Oxalic acid: What is it? A naturally occurring tiny molecule that is a toxic, corrosive acid.
Oxalate: What is it? When Oxalic acid has minerals attached to it, it is called Oxalate (OX).
Where do Oxalic acid and Oxylate come from?
Most foods touted as being the healthiest foods actually have some of the highest oxalate concentrations out of all commercially available produce around the world.
Some examples of high OX foods are: beans, grains, bran, sesame and other seeds, peanuts, almonds, and other nuts, swiss chard, spinach, beets, potatoes, chocolate, rhubarb, figs, kiwi, blackberries, black pepper, cumin, turmeric.
Here are the concentrations from a few: highest concentrations to lowest, turmeric powder (22 mg/g), spinach (7.6 mg/g), rhubarb (5.4mg/g), rice bran (2.8 mg/g), almonds (1.2 mg/g), baked potato (1 mg/g), beets (0.7 mg/g), cocoa powder (chocolate in general) (0.67 mg/g), cashews (0.49 mg/g), raspberries (0.48 mg/g), and yams (0.4 mg/g)
Some examples of low OX foods are: meats, dairy, eggs, fats and oils, and other non-plant foods
arugula, avocado, Bok Choy, cabbage, cauliflower, cilantro, cucumber, garlic, kohlrabi, lettuce, mustard greens, mushrooms, green peas, watercress.
Note: Need to find a complete list of oxalate food, and probably more details on low, medium and high content, and add to post.
Oxalic acid is the actual name for this compound found in plants. When ingested, the oxalic acid will bind to certain minerals, mainly magnesium, calcium, and zinc, and then will form oxalates[73]. When this happens, they crystallize and form what are called “raphides[74],” which will deposit in many areas of the body, one of which is the kidneys.
Your body does make it
But, oxalate is a metabolic waste product in mammals with no known function. And either being deficient in B6 or taking higher doses of Vitamin C will increase the amount your body makes. The body has no way to disarm oxalate and so it must excrete it. When cells are required to handle oxalate they are moving it or “managing” it, not metabolizing it.
To be clear, Oxalic acid is stealing minerals from your diet and your body. It is your body’s way of trying to deal with this toxin. It is literally an “anti-nutrient.” So, someone asks you what you had for lunch and you respond with having enjoyed a spinach salad loaded with magnesium. Well, guess what? Oxalic acid made a liar out of you, because it took some, if not all, of the magnesium that’s in the spinach. And if it took more magnesium than you got in your salad, it took it from your body. So, now you’ve walked away from the table with less magnesium than when you sat down to enjoy lunch.
Do you see where this is going yet? 80%—if not more—of all kidney stones are calcium-oxalate crystals[75]. When you go to your doctor, however, they’ll most likely tell you to restrict your calcium intake, a vital nutrient (yes that makes sense. Let’s restrict calcium, an essential nutrient, and keep dumping oxalic acid into our bodies which is completely non-essential and deleterious in its effects).
Obviously, this is ridiculous. Uric acid is actually not the cause of gout, but, in many cases, is the combination of uric acid and oxalate crystals (gout is characterized as an inflammatory condition that involves uric acid’s assistance in attempting to alleviate)[76]. If you are eating foods that have the propensity to raise uric acid levels in the body, and you have pain as a result, it’s probably not that food, but other foods in your diet that you eat alongside the meat.
. To put this into perspective, our body creates only about 10-30 mg of oxalates per day as a waste product from the breakdown of the amino acids glycine and hydroxyproline, and by a molecule called glyoxylate[77]. You then urinate this out. Increasing your intake of oxalic acid far beyond that amount—which is very easy to do on a plant-based diet full of almonds, chocolate, spinach, kale, turmeric, potatoes, and yams—can easily lead to problems down the road in terms of joint pain and kidney stone development, and even potential death if taken to the extreme[78].
When people attempt to remove oxalates, they may experience a phenomenon called “oxalate dumping,” which is the process by which your body attempts to excrete oxalates from the body via the urine, skin, and even through the eyes in some cases when it realizes that there is now an abstention of the consumption of oxalates[79, 80]. This is why it’s usually suggested that you remove oxalates slowly, and not entirely all at once. This can be a very painful experience, and can manifest itself in skin rashes, mood changes, fatigue, dizziness, etc. It’s best to abstain from these as soon as possible as well.
Health Issues
It is corrosive to the lining of the digestive system, may cause leaky gut or other GI diseases.
Some OX crystals have a needle shape known to perforate mucus membrane cells.
Challenges the kidneys and can overwhelm their capacity to remove oxalates from the blood
Forms nanocrystals and microcrystals that can collect in the body and irritate tissues
Soluble forms of oxalate are absorbed from food and trigger inflammation.
Which causes:
- Membrane and mitochondria damage, and cell death (fatigue and energy issues)
- Nerve cell damage, pain, and functional problems associated with the brain and nerves
- Dysfunction of cells, organs, glands
- Depletion of the antioxidant glutathione in cells. Low levels of glutathione can generate superoxide radicals, increasing toxic stress causing early cell death. Glutathione is especially important in the liver for the detoxification of chemicals. It is also important in preserving brain health.
- Cell communication problems (autoimmunity, hormonal issues, neurological issues). For example: Ox can confuse and stress the immune system, creating auto-immune symptoms.
To be continued…
Notes, References, Links
- Goeke, Edward. Contraindicated: A Closer Look and Revision of Mainstream Health Axioms That Have Perpetuated Illness, Disorder, and Disease For Over a Century (pp. 74-76). Edward A Goeke. Kindle Edition.
- https://sallyknorton.com/oxalate-science/oxalate-basics/