Sally K. Norton

Vitality Coach, Speaker & Health Consultant

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What’s a Dangerous Oxalate Level?

Easy to Over-Do It, Easy to Fix It

Your go-to foods could pave the way for a dangerous oxalate level in your body and lead to very real health problems. Consider these common examples of popular foods that make it way too easy to overdo oxalate:

Are you into peanut butter, chia seeds, seeded wheat bread, sesame crackers, or nuts? If so, you could be eating a dangerous level of oxalate.

Do you reach for spinach for your salads, as a quick-cook side dish, or the tastiest way to green up your smoothies?

Do you like potatoes? Chips, fries, baked, or mashed? Perhaps you like the “healthier” sweet potato chips and fries?

Do you love black beans in your burritos?

Do you like second helpings or “super” serving sizes?

These days, we have at least three factors working against us:

  1. the ubiquity of high oxalate foods,
  2. the frequency with which we eat them (it’s easier than ever to make potato chips or french fries daily fare), and also
  3. restaurant portion sizes that get us in trouble.

Eating quick-and-easy means reaching for nuts, peanut butter, or chips. Eating out, well . . .

Hard-to-Resist Super-Sized French Fries

Many restaurants jumbo size their standard french fry order as cheap advertising. You see, it costs them only pennies to wow the customer and offer a memorable experience that they’ll tell others about. Take Five Guys, for example*. Famous for giant piles of fries, their regular fry order weighs a gargantuan 411 grams—almost a pound! About 5 years ago, Five Guys expanded their menu with a “Little” order of fries. Weighing in at 227 grams (½ lb.) a “Little” Fries order is still too big: it’s easily enough for two people.

Unfortunately, your body takes a hit with the 100 mg of oxalate that comes with the “Little” fry order. If they were made with sweet potatoes: a “Little” fry order would deliver 164mg of oxalate.* For perspective, consider this: 150mg is the amount that medical researchers claim is our typical all-day consumption of oxalate in food. Does that ring true to you? On the days you have the “Little” fry order, is that the only plant food you eat all day? (Hint: add at least an additional 12mg oxalate from the white hamburger bun with sesame seeds on it, and another 3 – 5mg for toppings such as tomatoes.)

The ubiquity of “would you like fries or chips with that?” encourages us all to make potatoes a too-frequent, regular thing. But, you don’t need to eat out frequently to get into a high oxalate food habit, it can happen to anyone. Just fall in love with the wrong food. It’s sort of arbitrary. Few people seem to understand that the danger of regular excessive oxalate consumption is not just theoretical. Check out Sam’s story.

Unlucky in Love: Sam

Sam was an author, naturopath, amateur tennis player, and successful business man. He loved the flavor of buckwheat. He ate it every single day, for many decades. He also liked spinach omelets, and frequently ate almonds as snacks. On Sam’s typical day, these three foods alone could have contributed at least 775 mg of oxalate to his total intake (1 cup cooked buckwheat 180mgª & 3/4 cup raw baby spinach 480mg § & 1 oz. almonds 115mg §). Despite his expertise in health, Sam was unaware of the damaging effects of eating high oxalate foods, nor did he know that his go-to foods have so much oxalate.

Let’s fill in the rest of his daily diet. In addition to these favored anchor foods, it’s possible that he also ate:

(at least) one slice of multi-grain wheat bread (16mg) with his omelet,
at least ¼ tsp black pepper (4mg) over the course of the day;
a cup of black or green tea (25mg)
a few carrot or celery sticks (15mg);
a peanut butter snack (50mg / 2 T);
½ c of brown rice with dinner (10mg);
green beans (18mg/ ½ c boiled)
a tiny bite of milk chocolate for a treat or dessert (20mg/½ oz.).

A day that included all these foods would bring Sam to a total intake of 920 mg of oxalate. That is a potentially dangerous oxalate level in only a modest amount of food.

The Trouble with Healthy Food

I learned about Sam’s love of buckwheat, almonds, and spinach omelets on Dec. 29, 2015. Sam called me after reading my article: “When Heathy Isn’t”. He told me that he had been struggling with a set of problems he called “chronic break down”—including attacks of severe muscle soreness in his upper back, neck, and his upper buttock muscles. The debilitating pain would come and then disappear without rhyme or reason. Sometimes it involved severe muscle weakness that would make movement nearly impossible. This was distressing and embarrassing to an accomplished tennis player and health expert.

After reading my article Sam had a “eureka” moment. At last, in his late 60s, he learned of a critical missing piece in his understanding of the health effects of foods. Sadly, Sam died less than 2 years later, despite his devotion to healthy living, a happy marriage, and a thriving business. Based on our conversations, I know he believed that a lifetime of high-oxalate eating contributed to his early passing.

Counting a Daze-Worth of Oxalate

Take a look at the table below. It imagines a diet based on Sam’s favorite meals and snacks and compares it with another menu that some other man might have selected. Neither person selected his foods with oxalate in mind, but the difference is astounding – Sam’s diet is 14 times higher in oxalate. A full gram of oxalate in a day is a toxic level of oxalate exposure!
MealSam (mg Oxalate)Low-Ox (mg Oxalate)
Breakfast ½ C buckwheat (180)
¼ C Raspberries (18)
½ C whole Milk (0.5)
1 C black tea (24)		1 C Rice Chex™ (8)
½ C Blueberries (4)
½ C whole Milk (0.5)
Unflavored Coffee (2)
Breakfast Total22215
LunchSpinach Omelet with Salsa
3 eggs (0)
¾ C baby spinach leaves (480)
1/8 tsp. black pepper (2)
¼ C Picante salsa (10)
1 slice multi-grain toast (16)
Butter (0)
1 med. Anjou pear (20)
1 C Whole Milk (1)		Cheese & Shrimp Quesadilla
Cheese (0) Mushrooms, canned (¼ C) (0.3)
Baby Shrimp (0)
White Flour Tortilla (10).
Corn salsa:
½ C corn (2)
2 T red onion (0.5)
2 T red bell pepper (0.25)
½ clove garlic (0.1)
2 tsp. lime juice (0.2)
2 tsp. olive oil (0)
¼ tsp. chili powder (2)
¼ tsp. cayenne (1.5)
Apple and Banana Fruit Bar (3)
Lunch Total53020
Snack1 oz. almonds (115)Cheddar cheese (0)
6 saltines (6)
Snack Total1156
DinnerHomemade chicken soup made with: chicken (0)
½ carrot (5)
½ stalk of celery (5)
¼ C ckd. brown rice (5)
¼ C boiled green beans (10)
½ C raw curly kale (10)
1/8 tsp. black pepper (2)
1/8 tsp. celery seed (4)
½ tsp. dried oregano (4)
1 Tbs. fresh basil (3)
½ oz milk chocolate (20 +)		Baked Chicken seasoned with Shake 'N Bake™ (4)
1½ C Caesar Salad: romaine (1.5), croutons (3.5), dressing (1.5)
½ C cooked mustard greens (6)
½ C buttered white rice (3)
5 oz. red wine (0)
½ C red grapes (2)
Dinner Total7022
Evening Snack1 Clementine (19)
1½ T peanut butter (36)
5 Keebler Toasteds® Sesame crackers (21) 		6 oz. vanilla yogurt (6)
Evening Snack Total756
Daily Total1,01270

