Meet Monique Attinger

Let me tell you a story. Along the way, I’m hoping you’ll learn why I might just be the right person for you to work with.

I understand oxalate and its impacts very well. Why? I’ve lived with it.

We discovered oxalate when our trusted ND diagnosed my youngest daughter with an oxalate problem. Our daughter had rashes that looked more like chemical burns; we were motivated to solve this health riddle! However, my husband and I were not happy about another diet. (I must have been on dozens of them before I ever heard the word “oxalate”). 

I decided that if my daughter had to be on a special diet that I’d go on it with her. That decision changed my life. All of a sudden, I could tell that I was feeling better! I’d been dealing with a host of what seemed like unrelated problems: insomnia; low thyroid; digestive issues; constant constipation; low immunity; pain; swelling in my feet and ankles; extremely low energy; and mood issues including irritability and anxiousness. I didn’t just feel unwell. In fact, I remember saying to my mother that I didn’t know how I could have so little energy and be alive. 

But then, as my diet changed, I started to feel better. I didn’t need all the digestive enzymes. My sleep was improving. My thyroid started working better. I wasn't sick all the time. My energy increased! All these apparently separate health issues started to improve all at the same time. 

That’s when I realized that oxalate could be my issue, and that even my trusted ND (who had diagnosed my daughter) hadn’t realized I might be dealing with it too.  

Our son had wrestled with allergies and food intolerances from when he was a baby, which we never seemed to quite figure out. I’d become the classic “food detective”, examining what we’d eaten in his last meal whenever he didn’t sleep well or had his asthma flare. However, after years of doing our best to figure out what was happening, my husband and I were exhausted and out of ideas. No one seemed to know what was going on for him. Then I discovered there was a link between asthma (which he had) and oxalate; what if this was also his issue and no one had realized? 

Long story short – the whole family was moved to a lower oxalate diet, and all of us started to have health improvements. 

Could this help you? I’m not a doctor; I can’t diagnose. What I can say is that if you have any condition that is chronic or inflammatory, this way of eating may be a great support to any other therapies you are currently using. Reducing oxalate means you reduce a significant inflammatory substance in the body – and well, that can’t hurt!