Oxalate Dumping Explained: How to Support Your Body Through Detox

If you’re dealing with an oxalate overload or sensitivity, the last thing you need is to feel worse when you start a low-oxalate diet. But this is exactly what can happen with what’s known as oxalate dumping: a phenomenon where your body reacts strongly to the elimination of oxalates.

I’ve also seen this happen with certain patients who aren’t specifically cutting back on oxalates but are starting a new diet that happens to eliminate them, most commonly the carnivore diet. 

Thankfully, there are strategies you can follow to reduce and clear oxalates more safely and support your body through the detox process. 

Here’s my guide to what oxalate dumping is, how to identify the symptoms, and what you can do to prevent them. 

Oxalates and Oxalate Intolerance: An Overview 

Let’s take a quick step back and look at what oxalates actually are, to help us understand why oxalate dumping occurs. 

Oxalates are compounds that are found in various amounts in certain kinds of plants (including some fruits, vegetables, and legumes). Plants use oxalates as part of their natural defense system to deter animals and insects, and to help regulate internal minerals.

When we consume plants that contain oxalates, we’re naturally also consuming those oxalates. Usually, this is no problem. We break dietary oxalates down in the gut and excrete them through our urine and stool. 

Why Do Oxalates Build Up? 

Some people have a harder time processing oxalates, causing them to accumulate over time. Oxalate buildup can block the absorption of important minerals like magnesium, calcium, and iron (oxalates will bind to them instead). (1, 2) This can contribute to various health concerns, including symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, and pain, issues with gut health and kidney function (including the formation of kidney stones), hormone imbalances, and histamine intolerance or mast cell activation. (3, 4)

Oxalate accumulation can happen in two main ways: when unusually high amounts of oxalates are taken in and absorbed through the gut (a high-oxalate diet), or when the body’s natural detoxification system is sluggish or impaired, making it harder to eliminate oxalates. 

Because oxalates are considered toxins, if your load is high, the body will start storing them in tissues instead of allowing them to circulate. This is a protective mechanism. But over time, this storage can contribute to oxalate intolerance– the body is already overloaded with stored oxalates, and reacts badly to more being consumed. 

The Low Oxalate Diet

For those who know or suspect they may have an oxalate intolerance or excess oxalates in the body, the natural solution is to modify the diet and reduce oxalate consumption (while also addressing the root causes of oxalate intolerance– but we’ll get to that later). 

On a low oxalate diet, you’ll restrict or remove foods that are high in oxalates including: 

• Raw leafy greens including kale, broccoli, spinach, and swiss chard
• Radishes
• Beets
• Potatoes
• Beans
• Leeks
• Peanuts, almonds, and cashew nuts
• Raspberries and other berries
• Tofu, soy products
• Black pepper
• Chocolate and cocoa powder
• Kiwi 
• Rhubarb 

But this is also where oxalate dumping can happen, as we’ll look at next. 

READ MORE: Are Oxalates Bad For You? How To Reduce Oxalate Content

What Is Oxalate Dumping? 

Oxalate dumping occurs when the body starts releasing stored oxalates, generally because of a drastic reduction in dietary intake. 

In cases of oxalate overload, oxalates are stored in tissues. If there’s a sudden decrease in dietary oxalates, this can trigger the body to mobilize and excrete stored oxalates through urine, sweat, or stool. 

Getting rid of oxalates is what we want– but it’s the rapid excretion that can be a problem. Oxalate dumping often feels like a worsening of or flare-up of symptoms, and is similar to a Herxheimer reaction (a common response to microbial die-off during detox from pathogens like candida, where symptoms temporarily intensify before improving).

Oxalate Dumping Symptoms

Symptoms of oxalate dumping vary from person to person, but often feel like a strong detox reaction. Oxalate dumping symptoms may include: 

• Extreme fatigue or energy crashes
• Muscle aches and joint pain 
• Burning or painful urination 
• Digestive issues including bloating, cramping, loose stools, or painful bowel movements
• Mood swings, anxiety, or irritability
• Rashes or skin reactions
• Eye irritation, blurry vision
• Trouble sleeping
• Increased sensitivity to other triggers including histamine 
• Dizziness 
• Sore throat or burning tongue 
• Fever or chills 
• Brain fog, difficulty concentrating 

Symptoms may come and go in waves, and can last for days or weeks, depending on individual factors including your oxalate load and detox capacity. 

LISTEN: Dr. Vincent Pedre: Finding Your Gut Type, Probiotic Myths, Fermented Food Flares, Oxalates + Histamine Intolerance | Dr. Will Cole

Why Does Oxalate Dumping Happen? 

The primary cause of oxalate dumping is a drastic or rapid reduction in oxalate-rich foods. This can trigger the mobilization of stored oxalates, causing the symptoms of oxalate dumping to occur. 

While some symptoms may be a natural result of detoxification, we don’t want to go overboard and cause additional stress, inflammation, and immune activation. 

If your detox pathways are clogged, your body may not be able to handle the offloading of oxalates, and react to their mobilization as a threat, setting off an immune response. 