Who’s Looking Out for Us?

Health authorities have dropped the ball. As a result, no one is paying attention to the oxalates in our food and how the amount we’re eating has been creeping up and up and up. We’re paying a price for our ignorance about what we’re eating.

Don’t wait for some official warning. Oxalate is a toxin. Unlike most environmental poisons, this is one toxin that is within your control to avoid. Don’t let your health depend on a roll of the dice. Get started.

Note: You may have good reasons for avoiding Rice Chex™, Shake ’N Bake™, or other packaged foods (check out my recipes!). The point here is that commonly eaten foods can be very high or very low in oxalate, and nobody is aware of the difference.

*reference http://www.fiveguys.com/-/media/Public-Site/Files/FiveGuysNutrition_Aug2014_CAN_E.ashx (Oxalate estimates are based on tests of Russet / Idaho potatoes and frozen fries performed at the University of Wyoming 2011, and 2015)

ªcalculation based on 86g uncooked weight and average of known tests of buckwheat and buckwheat flour which equal 133 + 270/ 2= 202mg/100g

§based on VP Foundation data published in their Newsletter

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Our Oxalate-Loaded Environment: No Seasons, No Awareness

I’m very excited to announce a new article in the Journal of Evolution and Health: “Lost Seasonality and Overconsumption of Plants: Risking Oxalate Toxicity” by me: Sally K. Norton. Link http://jevohealth.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1085&context=journal (or you can download it from my site)

Please read and share this heavily referenced, peer-reviewed article. Perhaps it will help us all see how we’re eating today in a new light. The article offers an up-to-date synopsis of what we know about oxalates, based on my extensive review of the scientific literature.

The rest of this blog post revisits and expands on the key points from the article.

Oxalate Toxicity Illness

Once you realize that oxalate in foods is at the root of your suffering, you can’t help but wonder: Why am I in trouble with oxalate? Why is this happening? Hasn’t oxalate been around forever? Is there something wrong with me that made me especially vulnerable to the oxalate problem? Why me? – this is the classic victim question. Yes, you are a victim, but of what? I say you are a victim of modern progress, affluence, cultural trends, and generalized ignorance of oxalate science; hear me out. . .

Oxalate-related illness is, in general, a problem of: 1) oxalate exposure and 2) bioaccumulation inside of our bodies. This is so, regardless if the effects of this exposure and accumulation surface as arthritis, digestive problems, headaches, pain issues, skin trouble, bad sleep, or kidney stones.

The One-Two Punch

Let’s consider that modern eating patterns douse us in oxalate far too routinely. (Missed any meals recently?) When the continuous oxalate marinade (daily low to moderate doses) includes occasional pulses of extreme doses (as in a spinach smoothie or a bag of almonds), accumulation is bound to occur. This combination – constant eating of plant foods (like bread and spices) interspersed with the occasional dark chocolate bar or spinach salad – is especially good at promoting the build-up of minute oxalate deposits in the body. The speed and extent of this process may be what separates the seemingly unaffected from those of us with joint, digestive, brain and neurological issues. Beyond just the level of oxalate intake, these factors seem to be key determinants of how fast and how extensively oxalate toxicity develops:

  • oxalate absorption
    • (many dietary factors and other changing conditions will affect the amount that gets inside the body),
    • it is generally much higher then scientists used to think
  • gut health, and
  • internal inflammation.

Never a Break

Never before has it been so easy to obtain oxalate-heavy foods. At the same time, we’ve become nibblers (or grazers) who believe that six small meals daily make for a healthy and acceptable meal pattern. We never take off from eating plant foods. We used to have those breaks: things called winter, or drought, or crop failure, or high-holy fasting days. And, of course when we’re eating oxalate, we have no idea that we are doing it; no one has bothered to tell us. Hardly anyone is aware of the presence of oxalate in our beloved foods and its potential dangers. Never have we been so at risk for slow, low-grade health damage thanks to our modern food choices, constant eating, and unawareness.

Global Food System Has Erased the Seasons

Winter is gone. No longer do we subsist on ham, onions, pickles, and white biscuits from January to March. Now, fresh green spinach, fruits, and nuts of all kinds can be had any day of the year. Our modern food scene is slick and sexy (packaged with grand promises), tasty and super-convenient, affordable, and . . . risky.

You can get nearly anything you could want, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Refrigerated trucks, the interstate highway system, inter-continental shipping, and the 24-hour grocery store all work to meet the demand for affordable, constant access to any and all foods. We usually see this as a great victory of modern commerce, but the downside… well, it has made it possible to bypass and disarm the body’s own defenses against what was historically only periodic over-dosing on high oxalate plant foods. That’s my guess, anyway. There is not any good research on the amount of oxalate in our diets and how this has changed.

Getting Plenty of Neo Foods

Envision some modern basics: tea, chips, fries, and almond milk. . . Finding our way to a daily cup of tea was never this easy! No longer do you have to haul water from the river, or fire up a wood stove. Potato chips? They were mass-produced for home consumption only recently. And french fries? Routine access to fries came with the invention of cheap (and addictive) fast food in the 1950s. That helped to launch the new and steadily expanding practice of eating meals away from home,  not just on special occasions but as part normal daily life. Restaurants eagerly offer hash browns, potato chips, fries, and mashed (or baked) potatoes as the classic side. (Too cheap, popular, and profitable to resist.)

