I stopped by one of my favorite healthfood stores today to pick up a large cup of fresh, organic veggie juice for an early lunch on the go. As usual, I asked for the a carrot, celery, beet, spinach and cucumber blend - hold the spinach.
While this request is usually met with a simple nod by the juice bar attendant, this time the guy looks up and says, “Why no spinach? We have a lot of Raw Foodies that come in here and love the spinach in their juice.”
Ah! Great question! I could feel a blog coming on ….
Raw Foodies, I love you, I REALLY REALLY DO (but, PLEASE eat some meat! You’re looking a wee bit pale).
Not everything should be eaten raw, especially vegetables!
Some vegetables must be cooked else you are actually harming yourself. Below is a rundown of what veggies should not be eaten raw either in whole or juiced form.
Cruciferous Vegetables
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but cruciferous vegetables should be cooked before eating as they contain chemicals that BLOCK the production of thyroid hormone in your body! Considering that 2 out of every 3 Westerners are either overweight or obese and this is projected to jump to 75% by 2020, this is of particular importance as folks struggling with weight usually suffer from borderline to full blown hypothyroidism.Hypothyroidism is a condition where the thyroid gland does not make enough thyroid hormone, so someone suffering from this condition surely does not want to be eating foods that will block what little thyroid hormone is being produced in the first place!
Symptoms of hypothyroidism include cold hands and feet, thinning hair, fatigue, reduced or nonexistent libido, coarse dry hair, constipation, difficulty losing weight, and depression among many others.
Cooking crucifers reduces the goitrogenic substances by about 2/3. Fermentation does not reduce goitrogens in these veggies, but since fermented crucifers such as sauerkraut are typically eaten as a condiment and, hence, in small amounts, consumption is fine if the diet is rich in iodine.
Here is the list of common cruciferous vegetables that you do not want to be eating raw if you want to protect your thyroid gland!
Arugula, broccoli, kale, cauliflower, cabbage, turnip, collard greens, bok choy, brussels sprouts, radish, rutabaga, and watercress.
Notice that many of these vegetables are commonly included in fresh veggie juice blends or in salads. While an occasional arugula salad or cup of coleslaw is not going to do harm to most folks, it would be wise not to make a habit of eating/drinking any of these vegetables in raw form.
Veggie Greens
Some veggie greens contain a chemical called oxalic acid. Oxalic acid is a very irritating substance to the mouth and intestinal tract. It also blocks iron and calcium absorption and may contribute to the formation of kidney stones.
The good news is that oxalic acid is reduced by a light steaming or cooking – just be sure to discard the cooking water.
Veggies containing oxalic acid include spinach, chard, parsley, chives, purslane and beet greens.
Hmmmm. Spinach is known for being high in iron, yet eating it raw will not necessarily give you the iron you want because of the oxalic acid?
Yep, that’s right. Cook that spinach first if you are seeking an iron boost without the indigestion and don’t get hooked on the raw spinach salads!
Don’t stress about munching the parsley garnish on your next gourmet dinner, though. A little bit here and there is not going to cause a problem. Eat a big spinach salad everyday and it is virtually certain you will eventually succumb to kidney stones, according to Dr. William Shaw, Director of The Great Plains Laboratory for Health, Nutrition and Metabolism.
Other Raw Veggie Cautions
Other vegetables that are best to avoid eating raw include:
Raw potatoes contain hemagglutinins that disrupt red blood cell function.
Raw sweet potatoes will give you gas.
Raw, edible mushrooms such as the common white mushroom contain toxic substances such as agaritine, a suspected carcinogen. These substances are heat sensitive and are neutralized by cooking.
Alfalfa sprouts are mildly toxic and inhibit the immune system. Eating them on a frequent basis can even contribute to inflammatory arthritis and lupus!
Dr. Weston A. Price’s Take On Vegetables
A good rule of thumb when considering the best way to consume your veggies is to remember the letter that Dr. Weston A. Price wrote to his nieces and nephews in 1934. In this letter, he strongly urged them to eat their vegetables cooked in butter. His research found that the bulkiness (fiber) of raw vegetables interfered with the human body’s ability to extract minerals from them via the digestive process.
So, should you drink your veggies raw? Of course. Fresh juice from veggies that are safe to consume raw is a wonderful way to get a fast infusion of easy to digest, colloidal minerals. It is also highly alkalizing to the body and a proven way to gently detox the gut.
The great thing about veggie juice is that the fiber is removed, which is the “bulkiness” that Dr. Price found interfered with the mineral absorption.
