403: Crazy Link Between High Oxalate Diet, Candida Overgrowth + Heavy Metals (Especially If You Get Kidney Stones)

Last Updated on October 30, 2025

This episode is bought to you by Quell — to help support rebuilding healthy skin from the outside-in + inside-out!

Take $10 off your next order! Use promo code QUELL10 at check out — Get started HERE!

– – –

Oxalates (and a high oxalate diet) have gotten a bad rap—especially if you’ve ever dealt with kidney stones or stumbled across alarming health forums.

Some claim oxalates are toxic and should be avoided at all costs. Others insist they’re to blame for everything from joint pain to skin rashes to gut problems.

But is cutting out high oxalate foods like spinach, strawberries, and chocolate really the solution?

Or is there more to the oxalate story than meets the eye?

In this episode, we’ll unpack what oxalates are, why your levels might be high (hint: it’s not just your diet), and what deeper imbalances could be fueling the problem.

You’ll also learn about the best tests for oxalates, targeted oxalate support strategies, and the surprising link between oxalates, candida overgrowth, and heavy metals.

So if you’ve ever felt confused or overwhelmed by the oxalate debate, THIS is the clarity you’ve been looking for!

Or, listen on your favorite app: iTunes (Apple Podcasts) | Spotify | Stitcher | TuneIn | Subscribe on Android

In This Episode:

• What are oxalates (and what are high oxalate foods)?
• High oxalate diet + kidney stone connection
• The link between candida overgrowth + oxalates
• How your gut microbiome interacts with oxalates
• Are oxalates bad for you? (How are they connected to heavy metals?)
• Best tests for high oxalates in your body
• Lifestyle + supplements to help reduce high oxalates

Quotes

“Higher uric acid levels were associated with both the severity of the psoriasis and an increased risk of uric acid stones.”

“What if, instead of fearing oxalates, we asked why they’re accumulating in the first place?”

Links

Get Help With Your Case – Start Here!

Healthy Skin Show ep. 161: Low Oxalate Diet: Can It Stop Your Rashes?

Probiotic Oxalate-Degrading Bacteria: New Insight of Environmental Variables and Expression of the oxc and frc Genes on Oxalate Degradation Activity

Role of oxalic acid in fungal and bacterial metabolism and its biotechnological potential

Relationship between psoriasis and urolithiasis

Rosacea May Be Associated with Gout, Kidney Stones

Evaluation of serum uric acid levels in patients with rosacea

The Green Smoothie Fad: This Road to Health Hell is Paved with Toxic Oxalate Crystals

Vitamin B6 Intake and the Risk of Incident Kidney Stones

Strategies for preventing calcium oxalate stones

 

403: Crazy Link Between High Oxalate Diet, Candida Overgrowth + Heavy Metals (Especially If You Get Kidney Stones) {FULL TRANSCRIPT}

Welcome back to episode 403 of the Healthy Skin Show! Today we’ll dive into the confusing and controversial world of oxalates and whether a high oxalate diet is really responsible for wrecking your health.

In different nutrition circles, you’ll find a wide variety of opinions on oxalates.

The more ancestral nutrition communities often label high oxalate foods as “toxic” or “bad for your health”, but is that really true?

Because I’m a passionately curious person, I’ve spent a good bit of time researching this topic AND seeing how it plays out in real life with my clients.

What I can tell you is that oxalates are a fascinating plant compound, and that we’re often asking the wrong questions on this topic.

Instead of fixating on “why you should avoid a high oxalate diet” or high oxalate foods, I find that asking what purpose oxalates could serve AND what high oxalates could point to from a root cause perspective offers much more insight.

So let’s dive in!

 

What Are Oxalates? And Should You Be Worried About Them?

If you’ve heard of oxalates, chances are it wasn’t under pleasant circumstances. Maybe you or someone you love had a painful run-in with kidney stones. Or maybe you stumbled across a forum warning that oxalates are silently destroying your health.