Almond and rice beverages? These new-fangled products became commercially available and widely distributed only about 10 years ago (and have been growing in popularity). And please note: These faux “milks” are marketed as a fitting substitute for calcium-rich dairy milk. They are not. Not only do they contain oxalate (which real milk does not), but they lack milk’s ability to protect against oxalate absorption offered by dairy calcium.

Normal variability in what and when we eat, and restrictions that once came with the seasons and periodic food scarcity, are all gone in modern affluent societies. Easy, routine access to tasty oxalate-ridden foods has created a new situation for our bodies. The constant bombardment of our bodies by oxalate is an escalating, and uniquely problematic source of toxic stress in 21st Century life. It’s as if it were Thanksgiving Day, every day. The harvest is in and abundance is the theme of the moment. Have whatever you like; if its “healthy”—have a lot of it, frequently.

Modern Concepts of Health Foods

Modern dietary approaches have placed great emphasis on the health benefits of vegetables, nuts, chocolate, and spices, despite their being high in oxalate. There is a great deal of encouragement, pressure even, to eat greens, nuts, fruits, and other “whole” plant foods. We constantly hear that the sure path to complete health is the “plant based” diet. If it doesn’t work, you are just not trying hard enough… so just keep selecting antioxidant-rich “health foods”.

In this culture, how would anyone ever begin to suspect something amiss with this moral and fail-safe approach to eating? They don’t, not until they have exhausted every other possible explanation for why they hurt or can’t think well or get restless sleep… but I digress.

Accumulation of Oxalate

Any tissue of the body can end up with oxalate deposits, not just the kidneys and other parts of the urinary system. But how and why? This question has been posed, but rarely studied, at least since 1940 when a London coroner found oxalate crystals at the site of a brain aneurysm in a 61-year old woman.1 The prevailing theory in medical science is that the entire drainage system had to be broken down (persistent kidney failure) for oxalate to collect in non-renal tissues. Yet the exceptions to this rule are many—littered across the various fields of research.

Pathologists report finding oxalate deposits in eyes, arteries, hearts, skin, wherever—despite functional, healthy kidneys. We find this in cases of acute oxalate poisoning among patients who have tried to commit suicide with oxalic acid washing powders or ethylene glycol anti-freeze (ethylene glycol is a metabolic precursor that becomes oxalate in the body), and in cases of genetic disorders that cause excessive internal production of oxalate. But we also find these deposits in the chronically ill, in previously injured tissues, and in perfectly healthy people.

Stuck in Catch Mode

The scientific evidence suggests that the body is good at a game of “catch and release”. This is a process in which healthy cells take on minute oxalate crystals with the intention of this being a temporary accommodation. When the coast is clear and conditions right, cells recruit immune cells to help them dismantle and release the sequestered oxalate and send it off for excretion. Our diets, however, are pitching oxalate steadily (and at quite a clip). The effect is that the catch and release cycle gets stuck in “catch” mode. Cells holding oxalate attract more oxalate crystals which then become ever-present because oxalate is ever-present in so many of our favored foods. Injured cells or cell fragments passively get saddled with crystals that not only persist but grow, for years and decades.

We don’t see the inevitable but invisible nano-deposits and non-crystalline traces in cells throughout the body. The trained pathologist can see the much larger micro-crystals (when the tissue are fresh and properly handled, and when using the appropriate stain and polarized light). But the hunt for these troublesome contaminants isn’t done in typical tissue biopsy and tissues are usually not fresh. (The central concern being the detection of cancerous cells.) The body, however, is aware of oxalate. It is designed to unload these toxic traces, if it can only get the opportunity.

Let the Toxin Go

The cells await the conditions necessary for dismantling and releasing crystals. It would seem that tissues may need several days of very low-level oxalate intake to start the slow process of dismantling, dissolving, and unloading these nano-deposits. (In one study, looking at rat kidneys, this process was underway in just a matter of days. In another study, complete dissolution of a crystal took five or more weeks to complete).

The way we eat, the “release” conditions don’t come very often or for very long. The next time someone tells you “you’re full of it” they might be right!  And they might be full of it themselves!

References

1. Glynn, L.E. (1940). Crystalline bodies in the tunica media of a middle cerebral artery. J. Pathol. Bacteriol. 51, 445–446.

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Keto Getaway: Eat Less Plants and Feel Better!

In January I spoke at a wonderful nutrition and health conference, the Keto Getaway Conference, in West Palm Beach held by LowCarbUSA. Even though I was sick and the weather in Florida was cold, I had a wonderful time. Way to go Pam and Doug Reynolds, the founders and organizers who pulled together a wonderful program and a terrific line-up of speakers for the 2018 Keto Getaway!

Including a presentation on dietary oxalate in a low-carb nutrition event… this was a first! I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to introduce oxalates to some of the leaders in the keto nutrition movement. The credit goes to Carole Freeman (a.k.a. Keto Carole) who recommended me to Doug Reynolds. Thanks to her I shared and gained a number of important insights about the relationship between low-oxalate eating and a keto diet, some of which I have summarized below.

For those of you who are new to ketogenic diets, the first part of this post explores the whats, whys, and hows of “ketogenic” eating.  If you’re already familiar with keto, you might want skip ahead to My Insights from Hanging in the Keto World.

What is Keto?

Keto is the popular term for eating a diet that is nearly free of carbohydrates, creating a fat-burning body “economy”. The term “keto” comes from the molecules (referred to “ketone bodies”) that your body generates when it burns fat instead of glucose to fuel activity and metabolic functions. Even the brain can switch to burning ketones when carbs are cut from the diet, which is a good thing.  Doctors will sometimes worry about the body creating ketones, because they don’t understand the difference between nutritional ketosis (a normal healthy process that occurs when your body burns fat) and ketoacidosis (which also creates ketones, but which occurs when your metabolism is not working due to diabetes or other metabolic disorders).

