You need Oxalobacter Formigenes to break down harmful plant & liver toxins
What is Oxalobacter Formigenes?
A key opportunistic bacteria you should have in your gut is the anaerobic (oxygen hating) species – Oxalobacter Formigenes (OF).
If you know about oxalates – a damaging protective chemical found in many plant foods and produced in your liver during protein usage – you may recognise the name.
What does oxalobacter formigenes do?
OF is the main species of bacteria that degrades oxalates. This is important in preventing kidney stones and hyperoxaluria – an excess of urinary oxalate that causes serious health problems like restless leg, nerve issues, vulvodinia, UTIs, rashes, and joint and muscle pain.
OF does this by reducing the amount absorbed in your body. Kidney stones develop when the balance between oxalate promoting and inhibiting factors is disturbed. In this way, your microbiome plays an important role.
In fact, recent research shows that colonisation with OF is associated with a 70% reduction in the risk of being a recurrent calcium oxalate stone former. Wow!
Furthermore, the absence of OF can create a domino of other negative health outcomes like reduced fat malabsorption. Fat is needed for every cell, brain health and mood, inflammation reduction and hormones.
Why Does oxalobacter formigenes become low or non-existent?
While almost all 6 to 8-year-olds tested had OF in their gut, some strains (more specific than species) can be lost through the use of antibiotics, especially antimicrobials like clarithromycin and doxycycline, and other drugs.
Only 60 to 80% of adults tested still had it, and others have insufficient levels, which makes us more vulnerable to illness.
other oxalate-degrading bacteria
Other healthy gut bacteria that break down oxalates include lactobacillus acidophilus and bifidobacterium lactis found in fermented foods. This is a more complete list of species
Lactobacillus acidophilus
Lactobacillus plantarum
Lactobacillus paracasei
Lactobacillus bulgaricus
Streptococcus thermophilus
Bifidobacterium infantis
Bifidobacterium longum
What can you do to raise your Oxalobacter Formigenes levels?
Eat prebiotic foods – fibrous foods like vegetables and fruits, monitoring oxalates levels if you’re sensitive to them
Eat probiotic foods – kimchi, sauerkraut, kefir – and/or quality supplements that survive stomach acid
Only take antibiotics and drugs when needed
Ingesting some higher oxalate foods like spinach, legumes, tea and celery can increase levels, but only if you’re not sensitive to them
Do comprehensive stool testing to see if your level is problematic so you can work on restoring balance in a targeted way. If your OF level is imbalanced, it’s likely you have other imbalances and infections
Work out your root cause issues and resolve them e.g. mould and genetics could be involved