But what are oxalates, really? And where do they come from?

These are important questions to ask…especially if you want to move beyond fear-based narratives and get to the truth about oxalates and their role in your health.

For many people, oxalates show up in their lives as an excruciating wake-up call. That was certainly the case for my husband. One night, he woke up in intense pain. A trip to the ER confirmed it: kidney stones.

That’s how a lot of people first learn about oxalates. The painful reality of kidney stones pushes them to dig deeper, looking for answers.

Others might find themselves with high oxalates, discovered through an organic acid test from a practitioner who may not be as well-versed on what this result means.

And then there's the internet: a rabbit hole of voices declaring oxalates as public enemy number one. According to some, oxalates aren’t just causing kidney stones — they’re infiltrating your tissues, wrecking your joints, ruining your digestion, and hijacking your health.

The solution? Drastically cut out all high oxalate foods. Full stop.

But this black-and-white approach skips over some key questions. It ignores the context of what else might be going on in the body, and why oxalates might be building up in the first place.

Even more concerning, many people online are urging healthy individuals — people with zero symptoms — to avoid oxalates “just in case.” They argue that a low oxalate diet is beneficial for everyone long-term, even though there’s no strong evidence to support that claim.

This trend turns diet into a tool for symptom avoidance rather than understanding. And while it’s completely normal to want to eliminate pain or discomfort, the real power lies in curiosity.

What if high oxalates are a clue rather than a root cause?

What if, instead of fearing oxalates, we asked why they’re accumulating in the first place?

That’s the real question we should be asking. Because when we dig a little deeper, we might discover that oxalates are not the villain…they might just be the messenger.

 

Oxalates Are Not Your Enemy: Debunking The Dangers Of A High Oxalate Diet

So, let’s clear something up: What exactly are oxalates, and where do they come from?

Oxalates are naturally occurring compounds found in many plant-based foods. They’re actually a type of phytochemical (part of a plant’s built-in defense system). But here’s the thing: Just because they serve a protective role in plants doesn’t mean they’re harmful to us.

Yet, oxalates often get villainized because they show up in some of our favorite foods. Think strawberries, chocolate, coffee, spinach, and tea. These aren’t fringe foods — they’re everywhere in the average American diet.

When people find out these foods are “high in oxalates,” the knee-jerk reaction is to cut them out completely. But again, we’re missing the bigger picture.

Oxalates are not inherently bad. They exist in nature. They exist in healthy, nutrient-dense foods. The issue isn’t that they’re present; it’s about how your body handles them.

And here’s where it gets interesting: Your body’s oxalate load doesn’t just come from food.

A major contributor that’s rarely discussed (especially by conventional doctors) is fungal overgrowth, including candida. This internal imbalance can actually generate oxalates inside your body, increasing your oxalate burden without you even touching a spinach leaf.

So, if you are struggling with oxalate-related symptoms or recurring kidney stones, wouldn’t it make more sense to also explore what might be going on under the surface — like microbial imbalances — instead of just slashing foods from your diet?

This possibility is often overlooked, especially in more ancestral-based communities like those following Weston A. Price principles. There's a tendency to zero in on food quality or preparation methods while ignoring deeper internal dynamics like gut imbalances or overgrowth.

And yet, your body does have built-in systems to help you manage oxalates.

Your gut microbiome is key. Certain strains of bacteria can actually break down oxalates before they become problematic.

For example, Oxalobacter formigenes uses oxalates as fuel.

Other beneficial strains (like Lactobacillus plantarum, L. acidophilus, L. rhamnosus, Bifidobacterium infantis, and B. animalis) also support oxalate breakdown.

That means you’re not helpless. Your microbiome plays a vital role in maintaining oxalate balance if it's supported and intact.

So instead of fearing oxalates or obsessively avoiding specific foods, the more empowering question might be: Is my gut in a place where it can handle oxalates the way it’s designed to?