However, if you are going to eat the fibrous portion of the vegetable, it is best to cook them in butter as advised by Dr. Price to enhance the availability of the minerals. The fat in the butter permits greater absorption of the minerals, and besides, buttered veggies taste fantastic!
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist.com
Sources: Nourishing Traditions
The Role of Oxalates in Chronic Disease, William Shaw PhD (Director of The Great Plains Laboratory for Health, Nutrition and Metabolism)
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This blog is shared at Real Food Wednesday and Fight Back Friday!
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{ 180 comments… read them below or add one }
As for cooking the veggies in butter, would that mean a light saute?
Add some seasoning?
Thanks
Interesting info. I need to send this to my chiropractor-and is becoming a quack-o-practor. He is constantly shoving info. down your throat and lots about eating raw.
Thanks for the great info Sarah! I have Hashimoto's and have often wondered if the excessive raw spinach was too much for me. Now I know : )
Nicole
Great article Sarah! I have been juicing celery, beets and a small bit of parsley first thing in the morning and I save the fiber to cook in butter in my veggie omelette an hour later, that way nothing gets wasted!!!
Hi Harold, a little seasoning like sea salt is great. I really like Herbamare which is a blend of sea salt and some flavorful herbs. A light saute is fine or even a more thorough cooking if you prefer.
I really enjoy sauteing veggies in raw butter from healthy, pastured, cream producing cows. I usually flavor the butter with scallions before I add the main veggies. If I am low on butter, I use virgin coconut oil. I always saute on sub medium heat.
I believe it was a prior blog from this site, that I discovered sauteing with butter. Never looked back.
this was very helpful info! Thank you so much. I find it facinating how we keep learning new things about food.
What a great topic. I see people choking down raw broccoli (yuck!) all the time, thinking they're being "good" on their diet.
On a side note, I always thought I hated vegetables until I starting slathering them with butter. Everything is better with butter.
Ha-ha! My sister and I have a joke in our kitchen; “If it didn’t have butter, it could have been much better!” We also say “What two things make everything better? Lemon and butter, of course!”
I used to eat raw broccoli all the time, and in fact, I used to eat broccoli every day of my life practically – this was really only about a year ago…thinking I was doing myself a favor. But since then I've wised up and started cooking most of my vegetables. I haven't started lacto-fermenting yet, but I hope to start doing this soon. I still eat salads, but I always eat them with home-made olive oil and vinegar dressing or some other healthy oil like home-made buttermilk ranch or coconut oil. It is pretty amazing, though, how many people eat most of their vegetables raw. I guess the ones I see abusing this practice the most are those who are vegan and vegetarian. It makes me wonder how anyone who eats like this can still be functioning! Great post, Sarah!
Well, you want to know how I’m still functioning?…
I can’t eat high protein foods, so the hormone-filled cows are out.
I don’t get colds in the winter
I don’t take pharmaceutical drugs
I have clear skin
I don’t eat sugar, processed foods, or fat
I have lots of energy and don’t get tired in the afternoon
My mind is completely clear and focused
I know that I don’t have to worry about cancer, because of my vegan diet
I don’t have to worry about any disease
Just to remind you, the people that eat like this, don’t ever have to worry about being sick, tired, depressed, get diabetes, or cancers, ect. ect. and it’s all because they took the time to research about natural raw organic food. Foods that are actually used to push toxins out of the body. So, before you knock being a vegan, vegetarian or raw foodist, and take the time to actually research about it. http://www.foodmatters.tv
I would suggest you do the same – and quoting this documentary doesn’t help. This is the documentary which features a raw food proponent, in which one of his ‘clients’ lost 15 pounds in bowel movements in one day – you call this healthy?? Or safe????
And actually, you’re putting yourself at risk for disease because you’re denying your body of a lot of nutrients; in other words, you’re making yourself weaker. But, suit yourself – unfortunately, you won’t realize this until it’s too late.
Is it any wonder veganism/vegetarianism was not founded on science, but ideology?
