Another week, another column typed frantically while the baby naps! Atticus is nearly three months old and time is flying. He’s smiling, chatting, grabbing on to things and is a curious little observer. He’s mesmerised by the hair dryer which comes in very handy. He’ll happily sit in his bouncy chair and watch me while I blow dry and faff about with clips and rollers. It’s as if he knows that because he’s the cause of my sleep deprivation, he should also let me try and hide it. However, he does all this with a deep frown on his little face as if he is wondering what on earth I am doing? Like most men, he finds the whole attempt at beautification a bit mystifying.

His patience in this area is not matched when it comes to my laptop. He’ll give me just enough time to open it and write “Dear..” at the top of an e-mail, before wanting to be picked up. So, nap time is always a race to the finish line. Sometimes I sleep when the baby sleeps though, those are my favourite days!

But as much as I wish I was napping, I do love writing this too. I wrote my first column in Bermuda in January 2005, so gosh, it’s been more than 20 years now. To those who have been with me since the beginning, or recently joined – thank you! And thank you for the questions that come in as they are so often helpful for ideas and a good prompt for topping up my knowledge. Recently, I got a great one after my recipe for Crash-free cookies last week, which use almond flour as a base.

Question

“I have read a lot about how almond flour and almonds themselves are quite toxic for you. As they are full of oxalates is using them bad for your gut health?”

My answer

I don’t want to be annoyingly vague and say “all things in moderation”, but that’s kinda where we are going! If you Google this you will find pages and pages of info, with varying degrees of science thrown in. Let me try and summarise for you!

It’s certainly well established that almonds are high in oxalates – organic acids which can bind to minerals and lead to kidney stones in some individuals. About 80 per cent of kidney stones are oxalate-based. Other foods that contain oxalates include leafy greens, cocoa, soy, other nuts, seeds and some fruit and veg (including berries and dried fruit.) It’s a pretty healthy list so it’s annoying if you are directed to reduce your intake.

However, although those with oxalate stones would be advised to avoid high oxalate foods, it doesn’t mean that people without stones need to avoid them. On the contrary, these foods are packed full of valuable nutrients and fibre so are definitely worth including! As for being “toxic”, the answer is no. But – importantly - what works for you might not work for me, and vice versa. There are so many individual variances when it comes to nutrition – not just in terms of genetics, but in terms of your current health status too.

An example of this, which also helps answer the second part of your question, relates to gut health. Oxalates aren’t the cause of poor gut health, but those with poor gut health – specifically those with intestinal dysbiosis (an imbalance or deficiency in good gut flora) – may respond poorly to oxalates and be more likely to develop kidney stones. So, if you suffer from IBS-type symptoms, are consistently bloated or have any type of inflammatory bowel disorder, you may be better off reducing your exposure to high oxalate foods.

Another nuance to consider when it comes to gut health, which may be confusing the issue, is that almonds do contain enzyme inhibitors in their skins (as do most nuts/seeds, except bizarrely, Brazil nuts!) Now these CAN cause digestive irritation, so may be the reason why some sensitive people feel better from a digestive perspective when they don’t have many nuts or seeds. If you think this may be relevant to you – and it's certainly relevant to the cookie recipe from last week that includes almond flour - then choosing a blanched almond flour would help, as the enzyme inhibitors are mainly in the skins (and blanching almonds removes the skins.)

If your gut health is solid and if you don’t have oxalate stones or a genetic susceptibility to forming them, then the upshot is that there is no need to avoid oxalates. However, as I teach in my classes, rotation is always good! I use almond flour often in baking because its great for keeping gluten-free recipes moist and it adds protein and fibre. But personally – because my digestion is sensitive – I don’t really snack on almonds, I choose lower oxalate nuts instead (eg pistachios, walnuts, pecans). And although almond milk is relatively low in oxalates, I usually avoid nut milks altogether and just use water in smoothies and organic soy milk whenever I make oatmeal. I also think it’s a good idea to rotate your greens too – spinach is high, but kale is low, so rotate them!

While there’s more to say about oxalates, I think the above answers your specific question. Remember, this is advice is for someone without kidney stones and is preventive in nature, not diagnostic or therapeutic. And if any of you readers have burning questions out there, do send them in! Let’s do some Q&A for a few weeks! Catherine@natural.bm or reach me on social media.

• The advice given in this article is not intended to replace medical advice, but to complement it. Always consult your GP if you have any health concerns. Catherine Somorjay Burns BA Hons, Dip ION, BNTA is a fully qualified Nutritional Therapist trained by the Institute for Optimum Nutrition in the UK Join Catherine on Facebook: www.facebook.com/nutrifitandnaturalnutritionbermuda or instagram @naturalbda.