February 22, 2012
“i was just in the hospital for the 2nd time with kidney stones. My question is, is instant tea as bad for you as real tea? Also what are some main foods and drinks i should avoid to prevent getting them again?”
Answer:
Instant tea has a similar amount of oxalate as regular tea. Below, in order of decreasing amount of oxalate, is a list of different foods and types of teas containing oxalate.
| Food item | Oxalate Content | Equivalent to |
| Spinach (frozen) | 1236 mg per 200 gm | One box spinach |
| Chocolate | 126 mg per 90 gm | About one bar |
| Black tea (loose) | 5.11 mg per gm | 12.21 mg per cup |
| Black tea (bags) | 4.68 mg per gm | 9.54 mg per cup |
| Instant tea | 6.6mg per gm | 4.62 mg per cup |
| Green tea | 0.68 mg per gm | 1.36 mg per cup |
For most stone formers however, the three most important things to remember are to increase the amount of water you drink, decrease the amount of salt you ingest, and decrease the amount of meat protein you eat. Guidelines for salt and meat intake are similar to what is advised for all adults (2300mg salt and 6 oz of meat a day).
In addition to this, keep a normal calcium intake and a moderate oxalate intake. You may also want to undergo testing with your doctor to see if a high oxalate level in the urine (hyperoxaluria) is truly an issue for you. Unless you have hyperoxaluria, restriction of oxalate containing foods may not be of much benefit.
In our “Ask KidneyStoners.org” section, we field questions from stone formers or their family members. See previous questions and answers here.
Dr. Nguyen,
This is very interesting. I have Crohn’s Disease and, more recently, short bowel syndrome. Over the past few years, I’ve also had significant problems with oxalate stones (a couple of lithotripsies per year). I avoid things like black tea. Here’s my issue–a relatively small one. For my short bowel syndrome, I’m required to drink unpalatable rehydration formulas, rather than plain water or other drinks. I’ve been told to use Trioral, which is like drinking ocean water. I’ve been told about various possibly flavorings I could use to cover the saltiness, and I’ve found one to be most palatable–Crystal Light peach iced tea packets. But the second ingredient on the packet is instant tea. Do you think one 8 oz serving of instant tea per day would create a problem for me?
Where do you see patients in L.A.? Only at USC?
Hi and thank you for the comment.
With your medical conditions, high oxalate is usually more likely to be due bowel issues and less likely to be from the instant tea. If you wanted to be sure, you could perform a 24 hour urine collection with or without drinking the instant tea to see if your urinary oxalate increases.
I see patients at Keck Medical Center of USC and at a clinic at USC Verdugo Hills (Glendale/La Canada Flintridge area)