A baby just died recently because the vegan mother’s breastmilk was so incredibly nutrient deficient. This would never happen if the mother was eating meat.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist\’s last post: Genetically Modified Cows Produce “Human” Milk
Woa there. I’m vegan – was through my pregnancy and over two years of nursing, too. I bike commuted 12 miles per day through my second trimester. My baby was 8 lbs 4oz, 21.5″ long at birth and gained a half pound in her first 5 days of life off my copious, rich breastmilk. She was consistently in the 90th percentile in weight and 75th percentile in height through her first year. Once she started being mobile and eating our diet, she thinned out to be in about the 20th percentile which her doctor said is to be expected because that is what percentile her parents are in. She is exceptionally healthy, only having been sick enough to visit the doctor between well-child exams twice. We are conscious eaters and my husband, particularly, is well-informed about nutrition through his own curiosity, research and experience (though not professionally). He would probably very much agree with most of this particular post with the exception of cooking in butter – we prefer vigrin coconut or olive oil.
Any sickly looking vegans you see out there are probably the ones who don’t eat enough vegies and eat too many processed foods.
So please be careful with the broad labeling about vegans. Also, to the other readers, note that there are only a few vegatables being called out here not to consume raw, so don’t generalize that no veggies should be eaten raw.
The baby you are referring to died of pneumonia and on autopsy was found to be nutrient deficient. The parents were told by a doctor she needed to be in hospital but instead they decided to treat her themselves with mud packs, natural remedies and such. This seemed to me to be a problem with the parents being idiots not vegans. Being nutrient poor is possible on any diet why dont you list all the stories of babies and people that die on meat based diets.
“Whoa there” as well, Sarah. Another vegan mother here who raised a sparklingly healthy, robust, happy child on vegan breastmilk. He’s now 17, and he’s needed medical care for illness only twice in his life. His IQ is over the top, and he’s known about town as a warm, kind, and blazingly outspoken individual. Never had an ear infection, ever. If you find my photo I think you’ll agree I’m not a bit pale, and I’m healthy as a horse. The mother you describe was undoubtedly not eating a balanced diet. It’s simply not accurate to state that nutrients are missing from a balanced vegan diet. That’s what the word “balanced” means.
We now have excellent alternative choices to “hormone filled cows”, and websites abound in educating consumers about where to get healthy pastured organic wild grass fed (you fill in the word..) meats, eggs, raw dairy, wild fish, and whatever else. I would not knock anyone being a vegan or vegetarian, but I do know that almost nobody in this country could possibly raise locally their own vegan food they would need on a year round basis for healthy living. (keep in mind we are talking about millions of people, here) I don’t know of anyone raising their own sesame seeds, dates, avocados, sunflower seeds, or much in the way or beans and rice and quinoa. So most of it is trucked, shipped or airlifted at great fuel expense, and great financial expense in many ways as well. Buying grapes for 18$/# is not the lifestyle of the “common man”. The “raw foods movement” archives are FULL of stories of people getting malnourished, tired, sick, unable to recover from injury, and thus jumping ship after the phase wears out for them, or they mature, or both,. I also would not say “a vegan diet” prevents /heals cancer- I would say A GOOD DIET, based on balanced whole foods – has the potential, but not the guarantee, to do so.
WOW! It’s comments like this that give Vegetarians / Vegans a bad name! As a Vegetarian (Lacto-Ovo – I eat eggs and dairy) for the past 23 years I must say this is by far the most absurd, ludicrous assertion I have EVER HEARD! Vegan Raw Foodists can “Never get sick or get cancer?” Wow! Just, wow!
BTW: My Grandfather lived to the the ripe old age of 87 on a strict diet of Grandma’s high-salt, red meat traditional European food, homemade (fermented) pickles, two packs of filterless Camels and a shot of VO Whiskey every day! He was fully alive and kicking (and yelling
until the doctor punctured a hole in his colon and didn’t realize it until he bled out into a coma and could not be revived. You know what the nurses said to me when I got to the hospital? She said “We don’t understand what happened – he was so full of life and energy! We couldn’t keep him in his room – he kept coming out and harrassing us for Marmalade and apricot jam! He was so funny – he really kept us on our feet! And then, he came out of surgery and just went downhill – we just cannot understand.”
Anyway, yes FACTORY FARMING / Industrial Agriculture is BAD! But this absurd notion of removing all “Livestock” from the food-chain to grow more grains and veggies is just ABSURD! Afterall, you cannot grow good crops without good sh-t! (manure)
Pasture-raised animals are more beneficial to Planet Earth than any other life-form other than Sea-Life. They eat NATIVE WILD grasses that we humans CANNOT consume, and fertilize the land along the way! They also produce the necessary Methane and other Greenhouse gasses that keep our atmosphere viable for Organic Life of all sorts. Ban industrial farming and allow only pasture-raised hormone and antibiotic-free animals to be raised and the Earth will be back in balance in no time at all. Yes, food prices overall will rise, but so will human health in response – humans would consume less toxic, cheap “Franken-foods” and Greenhouse gasses would fall back to their natural NECESSARY levels (too many crowded animals = too much Greenhouse gas emissions for the atmosphere to absorb). Cows and chickens are not the problem – HUMANS ARE THE PROBLEM! If we truly “Get back to nature” then the human rate of population growth would by necessity level-out to meet what the Earth can naturally provide to sustain us!
