If you haven’t heard of the book Toxic Superfoods by Sally Norton, I’d probably just skip this post. If you have read it, or heard Sally Norton speak, this one is for you! Toxic Superfoods and Sally Norton’s message center around how oxalate is “poisoning” all of us and that the healthcare system has been keeping this “secret” from us.
As a kidney stone dietitian, I am well versed in oxalate metabolism and the potential impact of dietary oxalate on health. Since I get so many questions about oxalate, and frequently get internet trolls suggesting I “check out” Sally Norton, I thought I would do a deep dive into Toxic Superfoods.
As a disclaimer, I did go into this project with an open mind. I thought perhaps there was research I didn’t know about. The scientific method is, after all, all about learning new things and changing our recommendations as a result. As a ethical healthcare professional, it is my duty to be sure my recommendations are based in quality evidence. Unfortunately, Toxic Superfoods was worse than I anticipated. The “science” behind the claims is completely misrepresented and the rhetoric around eroding trust in actual health experts is shameful – as I’ll highlight throughout this review.
Buckle up. Let’s dive into Toxic Superfoods.
Table of Contents
Who Is Sally Norton? Author of Toxic Superfoods
Sally Norton has made a living from her message of “toxic” oxalate and how it is “poisoning” us all. She describes herself as an “oxalate educator” and spreads her message via her website, consulting, public speaking and individual “health coaching”. Her book Toxic Superfoods came out in 2023.
With so much health misinformation online, it is crucial to check the credentials of whomever you get health advice from. (1) Sally Norton has an undergraduate degree in nutritional science and a master’s in public health. Of note, nutrition is not necessarily a part of public health programs and critical evaluation of literature is not generally the focus of undergraduate programs.
Sally has no formal medical training, which is crucial to understand how to apply research to actual patients and the complexity of health and making nutrition recommendations. Since she is not a formal healthcare professional, she is not held to a code of ethics, which includes evidence-based practice.
For comparison, learn more about my credentials, or the required education, training and continuing education of registered dietitians in general.
What Is Toxic Superfoods About?
The overall premise of ‘Toxic Superfoods’ is that a compound called oxalate, exclusively in plant-based foods, is “toxic” and causing nearly every health ailment known to humans. Oxalate is found in nearly all plant foods including vegetables, fruits, grains, beans, nuts, seeds, and legumes. The book Toxic Superfoods claims oxalate is causing nearly every health ailment from diabetes to fatigue. Sally argues that we have all been misled and that some of the healthiest foods on the planet are in fact, “poisoning” us.
The book outlines the endless symptoms and disorders that eating too much oxalate can “cause”, and spends a lot of time trying to convince you that health experts and major health organizations are hiding the true dangers of oxalate, and that fruits and vegetables are not good for us. Sally ends with her tips for slowly cutting back how much oxalate you eat to avoid “oxalate dumping” (my thoughts on this false phenomenon here) and recommendations for a diet focused on animal protein and dairy – as these foods are all oxalate free – with a severely restricted list of plant foods that are ok to eat.
Toxic Superfoods is riddled with anecdotal evidence, misrepresentation of data, and pseudoscience – similar to most wellness trends. Sally uses common tactics to convince you that you have a problem, that oxalate is clearly the issue, and that she is the only person who can help you fix it. She then profits off your desperation with health “coaching”, book sales, and speaking engagements.
It is impossible to dive into all the misinformation in Toxic Superfoods – this post would easily turn into a long, boring textbook. Instead, I’ll highlight some of the strategies Sally uses to convince you that fruits and vegetables are “poisoning” us and debunk many of her claims as we go along.
Endless Pseudoscience & Misrepresenting Data
If there is one thing Sally is VERY good at, it is finding obsolete animal studies (typically from the 1970s or earlier), misrepresenting the results and inappropriately applying the results to humans. This is \the entire premise of the book. I’ll highlight a few examples to help you interpret her pseudoscience more responsibly.
