My oxalate story - from high sensitivity to tolerance

cutting out oxalates vs healing the body

Most people resolve oxalate sensitivity by cutting out oxalates. They look to the external source.

But not me.

I’m always asking why is someone sensitive to oxalates, and what can be done to allow greater food freedom, and actually, better health at the same time.

I know that reducing oxalate intake works to an extent by reducing our oxalate load.

But I also know that our own body continues to create them due to dysfunction, putting us constantly at the edge of our oxalate tipping point.

Then there’s genetics.

I have all the genetics for oxalate sensitivity, and now that I look back, I recognise I’ve had oxalate reactions since my mid teens including kidney stones, severe joint pain and inflammation, terrible rashes, vaginosis, and air hunger.

I’ve been on a quest to resolve this. It just didn’t take sense to me that foods humans have eaten for many generations should suddenly make us reactive. Why, and why now?

The answer lies in our diet and lifestyle. I’ve talked about much of these causes in other posts including

• The decline in our gut health, including

  • Low gut flora diversity that help break down oxalates, including due to low fibre diets

  • Poor liver health

  • The damage that antibiotics and drugs do on the integrity of our gut lining and microbiome diversity

  • Intestinal permeability

  • Low stomach acid and digestive enzymes

  • Stomach lining damage and/or infections

  • Stress

  • High sugar, alcohol and refined carb diets

  • Herbicides like glyphosate

  • Other chemicals in our water, self care products and environment

  • Gut infections or overgrowths like fungal and bacterial ones

• Nutrient shortages

Anyway, I’ve done a lot of work on healing these areas, and am now able to eat and drink higher oxalate foods regularly, which I couldn’t have imagined even 3 months ago.

I’m not saying I’m OK having a free for all every day, but I can eat some higher oxalate veggies, tea, lentils, grains, fruits, dark chocolate and more. This means I not only get the benefits of those foods, but I have greater food freedom and flexibility.

How have I reduced my oxalate sensitivity?

I haven’t lingered on the causes like heavy antibiotic use when I was a child, or herbicides eaten throughout my life, or previous high stress jobs.

Instead I’ve worked on my body as opposed to just cutting out outside sources. I’ve…

• Healed my upper and lower gut, which needed different approaches

• Raised low stomach acid

• Used nutrigenomics to upregulate the function of 200 protective and healing genes

• Resolved gut infections like candida and other nasties

• Diversified my gut flora

• Detoxed my body of heavy metals, mould and glyphosate

• Eaten organic and chemical free

• And importantly, improved my thyroid function because if our thyroid is sluggish, so is everything else in the body

• The bonus is that healing the gut improves our general health, and prevents or halts disease like autoimmunity, IBS, colon cancer and much more

But that’s just my body. Everyone is unique, requiring a unique solution, even though oxalate issues begin and end with the health of our gut.

It really is possible to put to rest those things that create oxalate havoc in the body, and once again enjoy eating out or adding in some good foods including

• Legumes like lentils and whole grains like buckwheat; veggies like Swiss chard, beetroot and potatoes; nuts such as cashews and macadamias; seeds like chia; spices like ginger and turmeric; fruits such as raspberries and rhubarb; and treats like dark chocolate, my favourite