I may be a Vegetarian, but I’ll Defend to the Death your Right to eat Meat!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *gasp* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Veganism prevents cancer. THat’s hilarious!
Yes, a vegan diet can prevent cancer! Pick up a copy of The China Study or watch Forks over Knives on Netflix.
Hah, The China Study! This is sadly a bad case of misguided research, highlighting selective information and twisted statistics, as is common is “scientific” circles, written by a complete fanatic. I had to study this book as it was a core text for a course I was doing, which ultimately I gave up as this book provoked so many questions about the truthfulness of Dr Campbell’s research/conclusions, and indeed his personal integrity. I couldn’t take the course seriously after I realised how flawed the studies in this book are!
Having said that though, my experience is that a more or less vegan diet is good as a cleanse – something that you’d do for a month or so to flush yourself out. I don’t believe humans were designed to be vegans, and I believe that we have special reciprocal relationships with our food animals (or should do) from a long way back; the problem that is happening now is a massive abuse of that relationship. And we could say the same for our food plants – is a plant any less alive and deserving of respect than an animal?!!!
I love food, and I love to be strong and healthy, and I have tried eating in different ways throughout my life, but the thing that has always made sense to me and which has underlaid all my experiments is Whole Food: as nature intended! Yeah!
Rachel,
Have you had any dental issues lately? It seems your diet is highly deficient of vitamins A and D (in their natural form), and of course vitamin K.
yay! way to stick up for the vegans Rachel!
yeah that makes sense…let’s all take nutritious healing vegetables and slather them in hormone filled artery clogging ANIMAL FAT. this wacko reasoning might explain the obesity in America. People don’t want to hear that what they are eating is bad for themselves and the environment. They want to be told to eat more butter.
You guys are pathetic.
Hi Sarah,
Thank you for another great article!
I have had hypothyroidism for the last 25+ years. I have to say that my doctors have not given me any information about eating so as to protect the thyroid. They just put me on synthetic hormone for decades (never feeling any better)until Dr. Mercola weaned me from it to the natural medicine Armour Thyroid.
I can't stress enough how important protecting the thyroid gland and its function is! It affected me in many of the ways listed above, but it also affected my fertility (could only manage one full term miracle, who is now 17). I currently tend to suffer from severe PMS and fibroids, tire feeling and extreme difficulty losing excess weight.
I have however made great progress by switching my diet from the traditional low-fat to the no-grain-no-sugar but healthy fats in the last couple of months. My PMS and fibroids have lessened considerably and my low energy level is slowly getting better to allow my to exercise three times a week.
All this to just underscore the important role the thyroid gland plays in health.
One question: how do you cook radishes? I've always served them raw in salads.
Gloria
I eat a raw spinach salad nearly every day with no problems. My iron level last time it was checked recently was 13. I have no indigestion and if I don't eat it for a couple of days, my digestive system doesn't work as well. Spinach has been the thing that finally turned my digestive problems around. I eat enough meat, but not a lot(and we do not eat beef in our house).
On prescription does not fit all.
Hi Linda, eating a big spinach salad everyday and it is virtually certain you will eventually succumb to kidney stones from the oxalates, according to Dr. William Shaw, Director of The Great Plains Laboratory for Health, Nutrition and Metabolism.
Out of 6 brothers and sisters and parents, one sister, one brother and my father all have kidney stones. They rarely if at all, eat spinach. My daughter out of my three children also has kidney stones. She will eat raw spinach perhaps several times a month and also cooked. Her last stones were tested and they were made of calcium oxalate. She does not eat any of the other vegetables listed raw for the most part. Heredity plays a big part. I eat the raw spinach, and other vegetables and have no problems with kidney stones and I am 62.
Spinach is high in calcium oxalate, but so is chocolate, tea and nuts so consuming too much of any of those (healthy) foods has the potential to cause kidney stones. Many people eat these foods every day without every having a kidney stone. Drinking enough water daily will prevent them from forming as will lemons or water with lemon. And some people are just more prone to them and will get them no matter what they eat or drink.
