Fear of high Oxalate Foods

[AnopsStudier]

I tend to eat quite a bit of spinach.  I don't eat only spinach but I do eat it quite often in salads and occasional smoothies. 

Then all of the sudden I started finding these articles about the high oxalate counts in spinach, swiss chard, dark chocolate, etc.. 

Now Im a afraid to eat spinach.  Do the benefits outweigh the oxalate danger.  And are oxalates even dangerous?  is this a myth?

Ive also read multiple articles about oxalates being beneficial and necessary for proper digestion...  Any thoughts?

[TylerDurden]

http://www.13.waisays.com/cancer.htm

We generally recommend not overdoing raw vegetables. Generally speaking, the more tasteless they are, the more antinutrients they have, which are harmful to the human body in the long-term.

I take it you are eating cooked-palaeo not rawpalaeo, given the mention of spinach, though?

[AnopsStudier]

I am cooked paleo right now... but at the moment the only cooked food I eat is meat..  I feel best eating greens but this leaves me confused

[AnopsStudier]

also I found that my body loves sour and bitter things..  I love raspberries, lemons bitter herbs.

I like to make my main meal of the day sometime of greens with a nice slab of extra rare beef, bison, or some fish.

Any ideas of what is best for greens/herbs?   should I stick to something like romaine lettuce covered in bitter herbs? 
Or should I try just eating the herbs?

You said that the more tasteless the more antinutrients?  Does this mean something like lettuce is riddled with anti nutrients?

[TylerDurden]

It is not terribly nutritious, at the very least. How healthy/unhealthy are you by the way?

[AnopsStudier]

Im very healthy the the moment knock on wood.  25 yrs old, My digestion is great since giving up processed foods, been sleeping great, been exercising everyday.   Ive always found spinach really easy to eat

[TylerDurden]

This RPD diet is, imo, generally speaking for people who are either very ill and have failed with all other methods to get healthy or for those who want a painless old age with few health-issues. If you are generally healthy and young it is probably best to stick to a cooked-palaeodiet for the moment. I know that some have gone in for rpd diets just out of curiosity and have stuck to the practice as they benefitted even more than with cooked-palaeo or raw vegan etc.,  but it is less common.

[AnopsStudier]

thanks tyler.. Definitely been on the regular paleo diet for a while now. But I do eat all my greens and fruits raw obviously.

So no need to worry about the oxalates in spinach or anything?

[TylerDurden]

thanks tyler.. Definitely been on the regular paleo diet for a while now. But I do eat all my greens and fruits raw obviously.

So no need to worry about the oxalates in spinach or anything?

Not on a cooked diet. On a raw diet, they are not really useful.

[goodsamaritan]

Raw star fruit in large quantities can be dangerous

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11157385

A few years ago there was a Philippine department of health announcement in the newspaper telling the public if they are eating star fruit, just eat 1.  Due to the large amount of oxalic acid that can kill your kidneys.

[A_Tribe_Called_Paleo]

The best way to find out if something is edible is taste. vegetables with high oxalate taste terrible. i see no reason to eat them., its like a warning sign...