Long having held the ecological niche of game hunters, human beings have been eating low-carb for many tens of thousands of years. Today’s carb-centric diet is a recent invention; the idea that processed carbs (eaten in abundance) are safe just came into being about 40 years ago. This is about the same time the 24-hour grocery store was invented. Not long after that, cup holders in our cars became standard equipment by the 1980s as well. By then we were hooked on sugar-on-the-go.

Why Keto?

A low-to-no carb diet is not new but is being explored anew by people seeking to:

  1. cure obesity,
  2. reverse diabetes,
  3. treat brain and neurological disorders (Epilepsy, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s Disease, brain injury, mood problems and more),
  4. manage endocrine disorders (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome),
  5. support cancer treatment; and to
  6. improve general health, well-being, and longevity.

Also, fasting has become a big buzz of late. Training your body to be good at burning fat and ketones is the best preparation for fasting. For my own health, I have been a carb-restricting eater for at least eight years, with the last year going lower and lower and relying on my fat-burning capacity more consistently over the last 6 months so I can experiment with fasting (and still stay energetic and fully-functioning).

How Keto?

To “go keto,” people remove sugars and starchy foods from the diet: grains, fruits, potatoes, junk foods, juice, sweet drinks, etc. The only effective way to lower carb intake is to eat something else, specifically fats (not excessive protein). Basically, if you want to burn fat for fuel, you need to eat fat. Simple logic, right?

The best example of this type of diet is The Atkins induction diet. Typically, a low-carb, high-fat (LCHF) diet involves a reduction in the amount of plant foods (no grains, beans, or potatoes), more animal foods (eggs, meats, fish) and many more fat calories from both animal (full-fat meats, bacon, chicken skin, bone marrow, lard, tallow, butter, heavy cream, cheese) and vegetable sources (coconut, avocados, nuts).

Bone Marrow

Shrimp Salad

Is it Safe?

A ketogenic diet means eating more butter, olive oil, heavy cream, coconut, avocados, and fatty meats. This is a shock to most people because we have been wrongly told over-and-over again for four decades that eating fat is bad for our health. It turns out that the only real problems with fats come from:

  1. trans-fats (hydrogenated vegetable oils),
  2. processed vegetable oils (e.g. canola, soy, corn),
  3. poor-quality fats in the context of a sugary, high carb diet, and
  4. the contamination of fats with environmental chemicals and, perhaps, with certain naturally-occurring plant sterols (as in soy oil).

Clean animal fats like lard, egg yolks, beef tallow, cream, and butter are beneficial to health because they contain needed nutrients, help the body assimilate nutrients, help act as a solvent, moisturizer, and clean-burning energy source in the body. Coconut oil, and fats from avocado are also safe and beneficial in the context of a low-junk, low-sugar diet. Despite the many unknowns still surrounding very low-carb, high fat diets (see the next section), lowering carbohydrate intake is safe for most people because a healthy body has no intrinsic need for them. (Some conditions, including heart failure, kidney stones, and gout may need special attention from a keto-aware medical professional who can monitor liver, kidney, and heart function to ensure safety.)

The State of the Art of Ketogenic Living

The science and even the definition of ketosis is still emerging. That is, although there are many scientific papers on the subject, many basic questions are just starting to be explored. For example: what is the most accurate way to measure ketone bodies so that we can monitor the state of ketosis? (Is it by the breath, urine, or blood?) How does a fat-burning metabolism affect our need for micro-nutrients? How do we correctly interpret diagnostic testing that has been standardized based on the modern grain-based, high-carbohydrate diet, when these tests are performed during prolonged ketosis? We may need more salt and electrolytes on a keto diet, but how much and when?

I have my own question too: Is the reduction of plant foods (such as wheat, beans, and potatoes) part of the reason that people on a keto diet feel better and love this way of eating? The keto diet is dramatically different from the standard diet, and there are many moving parts that are very much unaccounted for! (Especially the effects of reducing our intake of plant toxins.)

Does a Keto Diet Work?

Yes—if you do it right and give it enough time! That is, to feel your best while burning fat, your cells need to change the equipment they use for energy production. That takes time. There is a transition period of several months or a year, or even longer for some people. This transition can be a bit of an ordeal or it can be straight-forward: everyone is different.

There are several factors that can make the transition period challenging or even unpleasant. For example, you have to face the addictive nature of carbohydrates–they stimulate insulin and brain chemicals that make us crave sugar, bread, pasta, pizza, fries, chips, potatoes, donuts, desserts, chocolate, etc. Carb withdrawal is ugly. The addictive pull of carbs sets us up to abandon our body’s keto-metabolism training due to “cheats”. When we cheat and eat carbs, the progression to keto is up and down—prolonged and delayed by the internal food fight, personal habits, and the cultural challenges that are waiting around every corner in a carb-centric world. Patience, persistence, and starting again and again eventually pay off for some, but many people give up and prematurely declare themselves “not-a-fit” for this approach.

Key Tips on the Keto Journey

From my experience in being strict about carbs, there a few critically important keys to success:

  1. Eat more salt, a lot more, because your kidneys will “waste” salt and potassium when you switch to low carb. If you keep switching on and off ketosis (like I did for years), you may end up depleted of salt and potassium and electrolytes generally. This can mean dry connective tissues and induce muscle aches and knots.
  2. Get enough food: “strict low-carb” is not “low-calorie”.
  3. Embrace fats: eat much, much more ghee, butter, and other animal fats than you think you should.
  4. Let it take the time it takes (measure in months, not days). You will be reworking daily habits, holidays, ways to celebrate, etc. This involves the psychologly, sociology, and the physiology of eating!
  5. While slowly progressing toward maintaining a consistent keto lifestyle, live and love your life as it is without fretting about the “depth” of your ketosis.

My Insights from Hanging in the Keto World

High-carb foods come from plants, and many (namely: grains, potatoes, beans) are high oxalate.  Switching to ketogenic eating means cutting out grains, potatoes, and beans—completely! Unless you are frequently eating spinach, swiss chard, mixed salad greens, nuts, and chocolate, you will often be eating less oxalate on a keto diet. Some keto dieters even move to an all-meat, or mostly animal foods diet. This is exemplified by Amber O’Hearn (find her here and here) and many other 100% carnivorous eaters (think of this as the “feline diet”). What keto dieters may not realize is that this all-animal diet is also one way to do a zero oxalate diet.

