Of course, oxalic acid is a chemical substance. At high concentrations, it is a dangerous poison, but such immediately toxic levels are not found in foodstuffs but rather in manufactures, such as some bleaches, some anti-rust products, and some metal cleaners (among other things). It is also a naturally occurring component of plants, and is found in relatively high levels in dark-green leafy foods (relatively high, though, is just that).
The potential problems with oxalates in the human body are two. First, they mean that the metal in them–say calcium–has been made unavailable to the body; if a large amount of oxalic acid is ingested, the oxalates formed mean that the body is being to some degree deprived of certain essential nutrients. For normal, healthy persons, that risk is nearly trivial provided that great amounts of the product are not consumed on a continuing, long-term basis. The second effect is not chemical but mechanical: the crystals of oxalate, very small but very sharp, can be large enough to irritate the body. The chiefest and most famous example of this is kidney stones–probably 80% of kidney stones derive from calcium oxalate.
Some have argued that by readily combining with calcium, oxalic acid in the diet reduces one’s effective intake of dietary calcium. That is true, but the size of the effect is, for anyone getting decent nourishment, not meaningful.
Nor need one be afraid to boost one’s calcium intake. The belief that high calcium intake aggravates the formation of kidney or bladder stones has now been pretty well discarded, with studies showing that even intakes well above 2 g/day do not participate in stone formation in persons who do not otherwise have a stone problem
However, if you really afraid that absorbing oxalic acid may cause excess salt in the body, you can remove it from food before eating to avoid, just do like following:
Mash your foods that contain oxalic acid before cooking them. This will releasethe chemical, which will then be cooked out of your food. Then cooking your greens helps to break down and release the substance in them. The longer you cook them, the more oxalic acid will be released. Add calcium carbonate to your greens while cooking. Cooking itself does release much of the substance, but adding calcium carbonate while cooking removes even more. The calcium carbonate combines to it and removes it from the food. Very little calcium carbonate is needed to make it effective. One tsp. per pot of water is plenty for these purposes. You can buy calcium carbonate powder from most health stores or even online health food retailers.
Uriah Sweety is the freelance writer for e-commerce website in the chemistry. Guidechem.com is just a place for you to look for some chemicals! Our guidechem provide the most convenient conditions for the international buyers and let these leads benefit all the business people.
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