Inappropriate Use of Plant, Animal & Test Tube Data
Most of the book falls into this category. Sally includes hundreds of citations at the end of the book. However, a quick review of the citations will reveal that almost none are human trials and very few are related to dietary oxalate.
Ignoring the Complexity of Human Metabolism
Chapter 10 details Sally’s theory of the symptoms and “syndromes” related to dietary oxalate toxicity. She lists everything from metabolic issues such as “low energy” to poor immune function. A quick review of studies cited for Chapter 10 will reveal almost none of them relate to dietary oxalate. They are all related to oxalate crystals in various tissues in animals. Any human research is done on people with rare genetic conditions, or grossly altered physiology such as an ileostomy or animal and test tube studies. There are not even test tube citrations to support most of the symptoms she suggests are related to oxalate.
The jump that oxalate crystals in various body parts can be improved or prevented by a low oxalate diet is an overreaching, irresponsible conclusion. This ignores the complexity of human metabolism, as discussed below.
Humans Are Not Honeybee Larvae
Or rats, or horses or mice for that matter. Chapter 2 goes into great detail about how oxalate is a plant toxin and is especially toxic to honeybee larvae. It is true! Oxalate does serve a critical protective role for plants. However, this does NOT automatically mean the same molecule is “toxic” to humans. Whenever someone states something is “toxic” or “poisonous”, it is essential to provide context and dose. Humans, of course, are not honeybee larvae and have a very different process of digesting and metabolizing our foods. Importantly, we are quite a bit bigger than honeybee larvae and can metabolize much larger amounts of potentially harmful things.
It is easy to make the case that we can or should extrapolate animal studies to humans. Sally would probably say we should do this because the medical system has abandoned oxalate research, so there are no human trials to review. But this is dangerous business.
Using animal models as preliminary data to human trials, or to better understand mechanisms of disease or function is very important. However, making human recommendations based on animal data only is irresponsible. Depending on the animal model used, the animal may have drastically different body systems such as digestion, metabolism, circulatory, endocrine, nervous, cardiovascular, or renal systems. There may be drastic differences in their usual diet, genetics, gut microbiome, and so much more. In addition, human trials are critical to determine the feasibility of interventions (aka, is this even POSSIBLE? which is especially important for nutrition studies) and to assess unanticipated negative side effects.
To create an entire platform and recommend a drastic diet that goes against scores of human data, without a single outcomes-based human trial, is grossly irresponsible.
Inappropriate Application of Research to the General Public
In bold font on page 31, Sally tells us that “kidney researchers say a “normal” and safe intake level is within the range of 150-200mg [oxalate] a day” and references from a paper about patients with an ileostomy. (2) Unsurprisingly, patients who dump intestinal contents into a bag near the beginning of the absorption process have VERY altered physiology of absorption and digestion, including oxalate. People with fat malabsorption from any condition such as gastric bypass surgery, inflammatory bowel disease, or an ileostomy are known to have drastically different digestion of oxalate. (3)
In chapter 7, Sally uses data from people with primary hyperoxaluria, a rare genetic disorder, to highlight all of the terrible things oxalate can do in the body. The funny thing is, elevated oxalate levels in primary hyperoxaluria are from liver overproduction of oxalate due to the lack of enzyme alanine glyoxalate aminotransferase, not excess dietary oxalate. To assume dietary oxalate causes the same issues is a gross oversimplification of human digestion and metabolism.
Consistently, Sally uses research from people with very altered physiology such as ileostomy, gastric bypass surgery, kidney failure, and rare genetic conditions, and uses it to support her theory that oxalate is “toxic” to everyone. This is just misguided science. Research Methods 101 is to identify WHO is being studied and carefully consider if the findings apply to other groups of people.
The point is, these people are different from people with a normal digestive system. Results and recommendations from research using these groups of people cannot be generalized to everyone.
