How Oxalates Could Damage Your Health

Sally Norton (author of “Toxic Superfoods: How Oxalate Overload Is Making You Sick — and How to Get Better,” reviews how and why even foods we’ve been told are healthy can wreak havoc on your health. The main culprit is oxalate, or oxalic, which can be found in many plants, beans and grains, seeds, nuts, fruits and berries, as well as herbs.¹

So what exactly are oxalates and why are they so dangerous? And how do they get into superfoods that are so popular? In short, it’s a naturally-occurring toxic, corrosive acid. In that state, it’s called oxalic acid. When the oxalic acid has minerals attached to it, it’s called oxalate.

Chemically, it’s a salt, and like other salts, it forms crystals that your body innately has a limited capacity to process. For example, calcium oxalate is an oxalic acid that has calcium attached and forms into painful kidney stones.

Oxalate is not able to be removed from food by cooking, soaking, or fermenting it, as opposed to other food-related toxins. To address the depletion of oxalates, you cannot just take a mineral supplement.

How Oxalate Damages Your Body

Dicarboxylic acid Oxalic acid has two carbons, each with an oxygen molecule attached. “This special carbolic acid has all kinds of damaging toxic powers when it’s near a membrane,” Norton said. She explains:

“Membranes really matter to biochemistry and to our basic physiology at the cellular level. To function properly, your membranes must have the right structure and materials. You’ve been focusing lately on vegetable oils [linoleic acid] They are so toxic!

It’s messing up the structure of the membrane, because a membrane is this double layer of fatty acids. For it to work, it must have a certain structure.

The membrane is responsible for all sorts of intellectual communication in the cell. It also helps the cell decide what next to do in any given situation. You need certain fatty acids on the inside of your membrane. It’s two layers. So, there’s what we call the inner leaflet and the outer leaflet.

On the inner leaflet, there is a phospholipid called phosphatidylserine … What’s getting into your body and causing trouble is the free oxalic acid ion, this single little molecule that easily transverses your gut because it just floats in the water between the cells. We call that paracellular trans …

When oxalate’s around, it causes membrane damage to the point where that innate structure where the phosphatidylserine is now showing up on the outside of the membrane. That’s bad news. For many cells, that means the cell is now in line to be removed because it’s damaged. It’s a signal to the immune system, hey, take away the cell. It’s been harmed.

So, you lose your structured membrane. This can cause a lot of problems for cells. It may not function correctly. This is particularly true for cells that line the blood vessels. So, the endothelial lining that is this giant organ of physiology, metabolism and maintenance of the body can be in trouble after, say, a spinach smoothie.”

Top ‘Superfood’ Oxalate Offenders

The Top Three Vegetables “superfoods” Beet greens, Swiss Chard and spinach are some of the foods that have high levels of oxalate. Almonds are another food high in oxalate. You can find almonds easily. “overdose” on if you’re eating bread made with almond flour or drinking almond milk, or if you’re on a keto or paleo diet, as they both tend to rely heavily on almonds. Oxalates are also high in dark chocolate.

“There’s a peak at about four hours after you eat it where the level of this oxalic acid in your blood is really quite high. So, now that your cells have damaged membranes and … your poor liver is flooded with oxalic acid after meals, and the liver has zero physiology to break it down, change it, make it less toxic.

The liver literally makes more oxalate, and the more inflammation in the body, the more oxalate the liver makes … The amount that converts to oxalic acid depends on your vitamin B status. If you have enough B6 and B1, then it lowers the amount that becomes oxalic acid …

Low inflammation is also a must. People with diabetes and obesity have higher levels of generalized inflammation, so they’re likely to produce more endogenous oxalate.”

Calcium Signaling Is Impaired by Oxalate

Oxalic acid can be absorbed into cells if a membrane has been damaged. Oxalic Acid is a calcium-chelator and is crucial for cell function. Cells use calcium as messengers, so it’s crucial for the self-management of the cell. Even before oxalate enters, which might take two hours, in the first 15 minutes after you’ve got oxalate near a cell, an increased amount of calcium will move into the cell.

Cell membrane damage causes cells to absorb more calcium. That’s bad enough, but when oxalate follows, it lowers the effective calcium concentration from a physiologic standpoint. Norton explains what happens next.

“Now you’ve got cells that have too much calcium in them and too little calcium that’s actually functional. Because the oxalate is chelating calcium ions within the cell, the cell keeps bringing more calcium in.

But in the meantime, the mitochondria are picking up calcium because they’re trying to save the cell from the excess calcium. The mitochondrial rescue problem kills both the mitochondrial and the cell. So, you’ve got multiple steps where the oxalate effects are kind of expanding into cell collapse …

The oxalate penetrates the cell cytosol area and the mitochondria and sits on … the active site of four metabolic enzymes, including the last step in glycolysis. This means that the final step in glycolysis has been stopped.

