Comments on: Resources For the Low Oxalate Diet

By: Heidi

Heidi — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 01:47:46 +0000

Corn dextrin has not been tested, Joe. Corn is low oxalate, and many starches are low oxalate even when they come from high oxalate sources (for example potato starch is low oxalate, while russet potatoes and potato flour are high oxalate). My guess is you could use small amounts safely.

By: Joe v

Joe v — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 12:03:17 +0000

Does corn dextrin have oxalates ???

By: Heidi

Heidi — Sat, 11 Jan 2014 23:25:47 +0000

Hi, Natalie.
Welcome. If you can’t tolerate citrate, you can try other forms of calcium or magnesium to find one you do tolerate. All can be helpful in binding oxalate and removing it from the body. Calcium citrate and magnesium citrate are specifically recommended because they were the most effective in clinical trials, but other forms were also effective. It’s also helpful to increase dietary sources of calcium and magnesium if you can.
Take care,
Heidi

By: natalie

natalie — Sat, 11 Jan 2014 20:04:47 +0000

Hello Heidi…thank you sooo much for your blog!! what shall i do if i cannot tolerate citric acid?? i have tried citrates and they aggravate my gut considerably, even with food…

By: Heidi

Heidi — Mon, 04 Nov 2013 02:24:35 +0000

Hi, Mindy.
Yes, a lot of us with symptoms of oxalate toxicity have compromised gut health often due to antibiotic use. My skin doctor put me on low dose antibiotics for two years when I was a teenager to combat acne of all things, and I started having symptoms soon after. Unfortunately, gut dysbiosis (overgrowth of bad bacteria and candida and not enough of the good stuff) can lead to a leaky gut which also lets the oxalate in. On top of that, the candida seems to send a lot of us into a oxalate spiral which further degrades the good bacteria and even more oxalate is let in etc. Many of us do favor VLS #3 to help combat the gut dysbiosis, but that’s only because it’s the only supplement that has been proven to reduce oxalate in medical trials. Any high quality, high count probiotic should help. The Ultimate Flora one you linked seems like a really good one to me.

Have you talked to your doctor about possibly upping your daily oxalate limit? I know at least a few kidney stone patients who don’t go as low oxalate as the rest of us (at least not long term) because their doctors are looking for a specific amount of oxalate in the urine to stay below. Some kidney stone patients can meet their doctor’s numbers on a medium oxalate diet of 70-80 mg. Others start at the usual 40- 60 mg. then experiment with higher numbers after they’ve met their initial goal. This higher daily oxalate value should be easier (but still not easy) for a vegan to accomplish and might let you have a little more variety. I can imagine you’re awfully sick of black-eyed peas by now and yellow split peas by now! Definitely don’t change on your own, but you might want to discuss it with your doctor. Another thing that many vegans who are successful on the low oxalate diet do is to rethink their relationship with fat in their diet. A lot of my vegan friends also eat a very low fat diet, but there’s a lot of exciting new research out there that shows fat is not the culprit in diet and lifestyle-induced diseases like we once thought. In fact eating plenty of healthy low oxalate fat sources may help you maintain your weight and health. Coconut, coconut milk, avocado and cold-pressed olive oil might be good choices for you. Perhaps pumpkin seeds and pumpkin seed butter also.

Last, if you look at the bottom of my about me page, you’ll find an email form that allows you to send me an email without me having to post my email on my site where the autobot spammers can find it. I’d love to talk to you more.

Heidi

By: mindy

mindy — Sun, 03 Nov 2013 20:20:06 +0000

Thanks, Heidi. I joined the yahoo low ox group shortly after passing a 2mm kidney stone in August. I refer to the list everyday. However, I have been vegan for 25+ years (raised my daughter vegan, now 24 years old), and I find it very difficult to access food that is lo-mod ox. and still maintain my weight. While a vegan diet consists of high ox food, it simply didn’t add up that it would cause a kidney stone, otherwise more vegans would get stones and they don’t get any more so than the general population. That led me to a study done at Wake Forest Univ. on the relationship of calcium ox stones and oxalobacter formigenes, which are good bacteria in the gut that eat up oxalates. The study indicates that ox. form. may not be present IF one has a history of certain antibiotic use (which I did as a kid and consequently, I am now allergic to ALL antibiotics). http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22656407

Although there is nothing one can do to replace this specific good bacteria, I take Ultimate Flora by Renew Life which has 30 billion cultures, 2 of which are in ox. form. http://www.amazon.com/Renew-Life-Ultimate-Formula-30-Count/dp/B0011FY914. I know that many people in the group with VP etc. take VLS #3.

I am inspired by your work and your dedication to your family’s health (not to mention while working on a dissertation!) Would it be possible for you to email me privately?

Thanks,
Mindy

By: Heidi

Heidi — Sun, 03 Nov 2013 18:19:38 +0000

Hi, Mindy. Thank you. I'm glad my blog is helping you. The Trying Low Oxalates Yahoo Group and Trying Low Oxalates Facebook groups are moderated by members of the Autism Oxalate Project and Susan Owens, one of the leading oxalate scientists in the country. They maintain a complete, up-to-date and accurate list of all the foods that have been tested, including many spice extracts (powder and liquid form). My most recent post lists a few of these. I do not like to make separate meals for my family and avoid it as much as possible. However, we have a lot of food restrictions in the family (low oxalate, peanut allergy, dairy allergy, wheat allergy, sugar, gut irritation foods etc.), so I do have to make some compromises in my no separate meals policy. What I usually do is make most of the meal something that everyone can eat, then I might make one side dish per meal that excludes me and has dairy/sugar/high oxalate foods etc.). This way I'm not in the kitchen all the time. Plus, since my meals are almost all real food, low to medium oxalate, and full of healthy fruits and veggies, I know my boys are getting a lot of good nutrition. They do really well on what ends up being a medium oxalate diet.

By: mindy

mindy — Fri, 01 Nov 2013 14:01:26 +0000

Do you have a reliable source for low ox herb and spice extracts like cinnamon and cumin? Do you cook low ox for your family or do you cook differently for them?

Thank you for providing this service. Your blog is very helpful!

Mindy

By: Heidi

Heidi — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 17:17:37 +0000

Hi, Steve. The Trying Low Oxalates Yahoo Group run by the Autism Oxalate Project has the most up-to-date, accurate and comprehensive list available. There have been some glitches since Yahoo changed it's group format, so if you have trouble getting in you can also join the Trying Low Oxalates Facebook Group and ask if someone can send you a list. Heidi

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 01:09:50 +0000

I was wondering where you find listed oxalate levels for all food(s)?

Thank you for your time,

Steve.