Ignoring Conflicting Data
In Chapter 3, Sally claims that scientists recommend 100mg of oxalate per day. To support this, she cites a paper specifically about kidney stones – not the general public. (3) Most importantly, that paper she cites does NOT recommend routine low oxalate diets. (3) Rather, the authors recommend a first-line approach of only avoiding 4 incredibly high oxalate foods, limiting 5 other high oxalate foods, and stressing the importance of dietary calcium to reduce oxalate absorption. The paper also mentions the very high oxalate DASH diet as a valid option for kidney stone prevention. Similarly, she cites another paper from one of my colleagues for the 100mg oxalate/day for kidney stone prevention. (4) She fails to mention that these authors ALSO recommend a first-line approach of limiting only a few very high oxalate foods, and eating adequate calcium, as is recommended in the American Urological Association Guidelines. (5).
After blasting the importance of the gut microbiome to further her narrative that fiber isn’t important in chapter 4 (pages 65-67), Sally praises the bacteria oxalobacter formigenes and its role of degrading oxalate in the gut (pages 118-119). Sally shares that only 1/3 of Americans are colonized with o. formigenes, yet fails to mention the importance of fiber in improving the gut microbiome, or that up to 80% of people in other countries are colonized with o. formigenes. (5) (6) This tidbit is likely left out as it would go against her blatantly false claim that fiber is unnecessary, which is critical to support her narrative of those “toxic” fruits and vegetables.
She also fails to mention that a high oxalate diet can increase intestinal o. formigenes by giving them a fuel source. (7) “…may lead to a loss of [o. formigenes] colonization in kidney stone formers, as these patients are encouraged to maintain an adequate calcium and low-oxalate intake.” (6) But, Sally certainly wouldn’t want you to know that.
And of course, Sally completely ignores the onslaught of evidence that when humans eat more fruits and vegetables, good things happen. More on that below.
Unending Anecdotal Evidence
Most human “evidence” cited in Toxic Superfoods is simply a single person’s perception of their experience – aka anecdotal evidence. This is probably the case as there is simply no real research to show that a low oxalate diet improves health – in any population or for any condition.
Anecdotal evidence is compelling to readers. It is easy to be pulled in because it is relatable and pulls at your heartstrings. However, to be clear, anecdotal evidence is NOT research.
I’m certainly not here to discredit any individual experience. If you’ve found something that makes you feel good – great! I won’t suggest this is just “in your head” as Sally suggests on page 70. But, the issue with making recommendations based on anecdotal evidence is we simply have no idea what made people feel better.
If you make a drastic change in your diet and feel better, exactly which aspect of that change made you feel better? What symptoms or health conditions improved? Will this work for other people of different sex, race, medical condition, diet, etc? Maybe you would have felt better anyway – and it wasn’t related to your diet change at all. Answering these questions is what research does for us. Knowing the answers to these questions is exactly what evidence-based recommendations are all about.
The highest level of evidence Sally provides is a handful of case studies about someone causing things like liver or kidney damage with extreme diets, such as a juice cleanse. Detoxes and juice cleanses are, of course, not what healthcare professionals recommend. Of note, case studies are also a very low level of evidence.
You might think “What is the harm” in making these changes to see if I feel better? I’d argue that severely restricting fruits, vegetables, and whole grains has huge potential for harm. We know that eating more of these foods can prevent and help treat essentially every single chronic health condition.
Making It Impossible to NOT Have an Oxalate Issue
Here is a short list of the symptoms and conditions Sally attributes to oxalate throughout Toxic Superfoods.
- Digestive distress, indigestion, bloating, constipation, irritable bowel syndrome and “excessive belching”
- Inflamed joints
- Chronic skin issues, sensitive or frail skin
- “Brain fog”
- “Mood problems” – such as depression, anxiety, lethargy, malaise or “lack of pep”
- Pain, knots, stiffness in the top of the shoulders or in the upper or lower back, stiff neck
- Chronic itching or tingling
- Itchy or dry eyes, eye floaters
- Excessive tartar on teeth and tooth sensitivity
- Pressure or pain in the loins
- Frequent urination, cloudy urine, urinary tract infections, irritable bladder, yeast infection
- Shortness of breath
- Sinus problems
- Yeast infections
- Cold hands and feet
- Bone fractures
- Mildly elevated serum creatinine or lower glomerular filtration rate (GFR)
- Anemia
None of these symptoms of oxalate “toxicity” include a reference.
