Why You Aren't Getting Nutrients

Believe it or not what you've been told about food is wrong. Most of it is fueled by lobbying groups. When the commercial dairy farmers needed more revenue the public received the 'got milk?' campaign. When wheat farmers needed a boost the public got the 'breakfast is the most important meal of the day' run. So on and so forth most of what has been touted and supported through research has been biased with an agenda (no one wants to pay for research that deems their product unhealthy).
Then the super-foods started rolling out.

Superfoods: antioxidant mania

In order to combat the free radicals (cell damaging substances), antioxidants are thought to neutralize the situation thus protecting your cells from harm. These are your lycopene, carotenoids, minerals (zinc, magnesium), vitamins (C, E), and quercetin, to name a few.
These are found in various forms, but the most commonly pushed are your green leafy vegetables and fruits. Are these truly superhero status foods that must be consumed?

Truth is, most of the antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables are not absorbed and instead blocked. Many plants contain antinutrients such as tannins, saponins, phytates, and oxalates. These prevent minerals and more from being absorbed. For example an oyster will provide you with a lot of zinc. Consume some black beans or corn tortillas with that oyster and you just decreased your zinc absorption to 25%.

Oxalates: a bio-accumulative poison

Oxalates are one of the anti-nutrients that is rampant and can cause poisoning as it is toxic to the body and bio-accumulates (meaning it builds up over time). 80% of kidney stones are made of oxalic acid, however the body will store them wherever necessary- connective tissue, eyes (cataracts), skin (rashes), and more.

What oxalates do is attach themselves to calcium. From there they will float about until settling in whatever area the body decides best at the time (depends on vulnerabilities and other damage present). First they will go to the liver, eventually the kidneys but as mentioned above they bio-accumulate so once there is an over abundance in the kidneys the body will find other places to stash away this toxic compound.

If there is not enough calcium in the diet, the oxalates will strip calcium from the bone eventually leading to osteoporosis.

Signs & Symptoms of Oxalate Poisoning

• osteoporosis
  
• kidney stones
  
• cracked teeth
  
• itchy rash
  
• wounds that don't heal easily
  
• joint pain/rheumatic pain
  
• unrestful sleep
  
• uncoordinated
  
• memory problems
  
• brain fog
  
• thyroid problems
  

Major players

The top foods that are high in oxalate are: spinach, swiss chard, beet greens, peanuts, almonds (including flour), dark chocolate, sweet potatoes, carrots.

What can you do?
These are the foods you've been told time and again are good for the heart and many other things. Do the benefits outweigh the negatives?

Here are three "practice" tips from nutritionist
Sally K. Norton:

1. You don't have to be a perfectionist
2. Portion size matters
3. Keep learning

Photo credit: Chris Ainsworth

If you are loading up on the spinach each day, cut back. Have some kale instead, or cabbage.
Eat foods from your local farmer that are grown organically, without pesticides, GMOs/bioengineered, or antiobiotics. Knowing where your food came from, how it was grown will do wonders for increasing your health. You also can eat more meats, especially red meat that is pasture raised, grass fed, and grass finished. Meat actually contains most, if not all, of the nutrients you need in a bio-available form (aka your body will easily absorb and utilize it, no worries of nutrients getting blocked).

The best thing to keep in mind is Sally's last practice tip: keep learning. Your body is speaking to you and it is up to you to learn the language because in the end you know how you feel best. How do you feel after you eat foods high in oxalates? Go from there. Never stop learning and if you'd like someone to take the journey with you send me a message and let's go!