Guides
Guides
Every page here names a real author, cites primary sources rather than other websites, and states what it does not cover. Pages that tell you what to do carry a clinician’s name as well, or they do not publish.
Evidence review
Spinach and kidney stones: what the research actually says about oxalate
Spinach is the food most often named in kidney stone advice, because it is among the highest-oxalate foods commonly eaten. What the literature establishes about dietary oxalate, what it does not, and why the published numbers for spinach disagree.
Evidence review
Soda and energy drinks: what the research says about kidney stones
Sugar-sweetened drinks are consistently associated with higher stone risk in large observational studies. Caffeine is more complicated than either side claims. And the advice to drink more water rests on less trial evidence than almost anyone realises.
Evidence review
Cranberry juice and kidney stones: what the research actually found
Cranberry juice is widely recommended for urinary health, which is why people assume it helps with stones too. The measured effects point the other way for the most common stone type. What the studies found, and why the answer depends on which stone you form.
Evidence review
Apple cider vinegar and kidney stones: what the research actually found
A 2026 randomised crossover trial tested apple cider vinegar against coconut water, lemon water and diet orange soda. ACV changed nothing measurable. Two of the others did. What the trial found, what contradicts it, and what none of it settles.
In progress
1 drafts, not yet publishedListed so you can see what is coming and hold us to it. These are not readable yet — a draft is not a publication, and we would rather show you the queue than pretend it does not exist.
- Cutting out calcium after a kidney stone: what the evidence actually saysneeds a clinician