Oxalates are chemical toxins that many plants produce to defend themselves and that, consumed in large quantities, can be harmful to human health, according to a US health specialist.
Modern diets, especially those that are gluten-free, ketogenic, or rich in leafy greens, tend to be overloaded with oxalates, according to nutritionist, dietary consultant, and healthy lifestyle coach Sally K. Norton, M.S. master’s degree in Public Health, from US universities.
“Healthy foods such as spinach, sweet potatoes, turmeric, chia seeds, raspberries and almonds have especially high oxalate content. For example, a spinach smoothie made with almond milk contains 800-1,000 milligrams (mg) of oxalates, when a safe amount is 250 mg per day, according to Norton (https://sallyknorton.com). ).
Some foods high in oxalate are: nuts, peanuts, rhubarb, beets, beans, berries (blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, currants), chocolate, Concord grapes, leafy greens such as spinach and chard, oranges, tofu and sweet potatoes, according to the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), USA.
It points out that actor Liam Hemsworth publicly blamed, in a magazine, spinach smoothies for kidney stones he suffered in 2019 and which required surgery, when he was twenty-nine years old. From that episode on, he had to “reconsider what he was putting into his body,” according to this American nutritionist.
THE HEMSWORTH CASE.
Norton points out that Hemsworth was lucky because he managed to recover. But other people, whose cases he describes in his book ‘Toxic Superfoods’, suffered from kidney failure problems, their kidneys did not recover and they ended up depending on dialysis, as a result of a high consumption of “healthy foods” with excess oxalates, he points out.
“Relatively common, and even moderate, levels of oxalate in a typical diet can exacerbate common aches and pains such as: digestive discomfort, joint inflammation, chronic skin problems, brain fog or mood problems, in addition to deterioration of health associated with aging,” says Norton.
“Painful kidney stones are made up of 80 percent oxalate, mostly from the foods we eat,” he emphasizes.
“Dietary oxalate can also damage any organ system and cause serious and chronic health problems. It is no coincidence that Hemsworth’s kidney stones were preceded by malaise, depression and apathy,” explains Norton.
“For most plants, oxalic acid and oxalate crystals are essential for their growth, survival and reproduction, and they are secret weapons in the defensive war to avoid being ingested,” he points out.
However, when a human being consumes them in excess, it can have a disastrous effect on their health, because oxalates are toxic, warns Norton.
“It is extremely easy to eat too much oxalate and get sick from it,” he says.
“Many of our most popular foods, such as potatoes, peanuts and even so-called ‘superfoods’ or ‘superhealthy foods’, such as spinach, naturally contain huge amounts of these toxins,” he adds.
THE FIRST STEP
“Reducing oxalate intake is only the first step, since undoing the chronic damage caused by an excess of these substances accumulated in the body is not an instantaneous process” according to this expert.
“The amount of oxalates that humans can consume without a harmful effect, although variable, is surprisingly low. Kidney specialists explain to us that a ‘normal’ and safe intake level is within the range of 150 to 200 mg per day,” he adds.
“It is easy to exceed the intake of 250 mg per day. For example, the spinach smoothies that Liam Hemsworth ate in the morning registered more than 1,000 mg,” he points out.
He explains that “the typical clinical definition of a truly low-oxalate diet is less than 60 mg per day (20 mg or less per meal) and this is the target used to reverse chronic disease caused by oxalate deposits.”
“Dr. EF Kohman explained that, due to its oxalate content, spinach […] They definitely interfere with growth and bone formation […]”according to Norton.
On the other hand, “vegetables with a negligible oxalate content, such as turnip greens, kale, mustard greens and collard greens, significantly improve growth and bone formation under similar conditions,” he points out.
“The categorical idea that all green leafy vegetables should be avoided” is false, according to this nutritionist.
However, before buying and consuming foods rich in oxalates in large quantities, we must consider why plants contain these substances?” he reflects.
“Countless stories of recovery from various health problems, including the gout and severe foot disorders that Norton suffered firsthand—when she was a staunch advocate of a vegetarian diet and ‘superfoods’—demonstrate “the alleviation of perplexing problems.” just by putting less oxalate in the shopping cart and blender,” he concludes.
#side #healthy #vegetables
