The lemonade is easy, I just buy the big bottles of lemon juice at the store and the big bag of splenda.  Then I mix it with water to taste.  It's nice because you can control exactly how sweet or tart it is.   I too have heard that it is best not to take your iron with tea so I take that at bed time with lemonade which is supposed to help you absorb iron. I hope this helps.   Laura 

Laura said “I can't drink coffee due to fibromyalgia” …I too have fibromyalgia, but I had not heard anything about not drinking coffee. Could you tell me a little more about this? Before surgery I was so addicted to coffee, like 2 or 3 24 oz breves a day, and then 4 or 5 cups of strong coffee. Since surgery I have tried one cup of coffee and it just doesn’t taste right. I did enjoy a cup of tea, just yesterday though.

 

Lori V

 

 

Hi Lori,  For me it happened like this, I stopped drinking coffee when I decided to try to get pregnant.  I didn't have any for about a year and a half during which time I got pregnant, had gestational diabetes, had a baby and breast fed.  During this time I felt great in spite of the diabetes and having to give myself shots, etc.   Then when I stopped breast feeding I decided it would be okay to drink coffee again.  That was late June of 2004.  By August I was at the doctor thinking I had arthritis.  I had constant joint and muscle pain.  All of the tests came back negative but the pain just got worse.  I was miserable.  This went on for months, finally my PCP sent me to physical therapist who thought it might be fibro.  I was tested, where they press on the 18 points.  I had pain in 16 of the 18.  By December my PCP put me on Trazadone for the sleep issues which helped a little.   Then in early January, I got the stomach flu.  I was unable to keep anything down including coffee for 4 days.  On day 5 I woke up feeling wonderful!  All of the pain was gone!!!   It was only then that anyone bothered to tell me that coffee is a known trigger for fibromyalgia.  I still take Trazadone (50mg at bedtime) and avoid coffee.  Now I have flare ups very rarely.  I get them if I travel to high altitudes or scuba dive (thought I had the bends the first time that happened) or if I drink coffee.  I have no problem with tea or chai, just coffee.   I am lucky in that my main triggers seem to be coffee and pressure changes.  I know some people have many more.  Since you are off of coffee now maybe see how you feel without it for a while.  For me the difference is night and day!