The minimum iron count should be 30 . Not 13 . You get to get the right info about it.
What about fermented sauerkraut? Does that harm the thyroid?
I cook most veggies and fruits that aren't fermented because it's easier to digest them.
I knew that oxalic acid was in certain veggies but I didn't think cooking those veggies would neutralize oxalic acid. Can I get your source for that because I have given up all veggies that contain oxalic acid because I didn't think there was any way to neutralize the oxalic acid.
Thanks!
Tina
Unfortunately she is misinformed. Cooking high oxalate vegetables does NOT significantly reduce their oxalates.
Best to avoid them entirely and stick to low oxalate veggies.
Hmm, are you SURE about that? The key is to dump the water after – that contains the Oxalates.
Tannins can be removed by repeated rinsing (that’s how you can eat acorns), so steaming veggies and dumping the water should work as well.
It also washes out the vitamins and enzymes. This is very poor advice
Great information. I already knew cruciferous veggies and spinach should be avoided raw, but didn't know that the list included radishes, chives, and parsley. A couple questions for you: would dried veggies such as dried parsley and chives also prevent a problem? I usually dry large batches of parsley (in the dehydrator at 150 degrees) for use in my homemade ranch dressing, and the dressing is so tasty that we eat a lot of it. Additionally, I recently started making kale chips and found that it is very easy to do in the dehydrator as well. Is 150 degrees sufficient to neutralize the oxalic acid and goitrogens?
What can I substitute for RAW KALE/SPINACH in my morning green smoothie???
– kat
I am going to have to chew on that one.
The two I don't cook all the time are kale and spinach… no more green smoothies then ??
…
Me and my husband do green smoothies and quite often we use spinach. Would blending it on high speed (Blendtec) neutralize this oxalic acid? If not then should I steam it lightly before blending? How long should it be steamed for? Can I steam a batch of spinach for a week let’s say or should it be freshly steamed every day? Any other solutions when it comes to green smoothies? What a bummer!
I love the stream of fascinating questions that your interesting posts generate — can't wait for some more of the answers!
Here's another one, Sarah: should kohlrabi, mustard greens, chard and daikon be added to the cruciferous list?
And speaking of veg issues, I just roasted jerusalem artichokes in butter and lard, and while they were delicious, they caused a bombastic gaseous upset. A google search taught me that this is caused by a substance called inulin, and that this can be helped by not harvesting them until a frost kills the top part of the plants. Another reason to get to know your farmers so you can discuss such pressing concerns!
: )
~Beth
Green smoothies with cucumber, celery, zucchini, would be fine. Skip the kale and the spinach!
Alina, oxalic acid is not neutralized by blending .. it must be heated.
Beth, yes the veggies you list are a problem as well. I didn't do a complete list, just the ones most folks seem to eat raw a lot of times.
Hi Gloria, radishes are usually served on salad raw, that is true. A few here and there is not a big deal. Just roast them in olive oil/butter and they are quite nice.
Hi Tina, Nourishing Traditions is the source I used with regard to neutralizing the oxalic acid by cooking. I've also read this a number of other sources as well. Google it and see what you come up with if you don't have a copy of NT.
Fermented sauerkraut still is goitrogenic and as such should be consumed as traditional societies did – as a condiment in small amounts. If you eat lots of grassfed BUTTER like I do, then you get plenty of iodine for your thyroid so a bit of sauerkraut is fine.
Wait! Aren't you the one that wrote 50% of our diet should be raw? What's left to eat raw, just fruit?
Hi Sarah
Your posts are so timely! We have been trying out my daughter's juicer with veggies and fruit and we thought no fiber was a bad thing!Tina can probably get Nourishing Traditions at the library( that's where I got mine before I bought it)My husband has hypothyroidism so this info is very helpful, thank you
Jean
Are you not a raw dairy fan? 50% is just a rule of thumb that I use myself that works very well for me. Including raw cheese, raw kefir/yogurt, raw milk, raw cream, raw butter and in some cases raw meat and eggs (I do eat most of my meat cooked but see my steak tartare post for a raw meat recipe), it is super easy to get 50% with little to no raw veggies except raw veggie juices and some fruit (I do not eat much fruit generally speaking). I do enjoy salads though made with veggies that are safe to eat raw .. with a raw dressing of course!
Oops, can't forget to add the raw nuts and seeds .. soaked and dried first thought to eliminate antinutrients and to maximize absorption as traditional societies practiced!
