A cautionary tale about foods high in oxalates–it’s about moderation

This page is written by me, Janie A. Bowthorpe



Sometimes we all have to find out the hard way about consuming too many high oxalate foods–foods with a particular acid in them.

Just a few years ago, my husband and I were doing some restoration in our kitchen and dining area, especially painting. As a result, I was eating “quick foods” daily and quite a lot for weeks on end. One quick food in particular was cocoa-covered almonds. I reasoned with myself that nuts are good for me, plus I was also getting my favorite food on top of it–chocolate in the form of cocoa.

Additionally, I was drinking a lot of high oxalate black “sun tea” every single day. For weeks, I would also eat a high oxalate raw spinach salad often to get my greens in. And I would eat high oxalate very dark chocolate on top of it all as a nice treat every single day. All nearly daily and for weeks.

And after several weeks of these daily “convenience foods” and a lot of them all the time, all hell broke loose.

What are oxalates?

Oxalate, aka oxalic acid, is a naturally-occurring and reactive molecular substance found in a variety of foods, especially if the food is related to plants. That can include all seeds and nuts, most greens, many fruits, even chocolate. Even the Vitamin C we supplement with, or the fructose in the fruits we eat, can convert to oxalate!

And most of the time, our body does a great job, usually, of ridding our bodies of unneeded oxalate. Good levels of stomach bacteria will digest it, turn it into something less irritating, and move it out via your stools. In fact, the body does such a good job that you may be the way I was–having never heard of it or any reason to think of it.

How oxalates can wreak havoc

But as happened to me, if your body is not getting rid of the oxalates you are over-consuming in high oxalate foods, you can have problems. And here are some of the symptoms of excess oxalates:

painful or inflamed joints, similar to fibromyalgia or arthritis

burning urine flow

interstitial cystitis, aka burning bladder, often associated with hyperoxaluria (high levels of oxalate in the urine)

burning bowel movements

vulvodynia – external female genital pain or irritation

depression

leaky gut or all sorts of other gut problems

kidney stones i.e. oxalates combine with calcium to form these

developmental disorders in children, including autism

hives (rarer than the above, but what happened to me with huge massive ones–that’s what led me to discover the oxalate issue)

chelating of toxic metals like mercury

About celery or celery juice and the current hype

It’s been known for decades that celery, even celery juice, has many benefits. It’s not a new discovery.

You’ll have individuals mention the good results. They include less acne, softer or healthier skin, detoxing, healing of some conditions. But there are testimonies of stomach pain, nausea, diarrhea that also meant nutrient loss. And there are some who are very suspicious that the celery juice caused a distinct rise in oxalates. Some lists of oxalates say celery is high in oxalates; others say low.

So if you are using celery or celery juice to treat an condition, remember moderation. Just because one type of food has benefit, doesn’t mean it’s the only one to give the same benefit. Be careful. Think moderation. 🙂

About moderation

I have eaten chocolate, almonds, and nuts for years without an issue. Then I overdid it. So as with goitrogens and any other potentially harmful foods, the key is in moderation. Don’t get in a rut with eating one favorite food constantly.

A nasty pair–oxalate and calcium

When high oxalate foods are combined with calcium rich foods or supplements, you then create oxalate crystals. Picture razor sharp, jagged edges and you have oxalate crystals (see photo), which can cause a lot of pain as they are eliminated via your stools. These nasty crystals can also form in your lungs, or your kidneys, or your joints and bones, or blood vessels, and even your brain. And any of the latter can result in inflammation.

If oxalates combine with iron, you then have oxidative damage, plus your iron levels will go down. There is also some suspicion that excess oxalates can negatively affect your thyroid.

The solution if you have overdone your consumption of oxalates?

Experts state to switch to medium oxalate foods (you’ll begin detoxing the oxalates). Then make your way down to low oxalate foods (when you think you are ready). And avoid the high oxalate foods! The following link has downloadable lists of the content of oxalate in foods: http://www.lowoxalate.info/recipes.html. But these lists always vary. One will say a particular good is low; another will say high. Eek.

Generally, high oxalate foods include

almonds

spinach

beet greens

okra

sweet potatoes

dried figs

refried beans

lentils

pecans

peanuts and peanut butter

pistachios

sesame seeds

chocolate and cocoa

green peppers

blackberries

raspberries

grits

whole wheat flour products

bran and other cereals

black tea and instant coffee

turmeric supplementation (NOT curcumin, which is low oxalate)

A mistake I made: I switched immediately to low oxalate, and the detox was MISERABLE for weeks. Don’t do what I did. Slow down. Start with medium oxalate goods. Let your body take care of it a little at a time. Support your liver and kidneys. It can take many weeks. But more importantly, do your own research!!! This is just my experience and information based on research I did.

UPDATE: I did it to myself again!!

Just three years after I got myself into trouble as explained above, I did it again. I overate high oxalate foods like dark chocolate, over and over and over. As a result, I found myself with high ferritin, which is a key sign of inflammation and thus low iron. And my particular sign again that my body was trying to get rid of excess oxalates?? Hives. And I had to go through the messy process of detoxing that high oxalate all over again, which isn’t fun. The lesson that is underscored for ME is not to eat the same thing over and over and over, day after week after month, which I tend to do if I like something. Like dark chocolate. 🙂 Moderation is key!

Candida

Beware, because having a strong candida problem in your body can also lead to increased levels of high oxalates. Oops.

More info:

One of many charts about the oxalate content in many foods: http://www.ohf.org/docs/Oxalate2008.pdf

Good overall website about the oxalate issue plus recipes: http://www.lowoxalate.info/

For detailed information on the oxalate problem: http://www.greatplainslaboratory.com/home/span/oxalates.asp

About oxalate-caused vulvodynia: http://thevpfoundation.org/

Oxalates and autism: http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/the-role-of-oxalates-in-autism-and-chronic-disorders/

Oops—oxalates can cause breast cancer: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4618885/

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