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Low oxalate options to almond flour and different forms of nut meal for keto or grain-free baking and cooking wants.
My grain-free blueberry pecan cobbler meals characteristic within the weekly e-newsletter elicited quite a few questions for a low oxalate different to the nut flour portion of the recipe.
Why Do Some Individuals Keep away from Excessive Oxalate Meals?
Extra individuals than ever are following a low oxalate food plan resulting from points with oxalate crystal build-up in bodily tissues.
Power issues with kidney stones are an indicator symptom.
About 10% of the inhabitants is genetically predisposed to wreck from a food plan excessive in oxalates.
As well as, these with extreme fungus (candida) within the intestine are in danger from excessive oxalate meals as effectively.
It is because sure helpful strains of intestine flora, particularly species from the genus Oxalobacter, break down oxalates for us!
These anti-oxalate microbial strains are decimated by antibiotics and probably dozens of different prescription drugs.
When these strains are lacking in an imbalanced intestine, oxalates in meals have the potential to trigger signs.
Keto Diets and Extreme Oxalates
So as to add insult to harm, many people who find themselves delicate to oxalates are additionally consuming grain-free with low to no starch in an try to drop some weight and/or heal the intestine.
For instance, the GAPS food plan, Candida food plan, and Particular Carbohydrate Weight-reduction plan all disallow grains and starch as a part of the therapeutic protocol.
Many keto dieters discover this out the exhausting manner.
They reduce out the grain-based and starch carbs and substitute with greater oxalate meals like almond flour solely to undergo a kidney stone assault or extra critical signs like vulvodynia inside a couple of months.
With almond flour maybe the preferred grain-free possibility for cooking and baking, I believed I’d share a couple of phrases on what one of the best options is perhaps if you’re oxalate delicate and want to scale back publicity.
Low Oxalate Nut Flour?
Sadly, the time period “low oxalate nuts” is a little bit of an oxymoron.
Whereas there are nuts which can be decrease in oxalates than others, there actually aren’t any really “low oxalate nuts” that I’ve come throughout.
For instance, pecans, walnuts, and macadamia nuts are maybe the bottom in oxalates coming in at 10 mg, 8 mg, and 12 mg per ounce, respectively.
To be thought of “low oxalate”, a meals actually must be lower than 10 mg per serving.
Thus, even nuts that include the least quantity of oxalates are proper on the borderline of being too excessive.
Starch Flours
In the case of avoiding excessive oxalate nut flours, notably almond which is highest in oxalates, potato starch or flour is one of the best different.
Nonetheless, keep away from cassava (tapioca) flour and arrowroot, that are each on the upper finish for oxalates.
Since potato flour may be very starchy, it could not be an appropriate selection for these on a low-carb food plan for weight reduction functions or a gut-healing food plan like GAPS.
Nonetheless, for individuals who are in a position to tolerate a starch-based different to almond flour, potato flour is one of the best low-oxalate possibility to contemplate.
Fruit Flours
One other good different to nut flour like almond is coconut, thought of a fruit flour as a result of it comes from a drupe.
Nonetheless, be careful for others like inexperienced banana flour and plantain, that are considerably greater in oxalate.
The draw back of coconut flour is that it can’t be substituted 1:1 in recipes calling for almond flour.
Solely small quantities of coconut flour are appropriate in a recipe.
Thus, one other flour will sometimes must be blended with coconut flour to attain the best texture. An alternative choice is to make use of one of many flours beneath by itself when subbing out the almond flour.
My favourite choices to make use of for this objective are mentioned subsequent.
Seed Flours
By far, my greatest advice for low-oxalate options to almond flour is seed flour.
Particularly, sunflower seed flour is my private favourite adopted by pumpkin seed meal.
Keep away from flaxseed meal or flour, nonetheless, which is unfortunately a very fashionable low-oxalate dietary selection.
It is because flax may be very estrogenic, second solely to soy. Common consumption of flax can set off precancerous breasts amongst different hormonal points if eaten regularly.
I personally by no means embrace something flax on the menu. Our world is so polluted with pseudo-estrogens as it’s.
Even in case you stay very clear and eat high-quality meals, you’re seemingly getting uncovered to their results. Therefore, for my part, there may be solely a draw back to including flax to your food plan.
Sunflower seed flour is great as a result of you may substitute it 1:1 for almond flour in your recipes.
Remember that you’ll want to make it your self as industrial variations are seemingly stale and/or rancid.
The excellent news is that it’s fairly easy to make.
I like to recommend shopping for sprouted sunflower seeds (that is the model I take advantage of) and milling into recent flour in a espresso grinder.
Alternatively, you may soak hulled sunflower seeds in a single day, drain and dry them in a heat oven (or dehydrator), after which mill into flour. This technique is a little more time-consuming, however cheaper.
Baking Suggestions
Grain mills don’t work that effectively for milling seed flours because of the oiliness. Thus, it’s a good suggestion to put money into a cheap espresso grinder for this activity.
In case you are cooking for a big family, make giant batches after which freeze for fast use later!
Frozen seed flour can be utilized in recipes straight proper out of the freezer with no thawing time crucial.
Conclusion
Whereas greater oxalate meals will not be unhealthy and have been routinely included in conventional diets from world wide, in our fashionable period, some individuals must keep away from them at the very least quickly.
This is because of a necessity for rebalancing the intestine to a extra numerous and favorable microbial steadiness.
Throughout this time, grains are greatest prevented together with excessive oxalate almond and different nut flours.
Essentially the most sensible 1:1 substitution in recipes that can also be grain and starch free is sunflower seed flour adopted by pumpkin seed meal (a bit more durable to mill into high-quality flour).
Potato starch or flour can also be an possibility for these in a position to tolerate starch and never in any other case on a intestine therapeutic protocol.
As well as, coconut flour is an possibility, however solely small quantities work effectively in baking resulting from textural points.
For an optimum digestive and dietary expertise, I like to recommend milling sunflower or pumpkin seed flour from sprouted or soaked seeds.
References
(1) Low Oxalate Nuts and Seeds
(2) Finest Substitutes for Almond Flour
(3) Oxalates on a Gluten-free Weight-reduction plan