One of the medical leaders in the field of therapeutic ketogenic diets is Dr. Eric Westman of Durham NC. He and other keto-promoters like to mention (okay: brag) that not only can they correct (cure) diabetes and obesity with diet, but that their patients also report less pain and digestive problems. He says that 80% of his patients with reflux get relief on the keto diet. He’s crediting ketosis for these bonus outcomes, without considering the effect of reducing plant toxins. However, pain and digestive problems regularly clear up on a low oxalate diet—even without ketosis.

Could it be that cutting out wheat, potatoes, and beans while eating more meat is a path to a moderate oxalate diet? Surely, reducing or removing oxalates and other plant toxins from the diet adds to the benefits of the low-carb, high-fat, ketogenic diet. Still, the keto world is mostly invested in the idea that ketones in the body are the principal source of the “keto magic”. Ketones are only one of the many reasons that people feel better on a keto diet. (Subtracting plant toxins feel good!)

Eat Less Plants

Who is looking at the changes in exposure to plant toxins? Sadly, not many researchers are exploring this angle in nutrition. But some keto proponents do suggest that a “low plant, high animal food diet” results in better health than a keto diet that includes more plants. Psychiatrist Georgia Ede does a great job explaining this seemingly radical idea.

Here is quote from Dr. Ede:

“There’s no evidence that I could find proving that plant foods are good for us. You see many, many studies showing that plant extracts can be used as medication when someone has a disease, are using [a subset of] their naturally toxic properties to your advantage. But if you are a healthy person, do you need to eat plants? As far as I can tell, you don’t…. When it comes to anti-nutrients, these natural chemicals within plants not only can irritate our systems, but they can interfere with our ability to digest and absorb nutrients, key nutrients …. The part of the plant which is most risky for us… is the seed. Because that’s the most heavily protected, that’s the future of the plant. …grains, beans, nuts and seeds are all seeds and they are very heavily protected. And I think that that is why… many people feel better on that [keto] diet, because they’ve removed legumes, they’ve removed grains… They have [often] not removed nuts and seeds, although I think some people who don’t feel better enough on a [low-carb] diet might want to consider that .”

Other Hints that Keto Sometimes Works Like a Low-Oxalate Diet

Example of the Low Oxalate Diet Rash

  • The “keto rash” sounds just the low-oxalate rash (see the picture nearby)!
  • Reports of “keto gout” sound a lot like oxalate flooding (dumping) reactions that may happen on the first year or two of a low-oxalate diet.

Why Oxalate Awareness is Needed in the Keto World

Oxalate is one more factor that makes ketogenic eating a good idea, SOMETIMES. There are at least 2 ways oxalate could be a problem in a keto diet:

1. Too Much Oxalate.

Some keto dieters may overdo oxalate by making these mistakes:

  • relying too heavily on nuts;
  • routinely eating some of the classic super-high-oxalate greens (spinach, swiss chard, beet greens, micro green salad mixes);
  • spicing up their foods with high oxalate spices like cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, etc.; or
  • treating themselves to keto “fat bombs” and hot drinks made with coco and dark chocolate.

Any combination of these low-carb/high-oxalate ingredients can quickly add up to a dangerously high oxalate diet.

2. Too Few Oxalates, Too Fast.

Another Low Oxalate Skin reaction – on a foot

The mostly-animal food version of keto may mean abruptly (and unawarely) switching to a much lower (near zero) oxalate intake. In some people with a history of eating high oxalate foods: Oops!  They may experience an abrupt outbreak of a whole new set of problems. Why? Because this switch is likely to destabilize oxalate deposits in the body and trigger oxalate flooding / dumping. Boy can that be unpleasant! Flooding your tissues with ionic or nano-oxalate is hard on your body. The deleterious consequence of the body’s desire to be rid of oxalate can be softened with certain supplements and other strategies that are just beginning to be explored (and that need to be figured out for each individual).

Lets Get Together

In my own experience, Low-Oxalate and Low-Carb are a wonderful combination for enhancing mood and energy, and for managing pain. Both are important for optimal brain development and function, limiting the effects of brain aging, and for preventing and perhaps treating dementia. There is a potentially powerful symmetry in the union of know-how in the previously unconnected worlds of low-carb and low-oxalate. Lets keep thinking together about what we need to learn and teach to bring the greatest possible benefits to human health.

 

To view videos of 2018 Geto GetAway speakers go here. (https://www.lowcarbusa.org/videos/video-members-area/2018-wpb-premium-videos/)

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Choices to lessen suffering and open our hearts to joy and Thanksgiving.

My trip to the farmers market today was beautiful. In a magical perfection, bright yellow and orange leaves fluttered everywhere in the swirling wind, contrasting with the strong, steady, black-bark covered limbs arching over streets and sidewalks. Everyone at the market seemed calm and very content to be there. It put me in a mood to slow down, just be, and reflect about the ways we cope, consume, eat.

South of the James Farmers Market

And, I want to suggest to you that, this Thanksgiving, you eat whatever you want.

But, before you do, be sure you really want it. And that you know why. Do we ever know why we do what we do? We say we want to be out of pain, physically, emotionally, and yet… Too often our actions don’t always fit our true wants. Perhaps, we are so busy wanting that we cling to our cravings and beloved symbols of comfort, especially when we get emotionally triggered.  And our desire to be loved is often being the biggest “want” of all.

Emotionally triggered? Do you think it’s possible at this time of year? Honestly:  do you think it’s not possible? A lot of us go into super-charge mode emotionally, putting ourselves on a hair trigger, easily upset by the smallest of things. It works great for retailers who put all kinds of irresistible comforts, stimulants, and distractions right under our noses. It doesn’t usually play out so well at family gatherings, however.

How will you be in this moment, this time we call Thanksgiving? This is the time we say is the opening of the Season of Joy. Can it be so for you? What would make it so? Is it about the sugar-coated, pecan-topped sweet potatoes, really? Foods like these may serve our past habits and past memories. And so, we tell ourselves that they are security, ground, and comfort—and a pleasure we need and deserve.

