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Where do we find oxalates?

They're most prevalent in plant foods — especially in what we’ve come to know as “superfoods.”  These foods include chocolate, beet greens, almonds, Swiss chard, spinach, rhubarb, endive, sweet potatoes, turnip greens, starfruit, tea, wheat germ, soy, cashews and peanuts, aspartame, glycine, collagen, and as a metabolite of Vit C.

Oxalate is a breakdown metabolite of Vit C and because there are oxalate kidney stones, doctors have speculated that high dose Vit C can cause kidney stones. All the studies set out to prove this failed. And Vit C Rx may decrease the incidence of kidney stones. Also in one study, 80% of Vit C given to human subjects was eliminate d as dehydroascorbic acid the oxidized form of Vit C. In another study “ingestion of 8,000 mg of Vit c daily for 7 days in 8 normal subjects did not significantly alter urinary or plasma oxalate during or after ingestion. A 2001 study showed that 50,000 mg dialy doses of IV Vit C to cancer patients for 8 week periods did not increase the urinary oxalate levels.

Why are oxalates a problem?

Are oxalates more prevalent than 100 years ago? Here’s something very interesting, the overuse of antibiotics has killed a lot of the good bacteria found in our digestive tracts that would normally serve to break down oxalates. Studies show that people who live in areas where antibiotic use is low are able to eat oxalates in much larger quantities without the negative affects. 

Another issue is the rise of various diets like: gluten-free, vegan and raw food diets, which are naturally high in oxalates. Most people assume they are increasing their nutrient-intake by eating raw plant foods, when they may actually be doing the opposite if the oxalates in their foods are binding to those extra nutrients. 

Also, we’ve abandoned traditional cooking and eating methods that would naturally reduce oxalates in certain foods (soaking, fermenting, etc.) In NY during a seminar I asked who cooked their meals from scratch. Nobody raised their hands. One woman said she stores her shoes in her stove.

Peo with inflammatory bowel disease have an increased risk of developing oxalate kidney stones. This is partly because they are unable to regulate the amount of oxalate they absorb through a leaky gut. Similarly, elevated levels of oxalate have been found in the urine of people who have had gastric bypass surgery. Most practitioners would say that people who have taken antibiotics or experience gut dysfunction may benefit more from a low oxalate diet. But I would say to treat yeast overgrowth and improve the microbiome to stop excess oxalate absorption.

NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF OXALATES

Oxalates

  • Bind with minerals, depleting them from our bodies and or interfering with their actions and roles in the body
  • Alter the cell membrane, affecting the trafficking of substances in and out the cell 
  • Interfere with mitochondrial function, and otherwise impairing the cell’s metabolism and ability to detoxify
  • Can lodge in the tissues causing pain, discomfort, and /or (further) or prolonged inflammation
  • Can enter the nucleus of cells, possibly modifying transcription
  • May be deposited in different organs of the body (kidneys, eyes, muscles, etc.) with a preference for inflamed tissue which may set us up for autoimmune conditions. SYMPTOMS: hives, vulvodynia (vulva irritation), urethral syndrome (irritation). Brain fog, autism, leaky gut, depression, kidney stones, yeast overgrowth and arthritis, read this.  

SYMPTOMS OF OXALATE OVERLOAD

  • Urination problems (frequency, bedwetting, urgency, pain, cloudiness, powdery, kidney stones, cystitis)
  • Unusual stools (loose, constipated, fatty, green, yellow or orange or white, burning or not, having black or white specks, being “sandy”)
  • Pain (uro-genital, fibromyalgia, joints, arthritis)
  • Low energy/fatigue
  • Poor sleep (insomnia, night waking)
  • Asthma, COPD, allergies
  • Depression, anxiety, brain fog
  • Digestive troubles

GINNEY:

Oxalates and Magnesium

Taking calcium foods with oxlate foods apparently stops oxalate absorption and lessens risk of calcium oxalate stones. But to be on the safe side, I say, magnesium is the preferred mineral for oxalate binding. Oxalates have two negative charges and magnesium ions have two positive charges, so if oxalates are present they deplete magnesium. The population is already deficient and the oxalates make it worse. People have said to me then I’m wasting my magnesium if I take ReMag. But it’s the opposite, you need to take more ReMag to help deal with the oxalates are you are healing your gut. Perhaps a low RBC Mg in spite of taking ReMag can be due to oxalate binding.

LOW OXALATE DIET

A Low Oxalate Diet allows between 40-60 mg of oxalates a day, based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Most people start releasing (dumping) oxalates well before getting down to that level. It’s important to reduce oxalate foods gradually and to continue to eat a healthy diet. Here’s an overview of how to proceed.

  1. List what you are currently eating for 3 days and how you feel – digestion, BMs, skin.
  2. Calculate your current oxalate level of intake using online sources.
  3. Start lowering oxalate consumption. For example, slowly diminish your highest oxalate containing foods (ex. almonds or green smoothies). Give your body a chance to adjust. The high oxalate foods have 15mg or more of oxalate per serving.
  4. Substitute with similar but lower oxalate foods (use for example, bok choy instead of spinach).  Continue lowering your daily oxalate until you finally reach a low oxalate diet of about 40-60mg of oxalate per day on a 2000 calorie diet.

If you have oxalate overload, like any other detox – you can feel worse before you feel better. When you treat yeast overload, you can feel worse with all the yeast byproducts as yeast dies off. When you stop eating excessive amounts of oxalates, your body starts dumping oxalates and you can feel those symptoms as the oxalates leave through urine and skin. Sally Norton describes the reactions “in the wake of lowered oxalate: gritty snot, fine grit or white crystals coming out of the skin around the nail beds, clouds of white dust emerging from the skin, red bumps, white bumps, skin peeling off the toes, feet and fingers.

Use the Cronometer.

High dose Vitamin C: Over time, ascorbic acid degrades to oxalate. Taking other anti-oxidants allows your body to recycle ascorbic acid properly. However, the vast majority of studies show “no genuine increase in urinary oxalates despite a greatly increased ascorbate intake.” (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8126804/) And there is no proof of kidney stones being a result of high dose ascorbic acid.

Fish oils: If there is poor fat digestion, this may cause more absorption of oxalate. A lot of ifs and mays here. We recommend our Omega-3 Algae A+E and not a fish oil Omega-3.

Vitamin D: Vitamin D may enhance absorption of unbound calcium in the gut, and this will lead to more free oxalate being absorbed from food. This occurs when the levels of magnesium are depleted.

Finally, be aware that your oxalate symptoms can worsen as oxalates are dumped into the blood stream and then out through the bladder and skin.\