star fruit
Fruit
Trigger checker for star fruit
See star fruit rated across every trigger — FODMAP, histamine, salicylate, oxalate, tyramine and more — plus diet compatibility, all in one quick ingredient profile.
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Compare star fruit across criteria
Sensitivities
What star fruit contains
FODMAPs
Histamine & Amines
Plant compounds
Irritants
Additives
Allergens
Diet fit
Where star fruit fits
Therapeutic diets
Lifestyle diets
Religious diets
What to know about star fruit
Star fruit, or carambola, is the rare case where a food page has to start with kidney function rather than food chemistry. Two things about it are well documented. It is very high in oxalate, and large amounts of the fruit or of freshly pressed star fruit juice, particularly taken on an empty stomach or while dehydrated, have caused acute oxalate kidney injury in people whose kidney function was normal beforehand. Separately, it contains caramboxin, a neurotoxin that healthy kidneys clear but that builds up when kidney function is impaired. In chronic kidney disease, quantities as small as a single fruit or a glass of juice have produced intractable hiccups, vomiting, confusion, seizures and deaths, which is why nephrology guidance is that people with CKD and people on dialysis avoid star fruit completely rather than limit it. If your kidneys are healthy, the practical question is oxalate and portion size. On the rest of the trigger panel star fruit sits borderline rather than high: moderate for salicylates, and borderline for histamine, tyramine, sulfites, nickel and free glutamate.
Watch for
- Very high in oxalate.The cases of acute oxalate nephropathy in the literature involve a large quantity at once, usually juice, and often a fasted or dehydrated state, so a few slices with a meal is a different exposure from a tall glass of fresh carambola juice
- Contains caramboxin, which healthy kidneys clear and damaged kidneys do not.With chronic kidney disease or on dialysis, star fruit and star fruit juice are avoid-entirely foods, not moderate-the-portion foods
- Persistent hiccups after eating star fruit are the classic first sign of that toxicity, usually followed by vomiting and confusion.This is a reason to get medical advice, not to wait and see
- Juice concentrates the problem.Both the oxalate load and the caramboxin dose per mouthful are far higher in pressed juice than in the sliced fruit, and juice is what most of the reported cases involved
- Borderline rather than clean on the wider panel, including salicylates at a moderate grade plus histamine, tyramine, sulfites, nickel and glutamates.If you already stack several sensitivities, it is not a neutral fruit to fall back on
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FAQ
What does the FODMAP rating mean for star fruit?
Medium FODMAP: portion size matters more than the ingredient itself.
Is star fruit generally well tolerated?
Oxalates (Avoid) and Salicylates (Moderate) Start with those if you react.
What should I check next?
Compare within the Fruit group.