The shift to a low-oxalate diet improved my sleep, eliminating the key problem that had brought my career to a standstill. I knew absolutely nothing about this possibility!
Author of Toxic Superfoods,
How Oxalate Overload is Making You Sick
, Sally Norton
There is a compound in foods that can wreak havoc on your body in non-obvious ways. One way is by negatively impacting your sleep. This compound is called Oxalic acid and can be found in “healthy” foods like sweet potatoes, spinach, plantains, and more. This article is for those who find it hard to sleep or are unable to fall back asleep when waking up in the middle of the night. Oxalates might be your uknown root cause.
We recommend the resources from Sally Norton if you’d like to dive deeper into oxalates.
Lived experience
We’ve found that whenever we eat green plantain or sweet potatoes (more than 1 serving) our sleep suffers. We typically wake up in the middle of the night at around 2pm and feel wide awake afterwards. Those sensitive to oxalates may also pee more during the day or at night.
Someone else we know reports that they have more nightmares whenever they eat green plantain.
High oxalate food list
Recommendation
Cut out or dramatically decrease the amount of high oxalate foods you consume. If you’re trying to eat in a low inflammatory way, check out our Clear Skin Nutrition guide.
