Oxalates are organic substances found in all plant, animal, and human life. Our bodies convert other substances into oxalates through metabolic processes, and we consume oxalates when we eat plants or plant products that have them. In addition, oxalates are usually more dense in the leaves of a plant rather than its stem, root, or stalk.
For most people oxalates are not troublesome; however they can cause problem for certain people. For instance, doctors are finding oxalates can affect autistic children. Oxalates are also considered an antinutrient factor if you have osteopenia or osteoporosis because oxalates interfer with the absorption of calcium by binding to it and making it less absorbable. People with kidney stones, vulvar pain, Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS), or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) may also benefit from eating a low oxalate diet.
To help you recognize the oxalate content in certain foods, here’s how some foods are categorized.
Oxalate Food Content
| Very High | High | Moderate | Low |
| Almonds Broccoli Buckwheat Flour Beets and Beet Greens Chocolate Chocolate Soy Milk Dandelion Greens Endive, Raw Miso Parsley Purslane Tahini Tea (green, black, iced, or instant) Rhubarb Sesame Seeds Soy Flour Soy Sauce Spinach Swiss Chard Sunflower Seeds Turnip Greens Turnips |
Apricots Barley Cashews Chili Beans Collard Greens Cornmeal Cream of Wheat Figs Great Northern Beans Grits Kiwifruit Melons Mustard Greens Navy Beans Okra Peanuts Poppy Seeds Potatoes Raisin Bran Shredded Wheat Soy Beans Soy Burger, Nuts, Yogurt Spaghetti, Whole-wheat Sweet Potatoes Tangerines Tomato, Canned Turmeric Wheat Bran |
Baked Beans Black Pepper Blackberries Blueberries Bulgur Carrots Caraway Seeds Celery Cloves Cumin Seeds Curry Powder Green Beans Kidney Beans Mandarin Oranges Mango Oatmeal Oranges Peanut Butter Pears Pineapple Pinto Beans Pistachios Prunes Refried Beans Soy Cheese Soy Crackers Soy Ice Cream Squash, Summer and Winter Strawberries Walnuts |
Apples Artichokes Asparagus Avocado Banana Brussell Sprouts Cabbage Cantaloupe Cauliflower Cherries Chives Corn Cranberries Flax Seed Garbanzo Beans Garlic Grapefruit Grapes Lentils Lettuce Mangoes Mushrooms Onions Papayas Peas Pumpkin Sprouts Tomato Juice |
For more information on oxalates, here’s a few site that may help:
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Development Spectrum. This site offers advice for oxalate diets and Autism.
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Fibromyalgia Journal. This site provides information for fibromyalgia sufferers in relation to oxalates. They also offer information on a low oxylate diet.
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Jackson Siegelbaum Gastroenterology. This site offers information for those people interested in oxalates and kidney stones.
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Trying Low Oxalates. This is a group set up on yahoo for those wanting to explore a low oxalate diet. They also offer information and support on how to implement this diet and other methods of lowering oxalate exposure.
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Vulval Pain Society. This is a confidential service for women who suffer from vulval pain due to vestibulodynia and vulvodynia. The Society was set up in 1996 by a doctor and nurse, and they discuss how a low oxalate diet can help sufferers.
In addition, there are also these two books that you may find helpful:
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