 

Oxalates, Kidney Stones & Candida Overgrowth

If you’re nervous about oxalates (or diligently avoid a high oxalate diet) because of kidney stones, I want to clear up a common misconception…

Not all kidney stones are made from oxalates.

There are actually several types of kidney stones, including:

• Calcium oxalate stones (the most common)
• Uric acid stones
  
• Struvite stones (often caused by UTIs)
• Cystine stones

So even if you’ve had kidney stones, or know someone who has, it doesn’t automatically mean oxalates are to blame. That’s why it’s crucial to find out what type of stone you’re dealing with. Your approach to prevention and treatment depends on it.

When I looked for research linking oxalate-based kidney stones to skin conditions, surprisingly, I didn’t find much. There aren’t clear studies connecting oxalate stones to specific skin issues.

But I did come across two studies worth mentioning: both focused on uric acid stones, not oxalates. And that’s still relevant because uric acid has its own interesting connection to fungal organisms like Saccharomyces cerevisiae (brewer’s yeast).

The first study looked at psoriasis and kidney stones. Titled “The Relationship Between Psoriasis and Urolithiasis,” it found that people with psoriasis were more likely to develop kidney stones. Specifically, higher uric acid levels were associated with both the severity of the psoriasis and an increased risk of uric acid stones.

The second study examined rosacea and found a similar connection. Titled “Rosacea May Be Associated with Gout and Kidney Stones,” it showed that rosacea patients had higher uric acid levels and a greater likelihood of developing kidney stones. Though there wasn’t a direct link between uric acid levels and the severity of rosacea symptoms, the association is still noteworthy.

Again, both studies point toward uric acid, not oxalates (or a high oxalate diet).

But the connection between fungal organisms and both types of stones is hard to ignore.

So if you’re prone to kidney stones — and especially if you’re also dealing with skin issues — it’s essential to know what kind of stones you have. That information can shape the direction of your care and open doors to underlying imbalances that might otherwise go unnoticed.

 

Oxalates, Heavy Metals & Candida Overgrowth: What’s The Connection?

If you’ve discovered that your oxalate levels are high, maybe from an organic acid test or a functional medicine panel, the natural first question tends to be: What am I eating that’s causing this?

Sure, maybe you love chocolate or strawberries. Maybe spinach is a daily staple. And yes, those are high oxalate foods.

But the bigger question we should be asking is: Why is your body having a problem with oxalates at all?

In other words, food might be part of the story — but it’s not the whole story.

As I’ve already mentioned, certain fungal organisms (especially Aspergillus and Candida species) can contribute to the increased production of oxalates inside the body.

So if you’re only looking at your diet, you could be missing a major contributor: fungal overgrowth.

And here’s the kicker: Fungal issues don’t always show up in obvious ways.

It’s not always a case of chronic yeast infections or visible thrush. Sometimes, it’s something deeper and more subtle — lingering below the surface, yet still impacting your gut, skin, and detox pathways.

If you’ve done an organic acid panel and noticed elevated oxalic acid, there’s a good chance at least one fungal marker is also elevated. That pattern matters. It’s a clue…one that points to a deeper imbalance that needs attention.

This brings me back to the most important question: Why did this happen in the first place?

• Why are your oxalates high?
• Why are you forming kidney stones?
• Why does that organic acid test show elevated oxalic acid?

And…what if the oxalates themselves are an adaptive response to something else happening in your body?

Here’s where things get really interesting…

Oxalates are known to be chelators, meaning that they bind to heavy metals like cadmium, mercury, lead, copper, and zinc.

So when oxalates are elevated, it’s worth asking: Could your oxalate status be an attempt to protect you by binding heavy metals?

Now, I’m not saying that having high oxalates is inherently “good.”

But I am saying your body is wise. It doesn’t do things randomly.

If oxalates are showing up in excess, maybe they’re pointing to something deeper — like a hidden heavy metal burden that hasn’t yet been uncovered.

