The Low Oxalate Diet

When I was first diagnosed post-surgery in 2008, the first thing my surgeon suggested was going on a low oxalate diet.  This is also frequently recommended to patients who have a history of kidney stones. 

Finding a reliable source that had definitive information about the amount of oxalate in foods proved to be more difficult that I expected.  Thankfully, I found "TheLow Oxalate Cookbook, Book Two" by the VP Foundation.  This book contains reliable information on oxalate from years of scientific testing.  Please note that this is not an IC-friendly cookbook – just a low oxalate cookbook and I am not recommending trying any of the recipes contained in this book because of that. 

Oxalate is found in foods from plant sources and has been known to contribute to a number of genital, urinary, skin, rectal, muscle, bowel, and general body pain and irritation.  Specifically for those with IC, it can exacerbate urinary urgency, frequency, inner-bladder and urethral burning and pain, and vulvodynia.  From what I have found speaking to others with IC over the years (and from personal experience), a low oxalate diet is most effective at improving/curing vulvodynia. 

The Low Oxalate Cookbook, Book Two, recommends that one should try to limit consumption of oxalate from foods and beverages to ~40-60 mg/day.  Participants in the pain study they conducted reported that over time, they were able to gradually increase the amount of oxalate in their diet without pain.  I have found this to be true.  I stayed on a strictly low oxalate diet for approximately 1.5 years and then gradually increased the amount of oxalate in my daily diet over about a year. *

*During this time I was taking Elmiron 100 mg three times a day and also doing frequent Uracyst and lidocaine 1% bladder instillations, which both improve IC.

Although there are many similarities in an IC-friendly diet, so much varies from person to person, so I will provide a selective list of low, medium and high oxalate foods based on what I can eat (which will be highlighted) and some foods that other ICers I have talked to or read about have found okay.  Before going on a low oxalate diet, however, I implore you to do the Elimination Diet first.  It might be smart to test only the low oxalate foods at first.  I have done theElimination Diet about 4 times and have re-tested foods over the years – in some cases, I have been able to add foods into my diet that I found I couldn't eat when I tested them previously (obviously the medication I'm taking and the treatment I'm doing is helping).

When looking over the list – especially the highlighted foods that I can eat – please keep in mind that I take Prelief with everything I eat (the amount I take depends on the food) and I also take Lactaid Ultra when I have anything containing lactose. 

Everything highlighted with a * beside it means that I can only eat it if it's organic.  I'd say about 95% of my food has to be organic or it will cause inner bladder pain and I highly recommend switching to organic if you can.  It makes a huge difference – trust me, you will feel it.

	Low Oxalate	Medium Oxalate	High Oxalate
Beverages (1 cup)	Chamomile tea* Peppermint tea*
Fats & Oils (1 tablespoon)	Canola oil* Vegetable oil Olive oil
Fruits	Avocado* Lychee Honeydew melon* Pears* Yellow plums Mango (I can have either frozen or dried organic – never fresh) Watermelon Grapes (red and seedless green) Peaches Strawberries (fresh)	Banana Dates* Prunes	Blueberries* Figs
Grains and Grain Products	Barley* (cooked) Cornflakes* (try Nature's Path's Honey'd Corn Flakes) Matzo* Cornstarch (1 tbsp) Corn tortilla Malt powder Oat bran (1 tbsp) Pasta* (one ingredient: organic durum wheat semolina) Long grain rice White rice Wild rice Rye bread	Plain bagel English muffin White flour tortilla* Whole wheat bread (1 slice) Oatmeal (rolled oats) Tortilla chips Corn grits Brown rice flour (1/4 cup) Unbleached white flour * (1/4 cup) Couscous* Brown rice* Wheat germ* (1 tbsp)	Blueberry bagel Whole wheat tortilla Bran flakes Millet Popcorn* (4 cups) Pretzels Barley flour (1/4 cup) Rye flour (1/4 cup) Whole wheat flour Orzo* Wheat germ* (1/3 cup)
Herbs, Spices and Condiments	Almond extract (1 tbsp) Fresh basil (1 tbsp) Fresh chives (1 tbsp) Dill* (1 tsp – fresh) Mustard (1 tbsp) Peppermint leaves Rosemary leaves (1 tsp) Dried ground sage (1 tsp) Dried thyme (1 tsp) Vanilla extract (1 tbsp)	Dill* (1 tablespoon – fresh) Ground oregano (1 teaspoon) Rosemary leaves (1 tablespoon) Dried ground sage (1 tablespoon) Dried thyme (1 tablespoon) Mayonnaise	Anise (1 teaspoon) Ground oregano (1 tablespoon) Parsley flakes (1 tablespoon) Tahini (1 teaspoon)
Legumes, Nuts & Seeds	Coconut (fresh) Black-eyed peas Yellow split peas Green peas* Mustard (1 tbsp)	Red kidney beans Lima beans Lentils Green split peas*	Black beans Pinto beans Almonds Cashews Peanuts Peanut butter Sesame seeds (1 tsp)
Meats & Fish	Ground beef Roasted chicken* (meat only) Eggs Liver Turkey
Milk & Milk Products	Butter Cream cheese* (1 oz - organic) Skim milk (lactose-free) Low-fat milk Whole milk Goat's milk		Vanilla rice milk (1 cup) Carob rice milk (1 cup)
Other Foods	Baking powder* Baking soda Cream of tartar Gelatin (unflavoured) Salt Corn syrup Clover honey Maple syrup Brown sugar (1 tbsp) White sugar (1 tbsp)	Yeast	Carob chips Carob powder* Stevia powder
Vegetables	Asparagus* Green beans Bok choy Broccoli (boiled) Cucumbers* Iceberg lettuce* Romaine lettuce* Mushrooms* Red pepper* Alfalfa sprouts* Acorn squash Zucchini	Artichoke (1 medium) Broccoli (raw or steamed) Eggplant Green pepper	Canned olives Beets Celery* Green beans Potatoes* (I can only eat organic red potatoes) Potato chips* Spinach Sweet potato*

I hope this information will help you if you have decided to try going on a low oxalate diet, especially if you suffer from vulvodynia.  Please remember once again that this is not an "IC-friendly diet list" and that the exhaustive list can be found in the book.

If you do decide to try to go on a low oxalate diet to improve some of your symptoms, please let us know how it goes!  Good luck! J