Advisory Committee Chair
Susan Miller
Advisory Committee Members
Betty Darnell
Ross Holmes
Robert Oster
Document Type
Thesis
Date of Award
2015
Degree Name by School
Master of Science (MS) School of Health Professions
Abstract
Urolithiasis, or kidney stone disease, is a costly and painful health problem affecting about 8.8% of Americans with prevalence on the rise. Calcium oxalate stones account for about 80% of all stones. Increased urinary excretion of calcium and oxalate is a risk factor and central feature of such stones; dietary oxalate contributes up to 50% of urinary oxalate. The purpose of our research is to determine if physical manipulation such as chewing or blending prior to ingestion may render some oxalate more accessible for absorption in spinach, a high-oxalate food. In this crossover, controlled trial we enrolled six healthy, non-stone forming individuals who consumed three different oxalate loads and provided timed urine collections for 24 hours following. The oxalate loads provided 500mg of oxalate and were given via smoothie. One load was a smoothie with blended spinach, one contained spinach cut into 1 cm sq, and one contained soluble sodium oxalate. The results showed that for the six hours following each load, there were significant differences in the amount of oxalate excreted. The load with sodium oxalate had significantly higher oxalate excreted when relative to creatinine than the 1 cm sq spinach (P=0.009) and was trending toward significance when compared to the blended spinach (P=0.052). There were no significant differences between the blended spinach and 1 cm sq spinach or among the three groups for the entire 24-hr period.
Recommended Citation
Robertson, Mary Catherine, "Bioavailability of Dietary Oxalate" (2015). All ETDs from UAB. 2845.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/2845