Oxalic Acid in Spinach

Oxalic Acid in Spinach

I often receive questions about oxalic acid in spinach. Here is an excerpt from the book Green Smoothie Revolution, page 34.

QUESTION: Should I avoid eating spinach because it has oxalic acid?

VICTORIA: The oxalic acid in food is considered harmful because it can combine with calcium and may leach the body of this important mineral. For some reason everyone knows of the oxalic acid in spinach, but is not aware of the oxalic acid content in many other commonly eaten foods such as grains, beans, and especially coffee and tea. While spinach is loaded with calcium which minimizes the loss of this mineral from your body, coffee has none. I would be more concerned about the oxalic acid content in coffee and other products than in spinach. At the same time, even though the oxalic acid content in spinach is minute, if you do not rotate your greens and use only spinach for many weeks, you may accumulate oxalic acid and experience symptoms of poisoning. Remember, rotate your greens!

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Joy for Life Retreat: Another Diabetic off Insulin

I would like to share with you a unique true story that stirs thoughts on the value of fruit in our diet.

Robert has been working on our websites for more than four years. During this time he developed type 2 diabetes and was placed on insulin. Of course he has read tons of information about green smoothies since he has been creating multiple pages devoted to this topic. Robert was open to drinking green smoothies whenever he visited our office, however he was afraid to drink a lot of them because of their fruit content. At home Robert was trying to make smoothies with minimal amount of fruit, on other occasions often he would blend himself savory green smoothies.

Robert was able to make arrangements at his main job so that he could participate at our recent Joy for Life Retreat. He arrived Stewart Mineral Springs completely equipped with his blood sugar monitor and plenty of insulin on hand.

On October 11th all of us who participated in this program began consuming green smoothies every 3-4 hours. Robert noticed that after drinking a green smoothie his blood sugar rise, then it would come back down to normal within an hour after consuming the smoothie with fruit.

Here is Robert’ morning blood sugar levels during the retreat:

  • First day - 190
  • Second day - 150
  • Third day - 129
  • Fourth day - 78
  • Fifth day - 70 in the morning and stable for the remainder of the retreat


Before sending this news letter I called Robert and asked what his blood sugar was. Robert was happy to report that his blood sugar has been staying within a normal frame and was 120 at the moment. Robert has not been taking insulin since October 11th, the first day of the retreat.. My web designer is so inspired about his health improvement that he continues to improve his diet. He stopped eating meat, caffeine and processed foods. He has also reduced the amount of oils and other fats in his diet. Robert is now drinking green smoothies twice a day.

He finds it remarkable that he is consuming sweet fruits like grapes, mangos, and bananas and that it doesn’t affect his diabetes.

Robert checks his blood sugar frequently and while the reading are sometimes slightly higher than normal his blood sugar is significantly lower than before the retreat.


Joy for Life Retreat: Another Diabetic off Insulin
Click here to watch a short video interview video with Robert.

We are currently looking for a nice place to conduct our next Joy for Life retreat in Southern California, possibly in Santa Monica, in January of 2010.
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With Green Love, Victoria



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