Note that many of these symptoms are vague and span nearly every system in the body. This easily captivates anyone who has had ANY ache, pain, or health ailment. Who doesn’t experience “malaise”, “mood problems” or “lack of pep” at some point? Sally wants to make sure that whatever ails YOU could be related to this wretched oxalate. Sally even suggests you can have “oxalate build up in the body without obvious symptoms” (page 11).
Sally needs to make it clear that oxalate WILL hurt all of us, the healthcare system will NOT help you, leading us to desparation and nowhere to turn but her. “…each of us will (eventually) suffer from our own unique subset of them if we persist with high-oxalate eating” (page 11) and “Even moderate, relatively common levels of oxalate in a habitual diet can fuel the customary aches and pains of life…as well as health declines associated with “normal” aging” (page 10). Alarmingly, she suggests you should ignore if your body feels good when you eat vegetables. She says this is an initial “wellness” response and that feeling good is a result of “biology, psychology and culture” implying that feeling better when you eat vegetables is essentially a placebo (pages 70-71).
She furthers this narrative by explaining the “flaws” of oxalate testing (page 98). By degrading your trust in testing, there is no way to prove you have (or do not have) oxalate “toxicity”. You are only left with her vague and widespread list of symptoms to figure out if you have been “poisoned”.
Reducing Trust in Health Experts
A common tactic wellness influencers use to pull you in is discrediting science and true health experts. This is marketing genius because if science, doctors, and dietitians can’t help you, you have nowhere to turn but the “wellness” gurus themselves. Of course, they typically monotonize this desperation by selling you some supplement, program, book, or coaching.
Sally weaves 3 major themes into Toxic Superfoods to erode your trust in health experts: 1) skepticism of scientific guidelines 2) the broken healthcare system in the United States and 3) suggesting health exerts are “hiding the dangers of oxalate” from from you.
Skepticism of Scientific Guidelines
Sally criticizes guidelines from scientific organizations because they directly contradict her thesis. Guidelines from organizations such as the American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, National Kidney Foundation, and even the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend eating more foods that happen to be higher in oxalate such as fruits, vegetables, dark leafy greens, beans, whole grains (page 53-54). She disputes these recommendations by saying obesity and diabetes have exploded in the past 30 years, despite these recommendations to eat oxalate-laden foods.
It is no secret chronic disease is an issue in the United States. The problem with her argument is that people are not following these dietary recommendations. (8) We are NOT eating more high oxalate foods. Only 10% of Americans meet the minimum recommended fruit and vegetable intake (9) and the average fiber intake is only 16g/day. (10)
This is a classic misuse of correlation, not causation. For example, shark attacks are correlated with ice cream sales. Does this mean eating ice cream means you will get attacked by a shark? Of course not. There is a clear missing variable in this scenario – warmer weather. It is by this faulty logic Sally insinuates eating higher oxalate foods has caused the rise in obesity and diabetes. In reality, these increases are more likely related to disparities in healthcare access and poverty. (11)
She also attempts to discredit reasons health experts give for the health benefits of fruits and vegetables. She discusses how we don’t know if things like vitamins, minerals, or fiber matter by providing a litany of cell or animal-based studies (Chapter 4). Yet, she completely ignores the endless research investigating what ACTUALLY happens when we eat more fruits and vegetables. Eating more produce consistently is found to lower the risk of things like heart disease, obesity, diabetes, cancer, and even all-cause mortality (12) (13).
The argument against fiber is common in carnivore diet advocates and uncredentialed wellness influencers looking for clickbait content. Unfortunately, the carnivore diet is gaining in popularity. It is complete rubbish. Eating more fiber is associated with endless health benefits including a lower risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and a healthy body weight. (14) I talk more about the carnivore diet and kidney stones on a podcast.
