What if the foods you have been told are the healthiest choices for your child are actually some of the most problematic ones? This week I sat down with Sally K. Norton, Ivy League trained nutritionist, public health researcher, and bestselling author of Toxic Superfoods: How Oxalate Overload is Making You Sick and How to Get Better. Sally earned her nutrition degree from Cornell University and a master's in public health, spent years in medical education and research, and then spent decades trying to figure out why eating as healthily as she possibly could was destroying her own health. The answer was oxalates. And what she shares in this conversation is going to completely reframe how you think about feeding your child. We talked about why spinach gives your baby zero calcium and actually causes them to lose calcium from other foods. Why sweet potatoes, almonds, kiwi, beets, and quinoa are among the most problematic foods for children. Why almond milk is one of the worst things you can give a kid. Why fiber is not the answer to constipation. And what parents of picky eaters should actually feel relieved to hear about vegetables. This is one of those episodes that makes you rethink everything. Take notes. What You'll Learn in This Episode What oxalates actually are and why parents need to know about themWhy spinach has been known since the 1930s to cause severe calcium and iron deficiency in infants and why nobody is talking about itThe foods parents commonly think are healthy that may actually be causing chronic symptoms in childrenWhy almond milk, cashew milk, and oat milk are among the worst things you can give a childWhat the best first foods for babies actually are according to ancestral nutrition scienceWhy dairy is one of the most important foods for growing children and how to find the best qualityThe truth about fiber and why a high fiber diet can actually make constipation worseWhat oxalates have to do with ear infections, mood, focus, anxiety, and autistic behaviors in childrenWhy cholesterol is not the enemy and what low cholesterol actually signals in the bodyWhy your picky eater not wanting vegetables might not be as big a problem as you thinkWhat Sally would feed her own child starting from birthThe Picky Eating Connection This episode hits differently when you look at it through the lens of picky eating. And I want to make sure every mom listening understands why. We spend so much time worrying that our picky eaters are not getting enough vegetables. We panic about the fruits they refuse. We feel like failures if they will not touch a salad or eat their spinach. But here is what Sally shared that I want you to really sit with. Your child's body may actually know something. The foods that are highest in oxalates, spinach, sweet potatoes, almonds, beets, kiwi, quinoa, Swiss chard, are also the foods that many children instinctively resist. And while picky eating has many root causes, the fact that a child's nervous system and gut are being affected by these compounds means that some of that resistance may be protective. Sally was clear: what children actually need are minerals and protein. And those do not come reliably from plants. They come from eggs, meat, liver, dairy, sardines, and bone broth. The foods that many picky eaters will actually eat when they are prepared well and offered without pressure. So if your child refuses spinach and sweet potatoes and reaches for eggs and cheese instead, that is worth looking at differently. Not as failure. As information. Episode Timestamps 00:00 - Introduction to Sally K. Norton and Toxic Superfoods 00:55 - What are oxalates and why should parents know about them 01:50 - How oxalates grab and kidnap minerals in the body 02:41 - Kidney stones and what doctors should be telling patients 03:03 - What we knew about spinach and infant nutrition in the 1930s and chose to ignore 04:47 - The dairy conversation: why it became regulated and what happened to quality 05:42 - Why dairy is one of the easiest ways to get enough nutrients into your child 09:03 - Why almond milk and oat milk are terrible choices for children 10:17 - How spinach creates calcium deficiency even when it appears high in calcium 11:47 - Oxalates, calcium ions, and heart palpitations 12:54 - Foods parents think are healthy that may be causing problems 15:21 - Ear infections, strep, and the immune system connection to oxalates 17:06 - What are the best first foods for babies 18:10 - Plants, heavy metals, and why animal foods have fewer contaminants 20:33 - How plants literally defend themselves with calcium oxalate crystal shards 23:47 - Seasonality and why eating high oxalate foods year round is a modern problem 28:31 - Vegetables for babies: what is actually okay and what to avoid 29:21 - What mothers torture themselves about and what kids actually need 31:02 - Animal foods as the true human staple 33:00 - Plant based diets, the cult of veganism, and why young women are repeating old mistakes 37:57 - The truth about cholesterol: what the numbers actually mean 42:03 - Hiccups, belching, constipation, mood, and autistic behaviors as oxalate symptoms 43:07 - The fiber myth and why 30 plants a week may be making things worse 45:28 - Why low fiber often resolves constipation faster than high fiber 47:06 - How the gut heals and why you do not need perfect digestion to start getting well Key Takeaways 1. Spinach is not a superfood for children. We have known since the 1930s that spinach given to infants causes severe calcium and iron deficiency. The calcium in spinach is not bioavailable. It not only fails to deliver calcium but actually causes the body to lose calcium from other foods in the diet. 2. The foods we have been told are healthiest are often highest in oxalates. Kiwi, beets, sweet potatoes, quinoa, Swiss chard, spinach, almonds, cashews, peanuts, and chocolate are among the highest oxalate foods. These are also the foods most heavily marketed as superfoods and healthy choices for children. 3. Almond milk is one of the worst things you can give a child. Its watery consistency makes oxalic acid highly bioavailable, meaning it gets into the bloodstream quickly and efficiently. Even added calcium does not fully offset this. If you cannot use dairy, almond milk is not the answer. 4. What children actually need are minerals and protein. These come reliably from animal foods: eggs, meat, liver, sardines, dairy, and bone broth. The idea that vegetables are the backbone of children's nutrition is not supported by the science. 5. Fiber does not fix constipation. It often makes it worse. Too much fiber can cause an overgrowth of bacteria in the colon, creating more work for the immune system and more digestive distress. Many of Sally's clients with constipation improve significantly on a low fiber diet. 6. Your picky eater avoiding vegetables may not be the crisis you think it is. If your child is reaching for eggs, meat, and dairy and refusing spinach and sweet potatoes, their instincts may be worth listening to. Focus on quality animal foods and stop torturing yourself about the vegetables. Resources Mentioned Sally K. Norton’s book, “Toxic Superfoods: How Oxalate Overload Is Making You Sick and How to Get Better” is available everywhere books are sold. The Data Companion to Toxic Superfoods is available at https://sallyknorton.com/toxic_superfoods/data_companion. Sally’s cookbook, Sally’s Recipe Collection, is filled with amazing recipes and can be found at Shop.SallyKNorton.com. For more information, visit SallyKNorton.com or follow Sally on YouTube and social media. She’s @sknorton and @toxicsuperfoods_oxalate_book on Instagram, @BeFreeToThrive on Facebook, and @BetterLowOx on X. Links: Website: https://sallyknorton.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sknorton Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toxicsuperfoods_oxalate_book Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeFreetoThrive X: https://twitter.com/BetterLowOx YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFpmJtV19QCyjzaC5U691-A Toxic Superfoods: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0593139585?tag=randohouseinc7986-20 Data Companion: https://sallyknorton.com/toxic_superfoods/data_companion Sally’s Recipe Collection: https://shop.sallyknorton.com/products/low-oxalate-recipe-book-pdf-only Grab your SIGNALS shake at 10% off with code Lena10 Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making significant dietary changes.