Oxalate dumping can also occur as a result of different kinds of detox protocols or processes not strictly targeting these compounds, such as mold detoxification or Lyme treatment (oxalate sensitivity often co-occurs with mold toxicity or chronic infections). 

How To Safely Reduce Oxalates + Support Your Body

This is what I recommend to gently phase out oxalates without triggering oxalate dumping and worsening symptoms. 

#1. Reduce Oxalates Slowly

This is the most simple concept to keep in mind when going low oxalate. Instead of cutting out all low oxalate foods at once, start by reducing just one or two high oxalate foods. Wait a few days or a week or two to allow your body to adjust, and then eliminate the next food. 

How long you should wait between eliminating additional foods really depends on your individual case. With my telehealth patients I will create a custom protocol, but a general rule of thumb is that the more severe your oxalate overload symptoms are and the longer you’ve been symptomatic, the longer you’ll want to take in between eliminating foods. And as you go along, pay attention to how your body responds, and you can adjust accordingly. 

#2. Support the Gut

Gut issues including dysbiosis and leaky gut are often underlying factors behind oxalate intolerance, and a healthy gut is incredibly important when it comes to supporting detoxification and reducing inflammation. A healthy gut microbiome also helps to break down oxalates. (5)

Low hanging fruit when it comes to supporting the digestive tract is to take a good quality probiotic and, of course, follow an anti-inflammatory diet overall. For leaky gut, certain supplements including slippery elm can help to restore the integrity of your intestinal lining. 

#3. Restore Mineral Balance 

Calcium and magnesium can help to neutralize oxalates from food, bind oxalates in the gut, and prevent oxalate absorption. (6) You can increase your calcium intake with whole foods including eggs and liver, and fish including salmon and mackerel are great choices for boosting magnesium (many other food sources of magnesium unfortunately contain high levels of oxalates). You can also take supplemental calcium and/or magnesium. 

#4. Support Liver and Kidney Detox

It’s important to make sure you’re supporting your body’s natural detox system during this process. Key herbs and supplements that can help support your detox organs include: 

• Milk thistle and dandelion root for liver support
• Parsley and nettle leaf for kidney support

My supplement blend Protect (which contains milk thistle, calcium, and several other helpful herbs and compounds) was designed specifically to help support the body’s natural detox processes. 

#5. Stay Well Hydrated 

Hydration is essential for detoxification, flushing out oxalates, and reducing the risk of kidney stones. Make sure to drink plenty of filtered water throughout the day. 

#6. Cut Out Sugar

I always recommend eliminating sugar for overall wellness, and it’s certainly important during the oxalate detox process. High sugar intake can increase the risk of kidney stones and, of course, contributes to inflammation. 

Final Tips

• In most cases, you won’t have to eliminate all oxalates forever. The goal is to address the underlying cause of oxalate intolerance or oxalate buildup (this may include any combination of nutrient malabsorption, mold toxicity, leaky gut, immune system issues, and/or an inflammatory diet). Once these issues have been addressed, you should be able to reintroduce certain healthy high oxalate plant foods, at least in moderation. 
• Don’t panic if you experience a couple of symptoms or a temporary flare-up during the healing process. Just listen to your body, and slow down as needed.
• Boiling high oxalate vegetables can significantly reduce their oxalate content. This is a simple trick to make many of these foods more manageable. 

READ NEXT: Exactly Why + How You Should Detox According To A Functional Medicine Expert | Dr. Will Cole

A Gentle, Individualized Approach To Oxalate Sensitivity 

Slow and steady wins the race when it comes to eliminating oxalates and detoxing. A structured and well-supported approach can make a huge difference. 

If you’re looking for more personalized support, work with a practitioner who understands the dynamics between oxalates, detoxification, gut health, and co-occurring health problems like mold illness. We’ve worked with all kinds of oxalate issues at our telehealth functional medicine clinic and we’re here to help. 

As one of the first functional medicine telehealth clinics in the world, we provide webcam health consultations for people around the globe.

Sources

• Kelsay, J. L., & Prather, E. S. (1983). Mineral balances of human subjects consuming spinach in a low-fiber diet and in a diet containing fruits and vegetables. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 38(1), 12-19.
• Heaney, R. P., & Weaver, C. M. (1989). Oxalate: effect on calcium absorbability. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 50(4), 830-832.
• Ermer, T., Eckardt, K. U., Aronson, P. S., & Knauf, F. (2016). Oxalate, inflammasome, and progression of kidney disease. Current opinion in nephrology and hypertension, 25(4), 363-371.
• Crivelli, J. J., Mitchell, T., Knight, J., Wood, K. D., Assimos, D. G., Holmes, R. P., & Fargue, S. (2020). Contribution of dietary oxalate and oxalate precursors to urinary oxalate excretion. Nutrients, 13(1), 62.
• Hatch, M. (2017). Gut microbiota and oxalate homeostasis. Annals of translational medicine, 5(2), 36.
• Taylor, E. N., & Curhan, G. C. (2007). Oxalate intake and the risk for nephrolithiasis. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 18(7), 2198-2204.