You might think that leafy greens such as spinach and foods such as raspberries, rhubarb, almonds, walnuts, avocados, tea, turmeric, black pepper and even the odd piece of dark chocolate are all perfectly healthy foods. Whilst these are all foods permitted on a low carb or keto diet because they are lower in carbohydrates they are all foods that are also higher in oxalates. We can become so focused on the carbohydrate content of food that we tend to forget what else might need to be taken into consideration when trying to heal our bodies.
So what are oxalates?
Oxalates are naturally occurring compounds in plants that bind to calcium and form crystals in the body. This can lead to problems with the gut, chronic pain and inflammation throughout the body and kidney issues including the formation of kidney stones. Protein has long been blamed for contributing to kidney disease and kidney stones without good reason and yet calcium oxalate kidney stones are the most common type of kidney stone with the majority of people not even aware of what oxalates are.
Because oxalates prevent the absorption of calcium people can also experience brittle nails and hair, muscle fatigue and pain and even numbness of the feet and hands. Too much Vitamin C will also convert to oxalates so again, too many fruits and vegetables are not just bad for you in terms of sugar intake. For more information on oxalates and the harm they can do to your body grab yourself a copy of Toxic Superfoods by Sally K Norton (see our book club recommendations).
