Monique had several health issues from which she was trying to heal, including digestive problems, insomnia, and arthritis. She gave up red meat and found relief–for a time. She tried eliminating other things from her diet, which again gave her only temporary relief. It wasn’t until she reduced the oxalates in her diet that her health started to improve.
Oxalates are naturally occurring chemicals found in most plants, nuts, and seeds that protect the plants from being eaten by bugs. Perhaps you’ve heard of oxalic acid in spinach? There’s so much oxalic acid in rhubarb leaves that you can poison yourself.
Oxalic acid is readily oxidized and combines with calcium, iron, sodium, magnesium, or potassium to form less soluble salts called oxalates. Wikipedia states: “Many metal ions form insoluble precipitates with oxalate, a prominent example being calcium oxalate, the primary constituent of the most common kind of kidney stones.”
Intestinal bacteria break down oxalates so that they are carried out in the feces. But if your bacterial colony has been compromised or you suffer from leaky gut, these oxalates can enter your bloodstream, precipitate into crystals, and get stored in tissues causing pain and inflammation. Our bodies can even convert vitamin C to oxalates.
So if you suffer from painful conditions of unknown origin, such as rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, or vulvar pain, you might try a low oxalate diet.
Total time: 49 minutes.
Interview
Click to listen to interview or right-click to download MP3 file
Bio
Monique Attinger is a former project manager and IT professional in the midst of a career change to become a holistic nutritionist. The reason for that change is to follow her passion: healing through nutrition. She also wants to share hope with others that healing is possible through the low oxalate diet. Monique has found out that this diet is not just for people with kidney stones. In fact, it might link together such diverse issues as low thyroid, low adrenals, poor digestion, chronic insomnia, brain fog, and other chronic conditions. Monique lives in Georgetown, ON with her husband and two children.
Links in Interview
Low Oxalate website
Trying Low Oxalates Yahoo group
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Sorry but I am confused by the comment in your bio. When I first read it, I thought you were saying that the low oxalate diet was NOT for people with kidney stones. I read it again, and I think you are actually recommending the low oxalate diet for problems with kidney stones as well as other conditions. Could you clarify please? IMHO that section of your bio could be rewritten to provide a little mre clarification. Thanks
The bio states that the low oxalate diet is not just for those with kidney stones.
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