Oxalates May Be More Of A Problem Than Previously Believed

But it’s easy to manage:

Beyond kidney stones

Regular 10almonds readers will know that whenever we have spinach as one of the items in our “This or That” section, we generally mention that its high oxalate content can be a problem for people with certain kidney issues, increasing the risk of kidney stones. Same goes for other high-oxalate greens like chard and rhubarb (most other greens are orders of magnitude lower in oxalates).

But recently, researchers (Dr. Ariana Matz-Rauch et al.) have found new evidence that oxalate may contribute to chronic inflammation and heart damage in addition to its well-known role in kidney stone formation, particularly in people with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Why oxalate builds up, first of all: oxalate is a normal waste product made by your body and obtained from some foods, especially those we mentioned up top there. Healthy kidneys remove it in urine, but impaired kidneys allow it to accumulate.

The problem in CKD: people with CKD have a much higher risk of cardiovascular disease and persistent inflammation, but the exact causes have not been fully understood, and it has broadly been assumed to be a systemic metabolic issue, though even this much is not well-known by the general public.

For example, about 90% of American adults have never heard of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome—an interconnected health condition that affects nearly 90% of American adults through combinations of heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, and poor energy metabolism.

Source: About 9 in 10 haven’t heard of condition that affects nearly 90% of U.S. adults, survey reveals

You can also read our main feature on that, here: The Vicious Cycle Of CKM Syndrome

Back to this recenty study, and what was found, more materially: the researchers identified interleukin-17A (IL-17A) as a major driver of the inflammatory response. Oxalate increased IL-17A production and disrupted the normal energy metabolism of immune cells.

When Dr. Matz-Rauch and her team tested this by blocking IL-17A, they saw improvements including:

• Reduced heart damage
• Better kidney function
• Reduced inflammation
• Less kidney fibrosis (scarring)

What this means, in practical terms: these findings suggest oxalate should not be viewed only as a substance that forms kidney stones, but rather also as a systemic inflammatory trigger that affects the immune system, metabolism, kidneys, and cardiovascular system.

You can find the paper itself, here: Interleukin-17A mediates cardiorenal injury in oxalate nephropathy

We said it was easy to manage; you might be wondering how.

The answer is simple: do avoid (or perhaps even just cut down, if you’re otherwise confident your kidneys are healthy*) very high-oxalate foods. If you look at this list, you’ll see there’s a huge difference between the top few and the rest.

*See also: Are your Kidneys Ok? Detect Early To Protect Kidney Health (Here’s How)

Want to learn more?

Cooking reduces oxalates by breaking them down, and there are a lot of other ways to either reduce antinutrients (like oxalates) or boost nutrient absorption, but it’s different things for different compounds, so do check out:

Make Your Vegetables Work Better Nutritionally ← sometimes cooked is best, sometimes raw, sometimes lightly steamed, sometimes soaked for many hours, sometimes cut into tiny pieces, sometimes not cut into until you eat it, sometimes alongside certain other foods works best, sometimes absolutely don’t put these two things together, and so forth. It all depends on what it is.

Enjoy!