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Mar 31·edited Mar 31Liked by Jennifer Depew, R.D.

Please write about the high oxalate levels in pomegranate juice. Upon reading how beneficial pomegranate is I bought juice and my husband started drinking it. Not a lot but a small juice glass full a day. I didn’t even think to check the oxalate levels. He ended up with an oxalate stone that also resulted in a bladder infection, a trip to the ER and a round of antibiotics.

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Mar 31·edited Mar 31Author

That doesn't seem like it was just the pomegranate juice. I am oxalate sensitive and I don't react to pomegranate juice, but I also don't drink much juice, about 2 ounces diluted. I really haven't noticed oxalate from the tea made with rind either though. Google search shows that pomegranate is considered high oxalate with 121 mg per 100 grams. However research with animals has found pomegranate juice to protect against oxalate damage.

"Crystal depositions were evident on day 7, and mild and severe crystallization were observed on day 15 and 45 in EG group, respectively. There was limited or no crystal formation in rats in both middle- and high-dose PJ groups when compared to low-dose PJ group. Crystal depositions, iNOS, p38-MAPK and p65-NF-kB activity, and oxidative stress markers were found to be decreased by middle- and high-dose PJ treatment. PJ was found to have inhibitory effects on renal tubular cell injury and oxidative stress caused by oxalate crystals by reducing ROS, iNOS, p38-MAPK, and NF-kB expression."

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08860220902963871

Prickly pear cactus fruit are very in oxalate and I did use too much of that in some experiments with it. 152 mg in the fruit and 250 from the leaf. I only had problems when I used the peel like I was using pomegranate peel. https://ohf.org/fruit-oxalate/ Whoa, rhubarb, raw 1060 mg/100 gr. This reference says pomegranate seeds/juice have 78 mg/100 gr which would put it in the moderately high group instead of the High group. Rhubarb and prickly pear leaf (Nopal) would be in the Very High group. Star fruit is also Very High and cooking Rhubarb brings it down a little but is still quite high compared to the other fruits.

Having adequate calcium is important to help the body not make the sharp crystals instead of breaking it down but Vonu makes the excellent point that that won't work without vitamin K2. Supplements of vit K2 are ridiculously low. I get a higher dose supplement form Life Extension. Also being overly acidic is a controllable risk factor. Taking Mucinex daily was part of my risk as it is changed into uric acid before excretion. My high dose niacin was also adding to that. Gut microbiome can also be part of sensitivity as some species add to the oxalate load.

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Mar 31Liked by Jennifer Depew, R.D.

Calcium oxalate is a calcium salt of oxalic acid and calcium builds up in the body when someone has a deficiency of vitamin K2, which is explained in Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox: How a Little-Known Vitamin Could Save Your Life by Kate Rheaume-Bleue.

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I have come to believe that arteriosclerosis is predominately caused by a deficiency of vitamin K2, as explained in Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox: How a Little-Known Vitamin Could Save Your Life by Kate Rheaume-Bleue.

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How about pomegranate juice with an already BP?

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