Low Oxalate Diet (LOD)

The Low Oxalate Diet (LOD) is a diet that helps control the levels of oxalates in your body.  Oxalates link up with calcium and crystallize under some conditions, including when it encounters damaged tissues.  The crystals formed this way can be quite irritating and painful to tissues where they cause or increase inflammation.  These crystals can be especially painful if they lodge themselves in places where they get in the way of the movement of other things through tight places (ref lowoxalate.info).  The LOD eliminates foods high in oxalates which are found in plant based foods like fruits, vegetables and almost all nuts.  It has been reported that some children with Autism have higher levels of oxalates in their bodies and have benefitted from following the diet.  Some benefits were improved language skills, social interaction, and improved cognition.

Related Sites

http://www.lowoxalate.info/   This website provides information on what oxalates are and how to incorporate a low oxalate diet into your everyday life.
http://alwayswellwithin.com/2010/04/27/high-oxalate-foods-can-trigger-pain-and-inflammation/  by Susan Costen Owens, MAIS, RA.  A compilation of advice for using the low oxalate diet for autism.
http://www.greatplainslaboratory.com/home/span/oxalates.asp   This website offers information on how controlling oxalate levels in children with autism can improve health. Additionally, a list of food to eat is given.

Books

The Low Oxalate Cookbook: Book 2  by Joanne Yount and Annie Gottlieb.
Description:  The complete low oxalate diet, greatly expanded, in an easy-to-use format – over 250 new recipes – repeating favorite tips and guidelines from the first Cookbook – plus over 400 newly tested foods, numeric oxalate values table, recipes for cooking lighter and cooking for one or two and low oxalate recipes from popular restaurants and inns.

Tools

http://www.lowoxalate.info/recipes.html   A special section of this website takes you right to the recipes and food lists needed to follow the LOD.
http://www.thevpfoundation.org/lowoxalatefoods.htm  A one page list of LOD approved foods is provided to aid the reader.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/low-oxalate-diet/id385472271?mt=8  This itunes app provides a comprehensive listing of oxalate containing foods under categories of "Enjoy", "Limit", and "Avoid" with a search feature and a comprehensive listing of oxalate values in various food categories.

Parent Forums

(Some forums require you to sign in to Yahoo or Facebook to locate forum names.)
Forum Name:  Trying Low Oxalates
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Trying_Low_Oxalates/info   A parent discussion group where you can ask questions and search for answers regarding the LOD.