L U N C H


S P E C IAL


OXALATES IN GREEN SMOOTHIES AND


SALADS – DEVASTATING TO HEALTH? by Casey Conroy


Maybe you’ve been scared to include green smoothies in your lunch of late? An anti-green smoothie blog may have turned you away from trying or consuming salads, green smoothies and/or juices on a regular basis. Read Casey’s balanced suggestions and you can keep eating the healthy foods your body needs.


C


oncerned readers may have heard about or read an anti-green smoothie blog that caused sensation in the


not-so distant past that was titled, “How Green Smoothies Can Devastate Your Health”. The author argued that green smoothies could raise oxalate levels in people with oxalate toxicity, which could have devastating effects on health ranging from fibromyalgia and kidney stones to oxalate stone formation in the brain. The oxalate issue has been one that has


scared many people away from trying or consuming salads, green smoothies and/ or juices on a regular basis, which I feel is a shame because it can keep people from eating the healthy foods their bodies need.


WHAT ARE OXALATES? Oxalates are organic acids that occur naturally in humans, animals, and plants. They are made naturally in the human body. Similarly, our bodies convert many of the things we consume (like vitamin C) into oxalates. When combined with potassium and sodium, oxalate forms soluble salts. When combined with calcium, however, oxalate produces calcium oxalate, which can form kidney and other types of stones. This occurs because calcium oxalate is relatively insoluble; so it combines and hardens instead of harmlessly excreting as a waste product.


WHERE ARE OXALATES FOUND? Some foods, such as spinach and beetroot greens, contain higher levels of oxalates than others. If your body absorbs high levels of oxalates and does not process it well, it may result in the formation of calcium oxalate stones, which most commonly form as kidney stones. Some people are more predisposed to this condition than others. However, no clear evidence exists linking dietary oxalate restriction to formation of fewer calcium oxalate kidney stones. Other foods that increase oxalate levels


in the body more than others include rhubarb, soy, beetroot, chocolate, wheat bran and tea.


46 NOVEMBER 2014 RAW VEGETABLE SPINACH


BEETROOT GREENS OKRA


PARSLEY LEEKS


COLLARD GREENS OXALATE CONTENT


IN MILLIGRAMS PER 100 GRAM SERVING 750 610 146 100 89 74


(Table adapted from the following sources: (1) United States Department of Agriculture, Human Nutrition Information Service, Agriculture Handbook Number 8-11, “Composition of Foods: Vegetables and Vegetable Products”. Revised August 1984; (2) data gathered by LithoLink Corporation, a metabolic testing and disease management service for kidney stone patients, founded by Dr. Fredric Coe, a University of Chicago Medical School Professor, and posted on its website at www.litholink. com; (3) data presented by Holmes RP and Kennedy M. (2000). Estimation of the oxalate content of foods and daily oxalate intake. Kidney International(4):1662.)


WHEN TO RESTRICT OXALATES Some conditions require oxalate restriction (50 mg per day or fewer), but these conditions are rare. Conditions affected by oxalates are: Primary and enteric hyperoxaluria: A


genetic predisposition to this disorder occurs in less than 1 percent of the population. Hypercalciuria type II: A form of


excessive urinary calcium excretion that exists in less than 10 percent of the population. Dietary hyperoxaluria: Arising from


dietary factors, this more common condition is associated with the formation of calcium oxalate kidney stones. In cases where patients develop calcium oxalate kidney stones, physicians do recommend moderating intake of high oxalate foods such as animal protein. Kidney stones occur in about 10 percent of the population. In my professional experience I have seen


far more cases of kidney stones in people who consume excessive amounts of animal protein than people who drink a green juice or smoothie a day. It is widely recommended to reduce animal protein in relation to kidney stones, over green leafy vegetables. High levels of animal protein may be a significantly larger contributing factor to this condition than vegetables, as the kidneys have to filter out the by-products of animal protein digestion and metabolism. That said, anything can be overdone –


including using the same type of green in your green smoothies all the time! It is possible to overdose on spinach and experience symptoms of oxalate poisoning, but this isn’t cause to give up your wonderful green smoothies and juices – you just need to be aware. Many plants are toxic for various reasons


when consumed in excessive quantities as a defence against being eaten by pests and predatory herbivores. So, although I love kale, I make sure I rotate the types of greens used from day to day. Spinach is the main one to be aware of if you’re watching your oxalate intake. I will use kale one day, and the next use romaine lettuce, the next alfalfa sprouts.


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