It also affects your ability to produce glucose and can contribute to low blood sugar, probably insulin resistance, and lots of metabolic problems because you’ve created an energy crisis in the cell … and you’ve got enzyme interference. Now, if your mitochondria ain’t happy, you can’t produce enough of the materials to even replace the cell. This can hinder cell reproduction.

They’re dying, their lives are shortened, they’re dying quicker, and they don’t have enough energy to produce enough proteins and other materials they need to duplicate themselves. Instead, they get fibrosis.

Instead of maintaining healthy tissues, fibroblasts produce more scar tissue material. You end up with fibrotic gunk that holds you together.

If you don’t have enough cells to hold the tissue together, you need this temporary stage of producing scar tissue to keep you from falling apart and suddenly bleeding out or having problems. This is a great thing the body’s doing, but in the long run, you could turn into a fibrotic mess and not know why.”

EMF Toxicity increases with Oxalate Toxicity

The cell’s calcium concentration is 50,000 times higher outside than inside. Experts like Martin Pall have shown that electromagnetic field damage (EMF) allows for an influx calcium into cells, which results in a cascade increase in nitric oxide and superoxide, as well as other toxic molecules. This same mechanism also causes harm to oxalates. Norton points out:

“This is the intersection of all these toxicities where the oxalate toxicity creates increased vulnerability to the EMF toxicity. We see this in my client base where they’re frail and sensitive to everything.

When we get lower oxalates in the body, they’re tougher again and these other stressors aren’t quite as bad anymore. Take control of your health, as you said. This is one place where you have more control over how much oxalate is in your diet than you have over EMF exposure in many situations.”

Symptoms of Oxalate Toxicity

Symptoms you might experience if you’re exposed to excessive amounts of oxalate include the following. Listen to the interview and read the transcript for more information about each.

“The main symptom pattern is that no one can figure out what’s wrong with you and you seem OK according to tests,” Norton, “That’s a classic oxalate situation.”

Since I was 15, my itchy, itchy skin has been a problem. It’s defied all dermatologist diagnoses. Itchy rash for 15 years that I couldn’t get rid of was due to oxalates. My oxalate intake has been reduced and my symptoms have dramatically improved. Also, I used to have problems with dental plaque. This seems to be gone now that I use a scaler and oxalate reduction.

• Calcium oxalate kidney stone (which account for about 80% of all kidney stone)
• Itchy rashes
• Interstitial cystitis is a condition that causes frequent urination as well as bladder pain.
• Slow or poor wound healing
• You may have fragile skin that bleeds easily if your connective tissue are damaged.
• Joint pain
• Osteoporosis is when the oxalates extract minerals from your bones.
• Calcium deposits
• Digestive problems
• Neurological problems can range from tremors and klutziness, to bad moods and klutziness.
• Poor sleep
• Muscle pains such as fibromyalgia and other rheumatologically related muscle problems are a sign of a fibromyalgia.
• Poor night vision, nearsightedness and cataracts are all possible vision problems.
• Tartar or dental plaque

Excessive Vitamin C: The Dangers

Ascorbic acid and Vitamin C can cause problems if you have oxalates in your system. Oxalates are metabolically reduced to oxalic acids during breakdown. Norton explains:

“The major source of internal oxalate is ascorbic acid or vitamin C … There are lots of case studies of train wrecks from supplements, and lots of case studies about problems with intravenous vitamin C. Let me tell you my personal story. I had vitamin C chelation … I didn’t know I had an oxalate problem …

Because my veins became a lot more twisted and rollier, it was becoming harder and more difficult to poke for an IV needle. That’s fibrosis … I only had IV vitamin C maybe 10 times. But the doctor and the nurse took no notice of this side effect of the treatment — that I was becoming more fibrotic and harder to puncture …

It’s hubris to say, ‘Oh, well, it’That’s perfectly fine. All my patients are doing great on my vitamin C IVs when you’re not open to seeing the side effects. One study showed that after stopping oral supplementation for a short time, the urine level of oxalate increased.

So, while the body’s being assaulted by too much vitamin C, it’s busy sequestering the oxalate that’s forming and holding onto it and protecting the kidneys from devastation, from excessive oxalate load. Once you stop producing or eating too much oxalate, this holding pattern can let go, and now you see much higher oxalate levels in the blood and the urine.”

Norton recommends that vitamin C intake be limited to 250 mg per day, even if you consume it on a regular schedule. This will provide enough vitamin C to meet your nutritional needs. It is unlikely to cause oxalic-related issues. Only in rare cases can you receive IV ascorbic acids to save your life.

The Antidote To Oxalate

The good news is there’s an “antidote” to oxalate that can be helpful if you’re struggling with oxalate toxicity or just happened to eat a high-oxalate meal. Cirate is an antidote. Every day, I take citrates: magnesium citrate; calcium citrate; and potassium citrate. Usually, with meals. So, the absorption of any oxalates in the meal is impaired.