In summary, scientific guidelines and recommendations are the result of YEARS of work from scientists and experts pouring over ALL available data. Yes, including all those oxalate studies cited in Toxic Superfoods. It is ridiculous to think Sally has some secret these experts are unaware of and choose to ignore.
The Broken Healthcare System
Most people are aware of the issues with the American healthcare system. It is overworked, overly complicated, and results in massive frustration for patients and healthcare providers. Sally monopolizes on this frustration to support her narrative.
She shares her personal experience dealing with decades of pain, sleep disorders, and joint problems. Although I’m sorry she dealt with this and I’m happy she is feeling better, I am here to shed light on the pseudoscience and harmful health information she promotes.
It seems Sally’s ultimate issue was gout, which does cause joint pain and other issues. She points to a 2020 article in Immunologic Reviews that describes gout as a more generalized inflammatory and metabolic disorder to prove that her medical doctors didn’t understand the influence of oxalate on her symptoms (page 15). (15) Of course, eating a more plant-forward diet, that includes plenty of oxalate, can reduce inflammation and improve gout (16) (17)
Sally’s story of feeling unheard and swept aside by healthcare professionals is certainly relatable. Who hasn’t felt dismissed or frustrated with the medical system at some point? The problem with her argument is this frustration is NOT because doctors are unaware of the “dangers” of oxalate, it is because we need legislation to improve our healthcare and insurance system.
Sally takes this narrative one step further and claims that the oxalate toxicity symptoms themselves are why doctors don’t take you seriously. “That dismissive attitude may be compounded by the fact that oxalate is documented to have neurological effects, which include emotional brittleness, despondency, heightened irritability and anxiety”.
Medical Experts are “Hiding the Dangers of Oxalate”
Sally explicitly suggests health experts are ignoring the “dangers of oxalate”. “In fact, plants make toxins that can damage us, even the plants we consider “edible” and “beneficial”. Because this fact doesn’t align with currently favored nutrition theories promoting phytonutrients and fiber, and demonizing animal fats, we ignore plants’ toxic effects, hoping they won’t matter much” (page 18).
Chapter 6 is dedicated to convincing you that health experts are hiding the dangers of oxalate. Sally suggests there is a conspiracy in both medical and nutrition research to hinder oxalate research and to overlook and hide any negative impacts of oxalate. Nothing could be further from the truth.
To demonstrate this point, Sally quotes a handful of medical conventions and researchers dating back to at least 1842. She says this is “proof” the medical community knew about oxalate “poisoning” years ago, and has since abandoned this line of research and downplayed the risks of oxalate. It couldn’t POSSIBLY be that the scientific process, which uses past research to guide future research priorities, has guided us away from the notion that higher oxalate foods are “poisonous”? In short, perhaps we have learned something in the past 200 years?
Use of Alarming, Scary Narratives
Toxic Superfoods is packed with alarming narratives for an extra dose of fear. “When horses consume high-oxalate forages, they develop a stiff and stilted gait owing to calcium depletion and problems with the function of their muscles and nerves. This oxalate induced disease is called “big head” because the lame animals eventually develop distorted, swollen facts.” (page 30). Of course, this statement is “supported” by a letter to the editor and a couple of trials in horses dating back to 1974 in which the horses were subjected to purposely incredibly high oxalate loads such as a diet of ONLY beet greens. (18) (19) None of these researchers concluded a low oxalate diet is ideal, even for horses. And of course, please remember, humans are not horses in the first place.
As mentioned earlier, Sally inappropriately extrapolates this data to humans too. She follows this horse narrative with this quote: “In humans, oxalates also disturb calcium metabolism and create deficiencies that harm bones, muscle, nerves, the brain and other organs” (page 31). No reference is given for this statement. In reality, humans only absorb about 30% of calcium from food and supplements. This varies widely, as our bodies are quite good at up or down-regulating calcium absorption based on what we need. (20) In fact, eating more fruits and vegetables is associated with GREATER bone density and LOWER osteoporosis risk. (21) (22)
Another “scary” narrative is found in Chapter 5, where Sally discusses how oxalate is used in cleaning products. “Given oxalic acid’s industrial cleaning prowess, it’s reasonable to wonder how the oxalates we eat impact our bodies”. By this logic, we should also avoid water and vinegar, as these ingredients are frequently used in cleaning products as well.