This is why symptom management alone will never give you the full picture. Avoiding spinach might give temporary relief, but it doesn’t answer the question of why your system is overwhelmed in the first place.

The beauty of digging deeper is that we stop chasing symptoms and start uncovering root causes. And sometimes, that makes all the difference.

 

Best Tests For Oxalates & Support For High Oxalates

If you know — or even suspect — that you have high oxalates, where do you start?

Should you get tested? And if so, what tests are actually useful?

What action steps can you take that are safe and practical?

First, if you haven’t already, consider running an organic acid panel. This is a urine-based test available from several functional labs. Make sure the panel you choose specifically includes the oxalic acid marker. (Download my lists of tests (including the best organic acid panel) that I recommend to clients.)

Ideally, you also want that test to include fungal and candida byproduct markers: These can offer insight into whether an underlying fungal issue may be contributing to your oxalate load. (Learn more about candida testing HERE.)

Another option? Ask your provider about doing a 24-hour urinary oxalate test. This involves collecting your urine over a full day to assess your actual oxalate excretion.

And while not directly about oxalates, don’t overlook the importance of checking your uric acid level through a simple blood test. As mentioned earlier, elevated uric acid (especially in the absence of gout symptoms) can hint at underlying fungal overgrowth, which may also impact your oxalate burden.

If oxalates are high, here are some steps that can help restore balance:

1. Hydrate: Most people don’t drink enough water. If that’s you, it’s time to be intentional. Aim for at least 80 to 100 ounces of water per day. And if you’re prone to kidney stones, adding a squeeze of lemon juice can help support kidney health.
2. Support with Vitamin B6 (P5P): B6 plays a key role in breaking down oxalates. It’s often found in multivitamins, but you can also take it separately. That said, more isn’t always better, as excess B6 can lead to toxicity. If you’re supplementing on your own, stick to a moderate dose of around 10–15 mg/day, and always check with your practitioner. (Learn more on Vitamin B6 HERE.)
3. Focus on Calcium-Rich Foods: Instead of calcium supplements (which may increase kidney stone risk in some people), try food-based sources like salmon, collard greens, sesame seeds, and other leafy greens that aren’t high in oxalates.
4. Consider Oral Immunoglobulins: These dairy-free supplements act like a gut cleanup crew, binding to toxins like LPS (lipopolysaccharides) and helping to calm inflammation. While they don’t bind to oxalates directly, they can be a valuable support if your gut is already under stress. (Learn more about immunoglobulins HERE.)
5. Use the Right Probiotics: Look for strains that support oxalate breakdown, specifically Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species. A broad-spectrum, well-formulated probiotic containing these strains can help your microbiome degrade oxalates more efficiently.
6. Try Chanca Piedra Tea: This traditional herb literally means “stone breaker.” It’s been used to support both kidney and gallstone health. One cup per day may offer gentle, supportive benefits.

And one final reminder: If you’ve dealt with kidney stones or found out you have high oxalates, don’t just stop at symptom management.

Get curious and ask:

• Is there a fungal or Candida overgrowth at play?
• Could there be a heavy metal burden that’s been flying under the radar?

I often find myself facing very complex cases in my virtual clinic…clients who’ve been failed by other practitioners. That’s why I know that you cannot just take testing at face value. Sometimes negative results don’t accurately explain your health puzzle, or there’s a piece of your health history or symptom picture that requires deeper thought and consideration.

This has helped me guide clients (who range from mild to severe cases) towards a more expansive diet because we really look deeply for what’s out of balance AND create plans to address them that often don’t include cutting out your favorite foods.

That’s why I want you to know that oxalates may not be your core issue, but rather a sign that something else is going on in your body.

So now I’d love to hear from you…

Have you dealt with high oxalates? Tried a low oxalate diet? Noticed a connection with your skin, gut, or fungal symptoms?