Cyndi Lauper's agony as vegan diet 'superfood' left her in extreme pain
The legendary singer opened up about the agonising health condition that she has had to battle after following a diet
Singing sensation Cyndi Lauper has revealed that a 'superfood' diet led to an excruciating health ordeal. The iconic 'True Colours' songstress, while chatting on the Table Manners Podcast, disclosed her battle with kidney stones, which she described as having 'killed her', following a spinach-heavy diet.
Despite spinach's reputation as a nutritional powerhouse, the 71-year-old music legend, who boasts sales of around 50 million albums, admitted it caused her immense suffering. She recounted: "I tried to be a vegan, but you know, I took one thing where they were just delivering food and they every gave me day spinach, every meal spinach. I wound up having kidney stones and they killed me."
Podcast host Lennie Ware, taken aback, queried: "Oh, you get kidney stones from spinach? " To which Cyndi confirmed: "Yes, it has a chemical in it. If you eat too much of this kind of thing. And you're prone to that it can you can develop kidney stones."
Speaking about her diet when 'on the road' and the caterers not treating vegetables properly, she added: "I stopped that but like I tried to eat on the road like that but they would put these herbs and vegetables like, you know, just flat out what's wrong with you got cauliflower. What you gotta ruin it for? Just freaking wash it, cut it, put a little olive oil on it, some salt, put it in the broiler, don't burn it."
Dr Ivan Porter from Mayo Clinic shed light on why such an incident might occur, noting that foods high in oxalates, like spinach and rhubarb, should be consumed in moderation.
Eating your greens could be a double-edged sword when it comes to kidney stones, warned one expert. He advises that pairing leafy greens like spinach with dietary calcium such as cheese could be beneficial: "A lot of leafy greens that actually are good for you may have that negative impact on stones.
"And one way to combat that is by having some dietary calcium with those meals. So cheese on top of that spinach might be a good idea," stated the specialist, highlighting that although spinach is rich in oxalate, which can lead to stone formation in susceptible individuals, its health benefits are too significant to ignore.
It's packed with vital nutrients like vitamin K, lutein, and folate, along with an array of plant flavonoids known to nourish the brain.
Moreover, fibrous greens laden with blood pressure-regulating nitrates are heart health champions as evidenced by a groundbreaking 23-year study from Edith Cowan University in Western Australia. Published in the European Journal of Epidemiology, the research demonstrates a direct link between regular consumption of leafy greens and substantially reduced chances of hypertension and heart diseaseāup to a whopping 26% decreased risk.
Backing this view, Dietician Dr Linia Patel highlighted the importance of potassium found in spinach and other greens: "Spinach and leafy greens are also a source of potassium," she asserts. "Eat a variety of greens including spinach, kale and rocket for the best effect."
On a nutritional note, Tim Spector, a scientific expert on diet, urges people to integrate these vegetables into their daily intake.
He points out that freezing these veggies helps retain Vitamin C, suggesting that frozen spinach should become a go-to ingredient to enhance various meals over time with ease.
He stated: "Like me, You probably always thought that fresh food is always the best option. Don't be a snob when it comes to frozen foods or canned foods that can often be lifesavers. An example is frozen spinach, and actually the freezing process and the way it's packed up means that those nutrients in spinach are perfectly preserved, so you don't lose anything from buying the fresh product."
