You might be eating all the “right” healthy foods—spinach, almonds, sweet potatoes, beets, dark chocolate—yet still feel achy, bloated, or inflamed. The hidden culprit might be something called oxalates . What Are Oxalates? Oxalates (or oxalic acid) are natural compounds found in many plant foods. In small amounts, they’re harmless and even part of normal metabolism. But when oxalates combine with minerals—especially calcium—they can form tiny crystals . For most people, thes