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"Learn to read symptoms not only as problems to be overcome but as messages to be heeded."
Why Dub Sutherland got sicker eating "healthy" staples like spinach and almonds, and the hidden metabolic toxin responsible.
How oxalate crystals trigger the NLRP3 inflammasome, choke off mitochondrial energy, and physically attach to breast cancer cells.
The "Calcium Fire-Wall" strategy, the green tea swap, and how to recruit specific gut microbes to degrade toxins.
Hello everyone!
I have been spending a lot of time recently revisiting interviews I had done from 2025. I recently remembered my interview with Brandi and Dub Sutherland.
If you were with us back then, you might remember Dub sharing his incredible story of fighting cancer and how he had to completely rethink his healthy lifestyle.
Dub was doing everything right, or so he thought. He was loading up on the superfoods we are all told to eat: spinach, almonds, sweet potatoes.
But instead of getting better, he was struggling with debilitating pain and inflammation. It wasn't until he adopted a low-oxalate lifestyle that the fog began to lift.
We need to move past the idea that oxalates are just a kidney stone problem. The research suggests they may be a major metabolic disruptor, especially for those of us navigating a cancer diagnosis.
Why Oxalates Matter in Cancer
Oxalates are microscopic crystals found in plants, but in the human body, they act as a metabolic toxin and a danger signal to our immune system.
1. The Breast Cancer Connection
For years, we’ve known that microcalcifications in breast tissue can be an early sign of cancer. However, not all calcifications are the same. They exist primarily as either calcium phosphate (Type II) or calcium oxalate (Type I).
Research has shown that oxalate crystals can physically attach to breast cancer cells. In a fascinating study using murine models, researchers injected oxalate directly into the mammary fat pads of mice.
The result? It generated highly malignant, undifferentiated tumors. Crucially, when they injected the same oxalate into the skin on the backs of the mice, no tumors formed. This suggests that breast tissue specifically has a unique vulnerability to oxalate toxicity.
2. Inflammation and the NLRP3 Inflammasome
We talk a lot about inflammation, but let's get specific. Oxalate crystals are known activators of the NLRP3 inflammasome.
This is a multiprotein complex inside your immune cells that, when triggered, releases a flood of pro-inflammatory cytokines like IL-1B.
Chronic activation of this pathway creates the kind of inflammatory storm that can suppress our immune system's ability to fight cancer cells effectively.
3. The Energy Crisis
Your cells run on mitochondria. Oxalates have been shown to inhibit specific enzymes in the mitochondrial electron transport chain (Complex I and IV), effectively choking off the cell's energy supply and increasing oxidative stress.
Reset Your Energy and Feel Lighter With a January Liver Reset
January is the perfect time to reset, rebalance, and support your body after the indulgence of the holidays. If you’re doing Dry January or simply craving a fresh start, focusing on liver health can make a powerful difference—and it’s one of the most overlooked wellness rituals.
That’s why I’ve made Pique’s Liver Detox Protocol part of my January reset. Inspired by over 3,000 years of Traditional Chinese Medicine, this gentle daily ritual supports your body’s natural detoxification processes without harsh cleanses or deprivation.
The protocol includes two simple moments a day: Electric Turmeric in the morning and La Ginger in the evening. In the morning, Electric Turmeric feels warming, grounding, and nourishing—like a calm reset before the day begins. At night, La Ginger is bold and soothing, supporting digestion and overnight renewal.
Within weeks, I noticed steadier energy, less bloating, clearer skin, and an overall lighter feeling. It didn’t feel like a detox—it felt like alignment. Two small rituals, big results.
Actionable Tools for Your Life
You don’t have to be perfect, but you can be protected. Here are four tools to help you manage this:
1. The Calcium Fire-Wall
This is the most critical tool in your kit. Oxalate acts like a magnet for calcium. If they meet in your blood or kidneys, they form sharp stones or tissue deposits.
But if they meet in your gut, they bind together and you simply poop them out harmlessly.
Protocol: If you eat a medium-oxalate food, take a Calcium Citrate supplement with it. We prefer Calcium Citrate over Calcium Carbonate because citrate itself helps inhibit crystallization in the urine.
2. Recruit Your Microbes
A healthy gut is your first defense. There is a specific bacteria called Oxalobacter formigenes that eats oxalate for breakfast, literally. Unfortunately, antibiotics often wipe it out.
Protocol: Since O. formigenes probiotics are hard to find and fragile, focus on Lactobacillus plantarum. This strain has been shown to degrade oxalates and survive stomach acid well. You can find it naturally in fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi. Just a forkful a day can help degrade oxalates before they enter your bloodstream.
3. Audit Your "Health" Foods
Go to your pantry right now. Look for Almond Flour and Spinach.
The Hard Truth: A green smoothie with raw spinach and almond milk can have nearly 1000mg of oxalate. That is a massive toxic load for your kidneys to filter.
The Swap: Use pumpkin seed protein instead of almond. Use arugula or watercress instead of spinach.
4. The Green Tea vs. Black Tea Debate
I know many of you drink tea for the antioxidants. But black tea is high in dissolved oxalates. Matcha is even riskier because you are consuming the entire powdered leaf, which can deliver over 12mg of oxalate per serving.
The Swap: Stick to herbal teas or traditional green tea infusions, which generally test lower than black tea or matcha.
This isn’t about fear, it’s about empowerment. Dub Sutherland took control of his biology by questioning the status quo, and we can do the same.
Listen to your body. If healthy food is making you hurt, it’s time to look at the data.
Let's keep learning together.
With heart,
Carli
Founder of The Cancer Crew
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