Clinging to the Past

The old way of doing things provides a railing that we hold on to as we navigate the steps of relationships, change, and uncertainty. But, truly, life is best lived in a state of uncertainty. That is where discovery lies.  That is where novelty, growth, and the best in life reside.  Perhaps, too, clinging to our old choices, habits, and memories is just an escape from uncertainty. So often we don’t dare be fully present, or embrace our new path. Perhaps because we fear feeling sad. Sad is bad enough at any time, but horrible in the Season of Joy.

This is an ideal time to build our confidence in our ability to drop our old ways and choose wisely. As Pema Chödrön, puts it: “Natural intelligence is always accessible to us. When we’re not caught in the trap of hope and fear, we intuitively know what’s the right thing to do. If we’re not obscuring our intelligence with anger, self-pity, or craving, we know what will help and what will make things worse” [for us emotionally].

Let your own capacity to feel appreciation, gratitude, tenderness, and a sense of humor be your core, your warmth, your comfort, your peace, your celebration. This is great time to nurture our inner warmth, first to ourselves and then to everyone around us. Light a small fire inside, let it glow with your life energy. Let it be reason enough for the season. Let it give you peace, let it free up your intelligence and be a fuel for making wiser choices. De-escalate the meaning and value of former favorites, and look forward to trying new things that are good for you.

Happy Thanksgiving!! And, remember, a low-oxalate holiday begins with your mindset.

Sources:

Pema Chödrön (2009) Taking the Leap. Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears. p.5

Photo Credit: Copyright: <a href=’https://www.123rf.com/profile_maxsheb’>maxsheb / 123RF Stock Photo</a>

Links:

http://www.freeuniongrassfarm.com/

 

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Will today’s natural foods fix our health problems?

Today’s health crisis. Have you noticed it? Obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes, kidney disease, cancer, infertility, behavioral and mood problems, poor sleep, and PAIN. Do you know anyone with any of these problems? Yes, you do, even if you are not aware of it. And, the suffering is happening at younger and younger ages. Our kids are in trouble, we’re all in trouble.

It is expensive to be sick. Both time and money are sucked out of our lives, not to mention the fun. And what about the bigger picture all around us? Perhaps you’ve noticed that poor health is threatening social and economic stability, world-wide.

Eating Better?

So, what are we doing about it? Eating better? Going “natural”? Yes, we are indeed eating more veggies and less meat, less fat too. We’re swearing off gluten and A bag of cheese-like "healthy food" substance made from almonds.milk, going for alternative low-carb or gluten-free breads, alternative “milk”, and fake cheese. Is this going to save us? I say no. Hear about one reason why this approach is not a great solution: in this video about oxalate toxicity from natural foods.

My Ancestral Health Symposium Presentation

In September, I had an opportunity to offer an address to the Ancestral Health Society. This presentation argues that many of today’s health foods are having the opposite of the intended effect. Rather than making us healthier, the superfood food craze could, like the holy war against saturated fat, be launching another public health calamity, as expensive and unpleasant as the current diabetes and obesity explosion.

Here are some highlights from this talk:

Bags of chocolate covered almonds on a supermarket produce shelf.

Chocolate is now “produce” at Walmart

  • Low-level toxicity and nutrient deficiencies make us sick.
  • One of the most potent toxins that people regularly ingest in the contemporary diet is oxalate.
  • Oxalate causes nutrient depletion AND toxicity in the body.
  • Oxalate, when purified, can rapidly kill a person.
  • It was even the poison of interest in the very first experimental toxicology study published in 1823 in England, because it caused several accidental deaths in the early1800s.
  • Many of the plant foods we like to think are good for us have enough oxalate to harm our health in much more subtle ways.
  • These natural foods might even cause mechanical abrasion to your digestive tract do to the “needle effect”.
  • Oxalate can collect in your tissues.
  • The availability of high oxalate foods we see today is unprecedented.
  • Today we are eating oxalate in amounts that cause us to begin accumulating oxalate in our arteries, bones, thyroid, breasts, and kidneys.
  • When you eat “normal” levels of oxalate, you “maintain” and grow the oxalate deposits that have already started in your body.
  • Medical and nutrition authorities have virtually no awareness of the threat of biological toxicity posed by over-exposure to oxalate and its precursors. They are not paying attention to the increase in our use of high oxalate foods.
  • Going low destabilizes oxalate in the body, and helps it move out.
  • Going low can prevent and even reverse a lot of common complaints, as proven by thousands of reports from real people in the real world (members of the VP Foundation, Participants in the Trying Low Oxalates online groups, my own clients and followers, and many others).

Action Items for You

  • Please watch the video, it is only 39 minutes and is packed with helpful images and information that will make you want to share it and watch it a second time.
  • Please give it a thumbs up.
  • Share with those you love.
  • Let me know what you think.

… and

The fewer toxins in your body the better, even the natural ones!

“From a practical point of view, it would be better to avoid oxalate-rich foods than to take measures to neutralize the effect of oxalic acid, especially when other sources of green vegetables are available.”

—Hoover and Karunairatnam (1945).
Oxalate content of some leafy green vegetables and its relation to oxaluria and calcium utilization.
The Biochemical Journal 39, 237.

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When Anger Melts into Gratitude

Radio Interview On Richmond’s WRIR show Lightly on the Ground Radio

Aired: Aug 9th, 2017, 12 PM EST

During this radio interview with Sunny Gardner, Jane Cummings shares the story of her recovery from severe joint and nerve pain (in her wrists and feet) that was accompanied by brain fog. All these problems improved tremendously after following my advice to limit her oxalate intake.

Jane was initially angry at the information, having worked so hard to get to a healthful diet. She, like me, grew her own sweet potatoes and tomatoes. She also carried “pocket food”—nuts and seeds on most days.

Despite her feelings about the idea that her “healthy foods” could harm her, she moderated her food choices. She added more low oxalate foods, including romaine lettuce, and cut way back on the nuts and seeds. Things backed off, the foot stiffness and wrist pain essentially went away. Having been on the diet for almost 2 years, she now understands when she strays. Her body will tell her and symptoms will return. It works for her, every time. Just check the list and remember what foods she needs to move away from eating.

During this interview, I explain how the body can be overwhelmed by too much oxalate coming in and how the body makes a shift when you cut way back on consuming oxalate.

