Henry was 43 years old when he signed up for Quantify, after struggling for years with debilitating knee pain that had developed seemingly out of nowhere.
His primary care doctor had ordered a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan to investigate what was going on, but when his results came back normal, indicating surgery likely wasn’t warranted, he referred Henry to a physical therapist, in case his pain was caused by a structural imbalance that wasn’t identified on imaging.
An avid gym-goer, Henry was committed to doing whatever he had to do to resolve his knee pain and get his life back, so he took to physical therapy with the same intensity that he had applied to his weightlifting, ultimately dedicating hours per week to doing the various strength and mobility exercises his physical therapist had recommended.
Not one to give up easily, Henry religiously followed his physical therapy protocol for years, rarely missing a day, and while he experienced a slight decrease in pain, he also increasingly felt that something was missing, and that his physical therapist was effectively trying to guess about the specific exercises that were best for him, rather than making decisions based on data.
Unwilling to accept that physical therapy was his only option, Henry decided to pursue a more cause-focused approach.
In his first appointment at Quantify, Henry’s health coach recommended an organic acids test, to test for intestinal overgrowth of bacteria and fungi, and evaluate oxidative stress, vitamin and mineral levels, accumulation of oxalate, and exposure to toxic chemicals.
Test results
His first time conducting a comprehensive evaluation of his health, Henry’s organic acids test showed significantly elevated oxalic acid, indicating oxalate toxicity, or the condition of having too much oxalate in the body, which commonly causes joint pain, fatigue, brain fog, and other chronic symptoms.
Not just a lucky guess, his health coach had suspected oxalate toxicity after learning that Henry’s diet mostly consisted of high-oxalate foods, such as kale, spinach, beets, sweet potatoes, quinoa, almonds, and cacao.
An organic acid present to varying degrees in plants, oxalate crystals can accumulate in the body if high-oxalate foods are consumed to excess, resulting in the gradual accumulation and, ultimately, toxicity of one of the most harmful plant toxins.
Recovery
Henry was shocked to learn that the so-called “superfoods” he had so diligently consumed over the years were actually causing his knee pain.
He thought these foods were healthy—and to some extent, they are—but not if you eat them to excess, which is what Henry was doing, with the assumption that more is better.
Thrilled to finally get answers, Henry started following his health plan closely, checking in with his health coach regularly to help him stay on track.
He eliminated processed foods, sugar, grains, and high-oxalate foods from his diet, increased consumption of low-oxalate foods, such as beef, chicken, fish, and eggs, started drinking at least 64 ounces of water per day, and took certain supplements, such as magnesium citrate, potassium citrate, and calcium citrate.
Within a month, not only did his knee pain start to improve, but he also reported better energy and focus at work, an encouraging indication that his metabolic health and cognitive function were also improving.
Within six months, his knee pain had completely resolved, he was back to “crushing it” in the gym, and a follow-up organic acids test showed no abnormalities, further validating the work he had done to detoxify the plant toxin that had unknowingly compromised his health.