“You definitely need calcium and magnesium with high oxalate meals,” Norton, “But the bigger issue is this long-term toxicity, because we all grow up on high-oxalate foods. Peanut butter is high; wheat bran high; potatoes high. Oat bran can be variable. Rice bran is high, wheat bran’s high.

For this long-term goal of overcoming the chronic illness caused by oxalate overload, the citrates found in minerals are particularly important. So, if you’re past the age of 10 and grew up on standard foods, you’ve got some degree of deposits in your bone marrow, your joints and glands …

Calcium is the biggest biohack [citrate] Because calcium encourages clearing [of oxalate]. Some people can’t even tolerate the calcium because their body is so eager to upchuck this mess from its tissues that calcium gives it too much permission. Some people are so deficient in minerals.

The long term high-oxalate diet really sucks you dry of electrolytes and minerals, and you’re really fragile without the minerals. That’s slowing down the excretion from the tissues. To expel the tissues, you need some metabolic heft and access to electrolytes to ensure that they can do their job.

[I’ve seen] people who were heavy keto for three years and then went full carnivore, which is a zero oxalate diet — so, they went from super toxic high-oxalate diet to zero oxalate — which is a precipitous dive.

Some get immediately sick with more rashes … suddenly they are sick as a dog with oxalate poisoning because it’s mobilizing. All of a sudden, they’ve got enough nutrients and whatever. Now, the body’s turning it on.”

Detoxing Oxalate takes Time

This is the key message: Slow down. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. You may notice a sudden increase in your symptoms after two to three years of a low-oxalate diet. This is because your kidneys have become more efficient at excreting oxalate.

You’re then able to tap into deeper deposits. You may feel things such as gastritis and migraines, anxiety attacks, gout, and other toxic reactions. This can cause an increase in uric acid because the uric is replacing oxalic acids. In this instance, it’s a sign that you’re clearing oxalate. Other symptoms include tartar buildup in your teeth, gritty eyes or gritty stools as well as hemorhoids and burning stool.

Citrate Sources

While you could take citrate supplements, raw grass-fed milk is a great option, as it’s high in calcium. You can also try lemon juice and sardines. Norton noted:

“[Dairy] has been the traditional nutrition … to get calcium because the only other good source is sardines and salmon bones. There is some bioavailable calcium in some of these low oxalate vegetables, but you can’t eat so much cabbage. Canned sardines also taste good.

Citrate is so delicious. It’s your friend. Citric acid is found in lemon juice. I have used it as a therapy. Half a cup of fresh lemon juice is recommended. I recommend drinking it in the morning and at night. You can also make your own lemon fizz.

It’s like an Alka-Seltzer Gold where you add the potassium bicarbonate and/or sodium bicarbonate and you can alkalize, because what happens is the liver turns some of the citric acid into bicarbonate, and alkalization helps so much because oxalate’s creating an acidic metabolism …

When you don’t feel good because your system is busy doing this nasty housekeeping and taking away this toxic waste out of your body, you go in acid, and the easiest answer is to juice a lemon, take Alka-Seltzer Gold or to use these citrate supplements. Citrate helps to alkalize, which is really great because now the kidney cells have an extra citric acid they can release from their own physiology into the urine, and that’s a critical factor.

If you have low citrate in your urine, you’re at risk for kidney stones because the citrate prevents us from getting the stones and helps to break down stones. I believe citrate’s attracted to the calcium and the calcium oxalate molecule or crystal nanocrystal or microcrystal. It attaches on the calcium side of crystals and has an electromagnetic pull that weakens calcium’s bond with the oxalate.

Now you have a three-way love story where the molecules fight over which citrate or calcium wins. What that does is it turns the crystal of calcium oxalate, which is firm like quartz or glass, and it turns it into more of a chalky substance that’s easier to break down.”

Take a quarter teaspoon of the powdered citrates twice daily with your meals. Norton prefers to take magnesium citrate or calcium citrate at night. Both can help improve sleep and soothe the nervous system. She recommends that you take one dose of calcium citrate at bedtime and one in your morning. Then, spread two doses throughout the day. Magnesium can be taken twice daily.

More Information

Norton hopes to publish a course on oxalates in video form sometime in 2023. It is expected that it will be available by March. She’s also planning add-on training for health providers to get them up to speed. You can also pick up a copy o of “Toxic Superfoods: How Oxalate Overload Is Making You Sick — and How to Get Better.” I believe that the topic of oxalates is an important aspect to optimal health.

Further information is available on SallyKNorton.comYou can also download a PDF with low-oxalate recipe ideas as a freebie. You can also sign up to a Zoom group.

“We keep them small so you can interact with people and meet people that are on the journey with you and do some teaching there,” She says. “Eventually, when the course is out, we’ll be able to do more of the chat and share and talk about individual situations as a way to get into the material.”

Originally published January 01, 2023 on Mercola.com

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