Hello, and happy Monday! I hope everyone had an awesome weekend. It is finally getting to be a smidge cooler in the mornings, and I can enjoy my coffee outback on the swing. If you have been following along then you know for this month I am discussing Oxalates and how they can effect CKD, and other parts of the body. It is taking me a while to put together a long post on Oxalates in general, and how they effect other parts of the body besides kidneys. I will leave links to all of the posts I have done on this topic so far, so you can find and read them. It is very interesting and understudied topic, to me anyway, because I feel like I probably am sensitive to Oxalates.
Just a note that I love Trader Joe’s and I am not picking on their brand of Everything But the Bagel Seasoning. I am sure they are all similar, but this is the one I have on hand and was consuming regularly up until my strange symptoms begin. See my first post on this topic for more info on that. This seasoning is delicious and adds a nice little punch to food. You can see the ingredients below, but of concern is the Sesame Seeds and the Poppy Seeds. It does have a bit of Sodium as well. A serving is a 1/4 of a tsp, and trust me that is hardly anything at all. Check out this image, to see what I mean. According to my Oxalate app tracker Sesame Seeds contain 324 mg of Oxalates per 1 tbsp, and Poppy Seeds contain 34 mg of Oxalates per tbsp. Unless you are only using the recommended serving size of this seasoning, you could be consuming way too many Oxalates, especially if you have CKD. Oxalates are tiny nano crystals that build up in the urine because the kidneys can’t remove the Oxalates efficiently anymore. You don’t have to get a kidney stone for this to be an issue with CKD.
I sadly have stopped eating this seasoning, at least for now. My symptoms have improved by changing my diet, and I feel like I am back to baseline. My kidneys were actually improving, and at my last doctor visit I was back to stage 2. But, then I went back to stage 3A. So, I would live to be and stay at stage 2. Anything that is potentially going to make my kidneys work harder, and I don’t need it, I will try to avoid. I will eventually go back to using this seasoning, but in smaller amounts, and I will be Mindful of the other foods I eat in a day to be sure I stay right around 100 mg of Oxalates per day.
Please don’t just stop eating foods with Oxalates. You can cause something called Oxalate Dumping. Speak to your doctor, or request a Dietitian referral if you think you are sensitive to Oxalates, or are having strange symptoms especially during Summer months when Oxalate foods are probably higher consumed. If you are Vegan, Vegetarian, or even Keto, and you are having symptoms that are unusual to you seek the advice of a trained Dietitian to see if Oxalates may actually be causing you harm.
If you would like to learn more about how a Health Coach can help you reach your eating lifestyle goals, send me a message using the contact form at the end of this post.
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