The fear of “chemicals” is a common tactic used by wellness influencers. You will frequently hear that certain “chemicals” or food ingredients are “poison” because they are used in scary industrial applications or non-food items like gasoline. Please remember everything is a “chemical”. An apple is made of hundreds of chemicals. Also, wellness influencers will never talk about how much of the chemical can cause harm, is in the non-food item, or how much is in the “poisonous” food.
This is a misunderstanding of Toxicology 101. The dose makes the poison. ANYTHING can be harmful in large doses. Even “natural chemicals” such as vitamin A can be harmful. In large doses, vitamin A can cause many issues including liver damage, osteoporosis, and visual disturbances. I can’t imagine anyone would recommend limiting carrots due to their vitamin A content. The online platform Food Science Babe has a ton of wonderful, easy-to-digest, content diving into this and common misconceptions around our food supply.
Reality: Are Superfoods Toxic?
In short, no. Sally does a great job of creating a terrifying narrative, and cites hundreds of articles, making it easy to believe her theory is based on actual science. The emotional narratives and capitalizing on the broken healthcare system certainly help make her story even more relatable, and therefore, seem true.
I have no issue with the notion that limiting incredibly high oxalate foods and, most importantly, reducing the bioavailability of oxalate is important for some people. People who have elevated urine oxalate levels, enteric hyperoxaluria, or those with primary hyperoxaluria are some examples. But this is a very small percentage of the population. Importantly, limiting a handful of a few incredibly high oxalate foods is VERY different than a strict low oxalate diet. Limiting oxalate to 50mg per day or so, as Sally recommends, results in eliminating most vegetables, some fruits, and nearly all whole grains, beans, nuts, and seeds.
I also have no issue saying that consuming an exorbitant amount of oxalate in the form of a juice cleanse or some other super rigid dietary protocol isn’t a great idea either. But, this isn’t what dietitians or ANY dietary guidelines recommend. In fact, mainstream healthcare advice is to avoid detoxes and eat a healthy, balanced diet that includes all food groups.
However, I take MASSIVE issue with the premise that oxalate in our diet, in the amount most of us eat it, causes health issues.
Assumption That a Low Oxalate Diet Improves Health
The most glaring issue with the premise of Toxic Superfoods is the assumption that reducing how much oxalate you eat will improve the hundreds of medical conditions and unpleasant symptoms in the book.
There is not a shred of evidence in Toxic Superfoods that a low oxalate diet improves health.
Even worse, many of the symptoms listed don’t have a clear connection to oxalate at all.
To a reader unfamiliar with science or medicine, it is easy to assume that all of the terrible things from oxalate buildup can be improved by reducing or eliminating oxalate in your diet. But if you look closely, there are no references to an intervention trial that shows lowering how much oxalate you eat makes a difference in health. This is even true for people with altered oxalate metabolism such as those with an ileostomy or primary hyperoxaluria.
In fact, even for kidney stones a low oxalate diet is falling out of favor. Only about 20% of people with oxalate kidney stones have high urine oxalate in the first place, and there is a greater understanding that higher oxalate foods are rich in things GOOD for kidney stones such as magnesium, potassium, fiber, phytate and alkali.
To assume a low oxalate diet will improve any oxalate-related issue in the body is a gross and irresponsible simplification of human digestion and metabolism.
Human & Oxalate Metabolism Is Complicated
The human body is complex. What we eat doesn’t necessarily get absorbed. Absorption depends on hundreds of factors including the gut microbiome, what other foods you are eating, the form of the nutrient, and even your current nutrition. Even if something does get absorbed, millions of reactions and steps have to happen for something to be transported to our liver, metabolized, repackaged, and sent to cells for energy or excreted.
