Killer Kale

[Jesus Malverde]

Did you know that kale, superfood of the gods and your juicer, can kill you? Like literally, kill you? And not just in the “If I have to drink one more green juice, I will shoot myself in the face” kind of way?

We’ve known it was time for a kale backlash for awhile, even before anyone read Jennifer Berman’s piece in The New York Times, about how her doctor diagnosed her with hypothyroidism and told her not to eat 2013′s trendiest roughage. Somehow this landed Ms. Berman in some sort of Sleeper-like reality, where she discovered everything that was good for her (vegetables, non-fluoride toothpastes, brushing after meals, soy, flax,) was actually bad, and vice versa. (“You’d be better off with chocolate and cola,” her doctor jeered when she told him about juicing carrots and celery.)

Sure, this wave of anti-Kaleism (which somehow also include kale advocates?) could be dismissed as anti-trend proselytizing, which can be just as annoyingly preachy as the first wave of food fad devotees. But consider this post from Shape, which admittedly had a pretty skeptical take on the whole killer kale phenomenon:

“ Very high intakes of cruciferous vegetables…have been found to cause hypothyroidism (insufficient thyroid hormone) in animals (68). 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.

http://observer.com/2014/01/killer-kale/

[flamingdem]

1. I read that cooking the kale reduces

the glucosinolates. It's the raw stuff that'll do you in, and your stomach if it's not iron.

[djean111]

2. Yes, grossly overeating stuff can cause problems, for sure.

But skipping sugar and artificial sweeteners and HFCS and excessive empty carbs is still a good thing.
Kinda sad when it seems half of any supermarket sales circular is just processed crap in a can or box.

[elleng]

3. Not a scientist, and haven't read all this,

but seems reasonable to me that too much of ANYTHING can be bad for us/animals/plants/etc. "Very high intakes of cruciferous vegetables…have been found to cause" who knows what.

I've been hypothyroid for years, and don't indulge in very high intakes of anything.

JMHO

[Retrograde]

4. 1 - 1.5 kg a day of raw bok choy?

That's more than 2-3 pounds a day, which is a lot of vegetable - did she eat anything else?

All things in moderation.

[SidDithers]

5. As with almost everything, the dose makes the poison...nt

Sid

[flamingdem]

6. Hmm, kidney stones, candida, goiter ... eyeing the kale I bought yesterday

Many plants contain anti-nutrients that can inhibit thyroid function. The brassicaceae family of vegetables contains glucosinolates that can inhibit iodine uptake, resulting in hypothyroidism and promoting goiter formation.[1]

Members of the brassicaceae family include:

Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, radishes, turnips, kohlrabi, rutabaga, collard greens, kale, Brussels sprouts, bok choy and watercress.

Many “health” oriented people think they are doing the best thing by putting raw kale into their smoothies. It’s actually not very smart: not only for thyroid health, but for kidney health, too. Kale, as well as spinach, contains high amounts of oxalates that can promote kidney stones and other painful deposits in the body, especially in people suffering with underlying fungal infections and candida overgrowth.[2]

http://www.andreabeaman.com/health/the-raw-truth-about-thyroid-health/#.UthG5_bZc5I

[dipsydoodle]

7. Same with brazil nuts.

They're good for you but too many could harm you.

The answer is to eat sensibly.

[get the red out]

8. Everything is bad

The only way to be nutritionally pure is to not eat.

I'm sure this is clearing the way for the next big eating trend everyone MUST follow in order be considered a healthy eater. We'd better keep up, the difference between a healthy eater and an absolute disgrace who should be shunned is following last week's food guide this week.

[silverweb]

9. Sensationalized bullshit.

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]

Very high intakes of cruciferous vegetables…have been found to cause hypothyroidism (insufficient thyroid hormone) in animals (68). 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.

Well fucking duh!



Some people have just never heard of balance and moderation in anything, have they?

[font color="navy" face="Arial"]"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
-Albert Einstein