🥩 Animal Protein in Meat & Poultry — Kidney Stone Impact

Meat and poultry are effectively oxalate-free — most items measure under 5 mg per serving — which puts them on the safe side of the oxalate table. The stone-relevant consideration is different: animal protein raises uric acid, can increase calcium excretion, and lowers protective urinary citrate. The AUA guidance is about portion, not elimination: roughly a palm-sized 3-ounce serving per meal, with non-dairy animal protein balanced against plant sources and dairy. Meat is not the oxalate problem in a stone diet; it is one dial among several.

Animal protein affects kidney stone risk through three channels at once: it raises uric acid production, increases urinary calcium, and lowers protective citrate. None of this makes animal protein off-limits — the AUA guidance is portion-based, roughly a palm-sized 3-ounce serving per meal. The balance strategy is to mix non-dairy animal protein with plant proteins and dairy, keeping total protein reasonable rather than eliminating any source.

Among the 58 meat & poultry foods shown here, the list is ranked by oxalate per serving so the safest options are immediately visible — scan the top of the grid for daily staples and treat the lower entries as portion foods.