We are aware that people with kidney stones must adhere to a rigorous dietary regimen. What about microgreens, though?
Despite the fact that microgreens contain stone-forming elements, they are less likely to cause kidney stone formation when consumed in moderation. Most microgreens include citrate, which helps to prevent the production of calcium oxalate, which is responsible for 80% of all kidney stones. Another important component in preventing stones is drinking adequate water.
Microgreens (small seedlings) are packed with nutrients, just like their adult veggie counterparts. In fact, I’ve prepared a list of study findings to back up my claim. I mentioned that, despite their small size, many microgreens have a surprising higher nutritional value than their mature counterparts.
That is undoubtedly wonderful news for health-conscious persons who incorporate microgreens into their diet, but not so great for those who suffer from kidney disorders. The kidney stone, in particular.
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Which Microgreens should you avoid if you have Kidney Stones?
Kidney stones are created when tiny mineral crystals accumulate in the kidney. With the passage of time, the little crystals grew into larger salt stones, resulting in renal obstruction and a painful experience as per a study.
These little salt crystals can sometimes be too small to move through the renal tract and out of the body naturally as per this article.
Stone formation is heavily influenced by your regular dietary and hydration intake.
In one study, researchers discovered that a high-calcium, sodium, phosphate, and vitamin C diet all had a favorable connection with the likelihood of developing kidney stones. Most regularly used microgreens on the market, such as arugula, brussel sprout, broccoli, cabbage, kale, mustard, and radish, contain all of these elements.
While there is no scientific evidence associating microgreens to kidney stone formation, the presence of higher concentrations of micro-elements (Zinc and Iron) and macro-elements (Calcium and Potassium) in microgreens could be one of the risks.
Microgreens include citrate and calcium, which are the main causes of 80 percent of stones.
Calcium ions produce calcium oxalate stones when they bond with oxalate. This chemical is thought to be responsible for 80% of all kidney stone illnesses as per a study and is widely considered as the primary culprit.
As a result, kidney stone patients are frequently recommended to limit their calcium consumption.
One study looked at more than 30 different types of popular microgreens and discovered that they contain a large amount of calcium. Calcium levels range from 39mg per 100g to 98mg per 100g.
According to the USDA, the calcium content of milk (1 percent fat) is 125 mg per 100g.
Calcium Level in Microgreens
The top four microgreens with the lowest calcium content (per 100g) are:
- Mizuna – 48 milligrammes (115 mg in maturedmizuna)
- 39 mg peppercress (81 mg in matured peppercress)
- Mustard (Red) – 47 mg (58 mg in matured yellow mustard)
- Ruby Radish – 41 mg (25 mg in matured radish)
The best four microgreens with the highest calcium content (per 100g) are:
- 98 mg Savoy Cabbage (35 mg in matured savoy cabbage)
- 94 mg cauliflower (22 mg in matured cauliflower)
- 92 milligrammes Purple Kohlrabi (24 mg in matured kohlrabi)
- 92 mg Rapini (108 mg in maturedrapini)
The USDA national nutrition database and Z. Xiao et al. / Journal of Food Composition & Analysis 49 (2016) 87–93 are used to compile the data.
According to the information shown above, microgreens can be a good source of calcium.
Citrate acts as a counterbalance.
However, most fruits and vegetables (even those with high calcium/oxalate content by themselves, such as cauliflower and broccoli) contain enough citrate to act as potent inhibitors of kidney stone formation. Citrate, often known as citric acid, is a key metabolite found in a variety of greens.
The presence of a high level of citric acid in all four microgreens (beet greens, lettuce, peppercress, and wheatgrass) was also confirmed in one study. Many other commercially available common microgreens, such as Tronchuda cabbage and mung bean, contain it.
In other words, moderate consumption of microgreens and vegetables reduces the risk of kidney stones.
Drinking grape juice and orange juice, for example, has been shown to increase the incidence of stone development by 35-37 percent in one research. While the origin is unknown, it is thought that the high sugar content of these fluids caused bone calcium to be excreted, increasing calcium oxalate production.
Microgreens contain oxalate, or oxalic acid, which is the cause of kidney stones.
We are all aware that oxalate is harmful to kidney stone sufferers. Why is this in the plant?
Oxalic acid is formed in plants as a result of carbon dioxide fixation. The acid is important in warding off the pest. In humans, it binds to calcium ions to create calcium oxalate, which is the cause of kidney stones.
The oxalic acid concentration in most microgreens is unknown due to a lack of scholarly research on the subject.
Nonetheless, oxalate is found in most fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Greens strong in oxalate, such as sorrel, rhubarb, buckwheat, broccoli, parsley, spinach, beets, and others
The amount of oxalate in various foods varies; below is a PDF with the oxalate content of several typical foods. Cooking vegetables reduces the amount of oxalate in them significantly.
What about the oxalate in sprouts, then? Sprouts, like microgreens, are a younger sibling that can be harvested in 3-5 days as opposed to 7-14 days for microgreens. Despite the fact that sprouts are technically distinct from microgreens, sprouts have a nutritional value similar to microgreens.
According to one study, the oxalate level of 3-day-old pearl millet is 24-48 percent lower than that of mature pearl millet. The oxalate concentration of those two pearl millet species (sprout stage) was found to be 27.5 mg/100g and 16.4 mg/100g, respectively, in the study.
Oxalate level of less than 50 mg/100g is usually considered low.
In another investigation, after germination, the concentration of oxalic acid in tronchuda cabbage seedlings gradually reduced from day 2 to day 12. Oxalic acid concentration has averaged 15 mg/100g over time.
Several people have claimed that vitamin C causes stone development…
Surprisingly, while vitamin C was once assumed to be safe for kidney stone patients, most studies have found that it causes an increase in urinary oxalate concentration, which can lead to stone formation.
As far as the discussion goes, a new case study indicated the opposite, with no kidney stones observed after intravenous Vitamin C delivery, despite the fact that 8% of the patients had a history of renal stones.
The mechanism is yet unknown.
Uric acid stones caused by microgreens’ high protein content
Unlike calcium oxalate stones, uric acid stones only account for roughly 5-10% of kidney stone illness as per a study. It is typically caused by consuming a high protein diet.
Purines, uric acid, amino acids, and other acidic metabolites are produced when protein (mostly animal protein) is broken down in the body, and these byproducts acidify the urine, reducing pH and favoring the production of uric acid stones.
Furthermore, a high-protein diet increases calcium release in the urine, which weakens bone density as per a study.
Many microgreens, unlike animal protein, have a high concentration of citric acid and citrate. These chemicals operate as an alkalinizing agent, compensating for urine acidity and preventing stone formation by actively creating a compound with excess calcium ions. On the one hand, the high potassium content found in many popular microgreens aids citrate secretion in the urine; on the other hand, magnesium (present in most microgreens) has been shown to help prevent stone formation.
As a result, even if microgreens like lettuce and chicory have the same amount of protein as their mature counterparts, they will not have the same deleterious impact as animal protein. However, it is suggested that you consume it in moderation.