So, the assumption that diet oxalate equates to oxalate in every tissue of our body is a gross oversimplification.
In reality, only about 20% of the oxalate we eat gets absorbed. And there are many things we can do to reduce this further. For example, eating enough calcium drastically reduces oxalate absorption. (23)
Liver Oxalate Production
Our liver produces quite a bit of oxalate each day. (24) In fact, your liver produces up to 80% of the oxalate found in your urine. (25)
Sally doesn’t want you to know that the liver is very good at making oxalate from ZERO oxalate foods. Yes, zero oxalate foods, especially meat, can increase urine oxalate levels. (24) She discusses vitamin C quite a bit (as this is found in those insidious fruits and vegetables), but she only touches on protein (page 110). She downplays the role of protein in stimulating liver oxalate production by only referring to them as “collagen amino acids” and never speaking of protein again. (24) Of note, vitamin C supplements are more of a concern for liver production of oxalate, not vitamin C found in fruits and vegetables, given the much smaller dose of vitamin C you’ll realistically get from fruits and vegetables vs. in supplemental form.
Surely if this singular molecule was so detrimental to our health, and even has the potential to KILL us, as stipulated here: “When Cornell University researchers fed beet greens (a high-oxalate green) to baby chicks, the oxalate killed all of them within two weeks” (page 30), our bodies wouldn’t be actively MAKING it every single day? Side note – this study from 1947 only found harm in chicks given a diet of only incredibly high oxalate foods, along with very little calcium. (26)
A Low Oxalate Diet Limits Many Healthy Foods – and Encourages Less Healthy Foods
The biggest issue with Toxic Superfoods is the recommendation to limit entire groups of foods beneficial for health. Despite what Sally says, fruits and vegetables are really good for you. Fiber is really good for you. A strict low oxalate diet makes it nearly impossible to get in the recommended 25-38 grams of fiber per day.
When you eat a low oxalate diet, you don’t just eat less oxalate. You eat fewer fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and plant proteins. So, you lose out on the incredible benefits these foods offer.
On the flip side, a low oxalate diet promotes eating more foods with little or no oxalate. As oxalate is exclusively found in plant foods, all nonplant foods are oxalate-free. Meat, poultry, fish, seafood, eggs, and dairy have almost zero oxalate. Although I certainly have no issues with these foods in general, we tend to eat more of them than we need. (27) Higher consumption of meat is linked most chronic health conditions including heart disease, cancer, and ironically, kidney stones. (28) (29) (30)
The MOST Important Question: What Happens When Humans Eat Fruits & Vegetables?
By FAR, the most important question we should be asking is: “What happens when we eat more fruits and vegetables?”. The answer is an overwhelming GOOD THINGS.
Thousands of research studies have been done to show eating dietary patterns rich in fruits and vegetables and other plant foods is good for:
- Kidney disease (31)
- Kidney stones (32)
- Heart disease (33)
- High blood pressure (34)
- Stroke prevention (35)
- Colorectal and breast cancer (36) (37)
- Diabetes (38)
- Promoting a healthy body weight (39)
- Dementia (40)
- Reducing inflammation (41)
- Reducing mortality (41)
- And MORE
A lot of the fear in Toxic Superfoods is based on the premise that Americans are eating “so much” oxalate and this is why we are so sick. Yet, only 10% of people get the recommended amount of vegetables, and 13% get the recommended amount of fruit. (42)
We know, definitely, that if Americans ate MORE fruits and vegetables, we would see massive improvements in health.
Toxic Superfoods is Toxic Misinformation
In conclusion, Toxic Superfoods is harmful and is based on classic pseudoscience and misinformation. Believe it or not, the age-old wisdom that fruits and vegetables are GOOD for you is backed by decades of science.
Please keep eating fruits and vegetables. Your body will thank you for it.
Happy Eating!
Melanie