Jane now feels very grateful – she has a way to manage her own health. She could not get this information from doctors or the internet. So, she tells her friends about oxalates in our foods and how avoiding them has helped her.

Jane tuned her anger into a feeling of empowerment.

We both are grateful to have this option for better health. Thank you, Sunny for helping us tell our stories.

Please enjoy this 30 minute interview, and share your thoughts.

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Sloppiness of Standard Practices in Science

The public is unaware of many problems in how science is conducted and the ramifications for patient health.

For example, poor handling and significant time lapse before pathologists see the fragile and perishable tissues they examine can yield unreliable, meaningless data. Richard Harris discusses such problems in modern biomedical science in a new book, Rigor Mortis: How Sloppy Science Creates Worthless Cures, Crushes Hope, and Wastes Billions. The book is long overdue! It is certainly an important topic in need of some light, and I’m looking forward to reading it. Thanks to Richard Harris for tackling this massive problem!

In a book excerpt on the NPR site, Harris describes how researchers finally revealed one of the hidden problems in pathology.  While evaluating a breast cancer test, researchers in a lab at the University of Rochester let breast tissue biopsy samples sit out for an hour or two before testing them. They didn’t realize that at room temperature, the sample decays! Folks: dead tissues decay, and decay changes what a pathologist can detect.  Harris writes:Rigor Mortis Book Cover

“And that was enough to degrade the sample and turn a positive result into a negative one. The molecule detected by the HER2 test breaks down at room temperature. “You can have the best test in the world and still get the wrong answer if you bugger up what you are testing,” Compton said.”

Oxalate Detection is a Problem for These Same Reasons Too

This problem of tissue degeneration is certainly true for oxalate crystals. These crystals are known to disappear from tissue samples within 2 hours of death, especially from the thyroid gland. Surgeons and their assistants lack training in the best methods for preserving biopsy samples and do not prioritize a speedy passage to the microscope. These processes are not priorities for biomedical institutions. Science and the public both suffer as a result.

I will write more soon about problems in tissue sampling and examination, focusing on overlooked oxalate deposits.  Unseen due to normal but faulty biomedical procedures, oxalate deposits in human tissues are more common than believed by researchers.

Link to NPR book excerpt:

http://www.npr.org/books/titles/522223284/rigor-mortis-how-sloppy-science-creates-worthless-cures-crushes-hope-and-wastes#excerpt

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Arterial Plaque Contains Oxalate

Did you know that oxalates can damage your heart and circulatory system, contributing to heart disease?

Our kidneys clean the blood. All of the oxalate that kidneys excrete every day gets there by traveling in our blood stream. The job of delivering toxic oxalate to the kidneys puts the arteries in harm’s way.

Researchers Don’t Expect Oxalate in Tissues

When oxalate deposits are found in tissues (other than the kidneys) doctors and researchers are surprised that the kidneys are working just fine. They believe that before oxalate collects in our bodies, the oxalate must first ruin the kidneys. This passage, below, from UCLA Pathologists Fishbein and Fishbein illustrates this conventional belief.

In a review of coronary arteries from 80 patients, we found 4 cases in which there were prominent oxalate deposits within the atherosclerotic plaques in coronary arteries. Oxalate deposits were also present in the media of arteries, the thyroid gland, and other organs, but not the kidneys, and the patients surprisingly did not have renal failure. (Fishbein and Fishbein 2009, p. 1315)

This expectation is based on the long-standing but unproven assertion that detectable (non-renal) oxalate deposits are a product of poor kidney function. In a previous report published by the journal Cardiovascular Pathology in 2008 they propose the new term “atherosclerotic oxalosis” to describe arterial plaque containing oxalate crystals.

This report was part of a study of coronary atherosclerosis in HIV infected patients, using atherosclerotic plaque samples from the National Neurologic AIDS Bank.

Whenever oxalate flows into the kidneys and other tissues in amounts beyond what they can handle (exceeding a capacity threshold), oxalate overload can occur. This can trigger accumulation of oxalate in the body. For some people this shows up as kidney deposits and kidney stones.  But oxalate can encounter, be stashed, and be left behind in any susceptible tissue in the body, not just the kidneys.

Other Forms of Oxalate are Usually Overlooked

Note the use of the term prominent in the comment quoted above. The researchers do not mention trace deposits, nano-crystals, ionic oxalate, and other chemical forms of oxalate in the examined tissues as a possibility. Unexplored, no doubt.

There is also no mention of the age of the specimens at the time of examination. We know that oxalate deposits rapidly fade in biopsied tissue and cadavers. (It would be interesting to see a study specific to arteries and arterial plaque to investigate the durability of less prominent oxalate deposits in plaque.) To reliably find oxalate, living tissues need to be examined within two hours of death or excision, but often are not. This may help to explain why oxalate in the arterial plaque is assumed to be rare, it can be hard to detect.

Calcium oxalate may be a factor in “hardening arteries”. And it may be more common than this research suggests, given the crude detection methods we use. Artery plaque oxalosis is most likely in people with metabolic stress such as HIV, metabolic syndrome, chronic inflammation, diabetes, insulin resistance, chemical injury, poly-pharmacy, auto-immune conditions, and so on. We don’t know how oxalate may harm “healthy” people with “perfect” arteries.

Over and over, science has demonstrated that oxalate can collect in any tissue in the body—and not necessarily due to kidney problems.

Reason enough to become oxalate aware!

 

Here is an update: an 2017 report of an Italian study looking at heart artery plaque in 229 people, obtained through a tissue bank. They did a special microanalysis in 41 plaque samples to differentiate between two types of calcifications: calcium oxalate vs hydroxapatite. 37% of the plaques were primarily calcium oxalate and 63% were hydroxyapatite. Oxalate calcifications were detected mainly in unstable plaques in 27% of cases, whereas HA tended to dominate unstable plaques 60% of the time.
Of course, unstable plaques are the ones that tend to break loose and block fine capillaries, restricting blood flow to brain or heart tissues thus causing non-hemorrhagic stroke or heart attacks . https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28739184

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Vitamin D Lamp: This little light of mine, finding time to let it shine.

