By Christina Major
You've heard how good kale is for you, but did you hear how dangerous it can be? It causes hypothyroid, weight gain and fatigue. It has nearly killed people!
Not buying it? Neither am I.
Recently, there has been lots of hype about how dangerous vegetables are for you. There was the grapefruit interactions, then garlic and anti-biotic resistance, and now kale and hypothyroid.
These things have 2 common themes:
- The foods are safe, except when they interact with drugs
- The foods are sage, except when taken in excessive amounts
So why malign it?
First, medications are the problem, not the foods. We have eaten kale for thousands of years without problems. It is only when you add in foreign chemicals, one is such high doses they force your body to do something it doesn't want to do, that problems occur. In my opinion, you should get rid of the drugs, not the healthy food.
Second, we were never meant to eat any food, day after day, in large amounts. Overdose in anything, even healthy food and water, is bad.
They are finding people eating kale every day, at least 1 serving per day, are developing hypothyroid disease.
And there is a good reason:
"Very high intakes of cruciferous vegetables... have been found to cause hypothyroidism (insufficient thyroid hormone) in animals. There has been one case report of an 88-year-old woman developing severe hypothyroidism and coma following consumption of an estimated 1.0 to 1.5 kg/day of raw bok choy for several months. Two mechanisms have been identified to explain this effect. The hydrolysis of some glucosinolates found in cruciferous vegetables (e.g., progoitrin) may yield a compound known as goitrin, which has been found to interfere with thyroid hormone synthesis. The hydrolysis of another class of glucosinolates, known as indole glucosinolates, results in the release of thiocyanate ions, which can compete with iodine for uptake by the thyroid gland. Increased exposure to thiocyanate ions from cruciferous vegetable consumption or, more commonly, from cigarette smoking, does not appear to increase the risk of hypothyroidism unless accompanied by iodine deficiency. One study in humans found that the consumption of 150 g/day (5 oz/day) of cooked Brussels sprouts for four weeks had no adverse effects on thyroid function".
~ from the Oregon State University Micronutrient Information site.
For those who aren't chemistry and physiology geeks, like me, here's what it says: eating more than half a pound of raw leafy greens per day, every day and not getting enough iodine leads to hypothyroid disease and other problems.
Here are 3 steps to keeping healthy, and still getting in all your leafy greens:
- Vary your greens every day. There are over 20 types of leafy greens and another 40-50 other greens to change up, so don't overdose on any particular one
- Keep it to one serving per day. There are over 10,000 other vegetables out there in all colors, so don't focus on any particular one
- Cook your greens. The goitrogenic properties of greens become negligible when cooked, meaning they are safe to eat
Don't make kale your magic bullet. It's part of a healthy diet. No matter what you hear, you need a varied diet rich in all types of fruits and vegetables to be healthy. Focusing on a small group of foods only leads to problems.
Christina Major is the Naturopathic Doctor and Holistic
Nutritionist of Crystal Holistic Health Consulting. Crystal Holistic
Health helps people, especially women, who have Type II Diabetes, High
Cholesterol and High Blood Pressure lower their numbers, get off
medication and increase their energy so they can save money, take back
control of their lives and improve the health and happiness of their
families. You can get a free report on health at http://www.crystalholistichealth.com/!
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