Have you heard about Low Oxalate Diet?

 

Most of us might not be aware of the term ‘Oxalate’. But we might have certainly heard enough about the troublesome kidney stones. It is estimated that almost 80 % of these kidney stones are formed from the residue of oxalate foods. This fact would be enough for us to prompt to know about the foods that are high in oxalate levels and the ways to get rid of them.

 

Oxalate is the most common chemical found in plants. When consumed, they are certainly helpful to our metabolism. But abundance of oxalate can be harmful. Too much of oxalate would accumulate in the kidneys resulting into stones.

 

Foods such as tomatoes, spinach, cocoa, nuts and tea contain high levels of oxalate. This is the reason why doctors advice not to eat the combination of tomato and spinach in patients with kidney stones. Other than the foods with high oxalate, certain other factors might also affect the oxalate levels in out body. Too much of vitamin C and continuous intake of antibiotics could affect our oxalate levels.

 

It might not be possible to keep away from the foods that contain high oxalate levels. But there are other ways to reduce the oxalate levels in our body....

 

* Drinking enough water would enable to get rid of excess oxalate through urination. This is the reason why, people with low intake of water would often suffer from kidney stones.

 

* Adding foods that are rich in calcium would also balance the oxalate levels in our body. Oxalate has the nature of bounding with calcium. Thus excess of oxalate along with calcium could be driven off from our body through stools. Foods such as milk, kidney beans, yogurt and sardines are thought to be rich in calcium.

 

* Avoiding foods with high salt could also reduce the oxalate levels. Salty foods would provoke our body to produce more urine. Excess urine would of course drag calcium along with it, leaving oxalate in the kidneys.

 

* It is also advisable to keep our gut bacteria healthy. Foods such as curd, banana, garlic, oats and legumes would help us maintaining our gut bacteria. Such healthy gut would get rid of excess oxalates from our body.

 

- Nirjara