Spinach and Oxalates

[misslinda]

Excerpt from another site regarding oxalates particularly spinach. I was also told by a medical intuitive that when spinach is COOKED is when the oxalates become harmful. Thoughts and opinions? :)



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Note sent by a reader on Feb 7, 2002... I noticed on your web the discussion about oxalic acid and kidney stones. Dr. Norman Walker, who lived to be 119 yrs old, wrote juicing books and stated that one should never eat spinach, kale cooked as the oxalic acid becomes very harmful and binds with calcium and causes kidney stones etc. But oxalic acid in its raw form is very beneficial to ones health. He said it stimulates the peristaltic motion that moves food through the digestive tract. This is in his book called "Fresh vegetable and Fruit Juices". A health ministry called Hallelujah Acres sells his books.

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Here is another excerpt that mentioned oxalates but was discussing greens and vit b/dcal-mag


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However, expert nutritionists, among them Dr. Gabriel Cousens, have documented through clinical observation that raw greens do not pose this problem, a phenomenon thought to be due to the bodyÂ’s ability to metabolize oxalates in their natural state, which are only altered into potent anti-nutrients by heat.
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[Doe]

Misslinda, I have had Dr Walker's books since the 80's. Spinach is very good for the body in my experience. I always felt better when adding it either to salads or carrot/spinach juice on a regular basis. The best I ever felt in my life was when I juiced regularly for a couple of years or so way back when.

Teri S

[Arky]

As you might imagine, this is extremely contentious!

Some claim that there is, in reality, very little evidence, scientific or otherwise, to support the notion that the cooking of certain minerals renders them 'inorganic', yet such an 'effect' is widely touted within the raw foodist community to be hard scientific fact. I'm not saying I think it is or that I think it isn't. I am simply pointing out that all is not necessarily as it seems :rolleyes:

So, are Oxolates altered by cooking, similarly to the above claims that minerals are altered? Another tough one to answer. I, too, read this in Dr. Walker's 'Fresh Vegetable and Fruit Juices' book (a poorly-organised but interesting little book)), but I must say that as much as I respect the man, and as much as I retain an open mind on the issue, I am, as yet, unconvinced that cooking is detrimental to oxolates in this respect (although, even before my appreciation for raw foods blossomed, I never understood why anyone would cook spinach - it's just gross!).

As ever, it is so darned difficult to know for sure whether this is fact or dogma, or somewhere in between - in my opinion, it may well be the latter.

Walker's remarks that oxolates in raw spinach stimulate peristaltic motion is an interesting one and something I've wanted to investigate further but never found the time. It's such a pity that he chose not to elaborate on the supposed mode-of-action of this claimed process. Spinach is very high in alkaline minerals and champions of alkalinizing claim that alkalinizing one's body allows the digestive tract to efficiently lubricate itself in a manner which is not possible in an overly-acidic state, due to constriction of blood vessels etc., as a consequence of acid wastes storage - the digestive tract contains literally billions of tiny blood capilaries to absorb nutrients into the bloodstream.

Perhaps the oxolates in raw spinach do stimulate persitalsis, or perhaps it is simply the abundance of alkaline minerals in spinach that facilitate improved digestive lubrication and absorption - I must say I have experienced, firsthand, the efficacy of spinach smoothies in relieving constipation :)

If anyone has any scientific backup on this topic, I'd be eager to read it.


J.

[Doe]

Dr. Walker was a scientist, not a MD although he did work closely with a MD whose name is in his books. He spent most of his life scientifically proving his claims. All of the juice combinations in his book were exact formulas, so many ounces of this and so many ounces of that. He stated clearly that to get the best benefit from these juices the formula needed to be followed. Only one was about juices. The one titled "Vibrant Health" goes into great detail about the way the body works. He also wrote several other books. I had and read "Salad Suggestions" in the early 80's. At the time I thought it strange for someone to eat so much salad. Just wondering how many here have read his books?

Teri S

[Arky]

Thanks Teri, I'll try to obtain a copy of 'Vibrant Health' to see if it offers more insight into the claims made in 'Fresh Vegetable and Fruit Juices'.


J.