Healthy Sun Solution with a Sun Lamp

Here in this video you can see my “electronic sun”. This easy-to-use vitamin D lamp has specialized UVB emitting bulbs intended to emulate natural sun. For most of us, brief sessions with such a lamp may improve our vitamin D status and general health. Making time in your busy life can be a challenge, however. Check out my own solution in the video to see how I fit this practice into my own schedule.

Read on to learn more about vitamin D and the advantages of the lamp.

Vitamin D

Deficiency of vitamin D is not only terrible for bone health, it increases your risk of almost any disease and lowers your life expectancy. Low D levels are epidemic these days. It is common in every age group, and especially common among dark-skinned people. This is because the natural way to “get” vitamin D is to make it with your own skin, when the sun shines.  The sun’s ultraviolet B (UVB) rays interact with cholesterol (7-DHC) in the skin to make precursors that your body can convert to vitamin D.  Skin pigment blocks UV penetration, protecting skin from UV damage, but limiting vitamin D production. Other factors that limit D production in skin include aging and sunscreen use.  The strength of the sun is also a factor, varying by time of day and season, and lower at higher latitudes.

Sunlight – We Need It.

Correcting vitamin D deficiency is an important aspect of health and healing. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with insulin disorders, autoimmune disorders, cancer, and even risk of infectious disease. Many experts recommend routine oral supplementation.  But there is some evidence of short-comings and side effects to this approach that we still do not understand well.

For those with inefficient vitamin D absorption, oral supplements do not correct the deficiency. For others who do absorb oral vitamin D, there are still drawbacks. Some suspect that daily consumption of D3 may encourage excessive absorption of calcium from the intestinal tract or movement of calcium out of the bones, which can create other problems.  To minimize these issues, it seems better to take D periodically in large doses, not in daily small doses.  But not everyone can tolerate pills and supplements at all:  such people especially need to generate vitamin D naturally from UVB rays (sunshine or sunlamp).

Practical Sun Exposure with a Lamp

Given the limitations of oral supplements, making the most of your skin’s ability to produce vitamin D is a good idea. But modern life makes it impractical to get regular sun exposure, even in the summer months. And UV radiation is insufficient in the northern U.S. during the winter months, November through February.  Many other variables influence how much UV light your body needs to make adequate vitamin D.

For pale skinned folks five minutes a few days a week might be enough. The darker your skin the longer the exposure needed. You can’t necessarily force your skin to make a lot of vitamin D from UVB, however. There are biological limits. So keep in mind that more time in the sun or under the lamp may not be better for you. Remember to have you doctor measure your vitamin D levels with blood testing.

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Chicken or Poultry Bone Broth

Having great chicken broth on hand makes excellent soups and gravies easy.

This method is designed to maximize the flavor and nutritional value of the broth. Using vinegar helps to draw minerals from the bones. The long simmer releases cartilage and minerals into the flavorful liquid.

Because making broth will extract whatever is in the bones, you should start with birds that were not raised on hormones and arsenic-laced feed.  It is best to buy from a local farmer with a flock that lives outdoors.

This unsalted broth has many uses. Add salt when using to make soup or other dishes. Use frequently.

Chicken or Poultry Bone Broth

  • Servings: 3 quarts
  • Time: prep+takedown: 30 minutes; total: 12-24 hours
  • Difficulty: medium
  • Print  

Equipment Recommendations

If you have a gas stove, use a crock pot to make broth, not the stove top.

6.5 qt. oblong slow cooker or large stainless steal or enamel stock pot
Asian-style stainless steel perforated 6” broth spoon
6 -7” mesh broth skimmer
Wide-mouthed canning funnel
Case of quart or pint-sized mason jars for storing broth and soups.

Ingredients

One whole Chicken, or a combination of saved bones with some meaty pieces such as necks, or leg quarters; parts with lots of joints such as wings, necks, and feet . These “odd bits” add gelatin and nutrients, and are recommended.

Filtered water
¼ C wine, rice, or apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice, or ½ C wine)

Optional

Good chicken doesn’t need a lot of help to make a wonderful broth, however, I usually add a bay leaf. Other options: onion, or the appropriate spices for an ethnic base.

Instructions

  1. Place the whole chicken in slow cooker (or in a large heavy pot). Briefly set the pot lid to check that it will rest on the rim of the pot. If the chicken is too big for your pot, remove it and cut the chicken in half along the back and breast bone.

    Chicken in the Broth Pot

    • Add bay leaf and optional seasonings, as desired.
    • Add enough water to cover the chicken, approximately 1-inch below the upper rim of the pot. Avoid over-filling the pot which can create a hazard.
    • Add vinegar.
  2. Cover the pot and set slow-cooker heat to low. Allow to lightly simmer for 4 – 9 hours. Cooking time is not precise, adjust to fit your schedule. Check the heat after about 1½ hours to make sure that the simmer is not too strong. If using an electric stove, check periodically to adjust the heat setting and maintain water level.
  3. Set a large stainless steel colander in a large bowl. Lift the chicken out of the broth into the colander using the long-handled pan strainer. The chicken will be falling apart at this stage.

    Lifting Cooked Chicken from Broth

    Lifting Cooked Chicken from Broth

  4. Use tongs and a fork to remove the meat from the bones. Store the meat immediately in the refrigerator for later use in soup or chicken salad. (Use an airtight glass storage container.)
  5. Return all the bones and cartilage to the broth in the pot, along with the broth that drained through the colander. Add an additional splash (1 tbsp.) vinegar and resume a gentle simmer for an additional 6 – 12 hours, as convenient

    Chicken Bones Cooking after Meat is Removed.

  6. Use the long handle strainer to lift the bones into a large stainless steel colander sitting in a large bowl. Put the liquid from the bowl back in the broth. Discard the bones once they are cool.
  7. Carefully pour hot broth through a mesh strainer into 3 clean 1-quart canning jars using a metal canning funnel. Seal at once with tight sealing, clean lids.
  8. Wipe any spills off the outside of the jars. Allow jars to cool for about an hour. Write the date and “chicken broth” on masking tape placed on the lids, transfer to the refrigerator for storage. Note that this is not “canning” – the broth MUST be refrigerated.
  9. If the broth is very hot when poured into jars it keeps a long time unopened in the refrigerator (six weeks or even more). If the broth is allowed to cool before pouring into jars, or if you open it and only use part of the jar, it will only keep for about 5 -7 days.

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