Okay, what happened to your blog? The past couple of days i have been looking for links and your search bar doesn't work. There used to be links on the right bottom side of this page. Where can i find them now? I was trying to find a post if you had one on foods that contained vitamin B6. Maybe i missed something. I really enjoy your site. Thanks
Hi Ashley,
I took off the stuff that was really cluttering up the site. I have a new search box instead which works GREAT .. check it out.
Blown my mind. Again.
I just recently got into sprouting and I was so proud of myself. But great, I have been eating something mildly toxic and immune suppressing! Ack!
What are good things to sprout? I have tried alfafa, fenugreek, green lentils and clover.
Sarah,
Balance is always the key for me. In my research, I found that spinach also has some great health benefits only when raw, so I do both when I have spinach on hand. Since I don't have a thyroid problem, I don't worry about it.
However, I also have a great way to include spinach, kale, etc in my green smoothies: Leafy cubes! Check it out: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/05/07/recipe-connection-green-smoothies-with-kale/
Terrific post again, Sarah. Most traditional peoples cooked vegetables, except when they fermented them, and ate fruits, dairy and nuts raw. Maybe they knew something?
Paul, the idea of using scallions with the butter sounds delicious, and I am going to try it. Thanks for sharing.
Most raw foodists are aware of the various toxins in raw veggies but don't believe it will cause issues unless someone is eating the same veggies each day for a long time period.
Victoria Boutenko states that many greens contain some sort of toxin and reccomends not making green smoothies with the same leafy greens each day. Instead mix up the greens that go into the smoothie: one day chard, then lettuce, another day celery, next day kale and so on.
http://greensmoothiesblog.com/guidelines-green-smoothies/
World's Healthiest foods says that goitrogenic foods "do not interfere with thyroid function in HEALTHY persons- even when they are consumed on a daily basis".
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=19
Aren't goiters cause by lack of iodine?
it’s an iodine deficiency, that’s one of the ways you can get goiters.
Considering that most hypothyroid folks would consider themselves "healthy" and don't even know they have thyroid problems until it starts causing major issues, I don't consider your argument to have much validity whatsoever. Eating goitrogenic foods other than small amounts occasionally as condiments like traditional societies that didn't even have thyroid issues at all is playing with fire. Once your thyroid goes, it is hard to fix it. Ignoring this traditional wisdom with modern day research propaganda is plain FOOLISH.
Hi Sarah, I am new to the Traditional food world. But I am reading all I can about it. I Just read Real Food by Nina Planck and have just order Nourishing Traditions (cant wait for it to arrive). I have enjoyed reading your blog and watching your videos.
I have hypothyroidism, I am only 23 and have had it almost 3 years. My doctors have me on sy-thyroid pills – but I grew up eating healthy and still believe that i can fix it by what I eat. I do not want to be dependent on a pill the rest of my life to have energy to get up and around. Do you have any suggestions on how to fix this problem. Is there like something (or combination of things) that I could eat religiously for some time to get it back in shape? I read about how you healed your child’s cavity and it just backs up in my thoughts that food will make or break you. I will not go into details, but I grew up on fairly traditional foods, but lots touch with them in my teen years.
any help or idea would be greatly appreciated!
A couple questions for you: would dried veggies such as dried parsley and chives also prevent a problem? I usually dry large batches of parsley (in the dehydrator at 150 degrees) for use in my homemade ranch dressing, and the dressing is so tasty that we eat a lot of it. Additionally, I recently started making kale chips and found that it is very easy to do in the dehydrator as well. Is 150 degrees sufficient to neutralize the oxalic acid and goitrogens?
What about wilted spinach salad with homemade bacon dressing? How long would you think it takes to neutralize the oxalic acid? I could always cook it a little bit more.
Erin, wilting the spinach should be sufficient to neutralize the oxalic acid from what I've read. You certainly do not need to cook it to death by any means. That salad sounds amazing, by the way!
Sarah, I suspect that 150 is not high enough especially for the goitrogens. To eliminate 90% of the goitrogens in cruciferous veggies for example, you have to boil them for 30 minutes! Simple steaming though will reduce them by 2/3 and save most nutrients, so this is the best way to go I think.
Thanks!!
Well, while I think for the most part this was a great article and I couldn't agree more…I completely disagree with the raw spinach theory. I am battling advanced cancer and I am hyper-sensitive to digesting anything and everything to the highest degree and I have no problem with raw baby spinach. In fact, I do much better when I have a large salad of it every single night. My husband is an alternative doctor and I've never heard this before so would like to know the source of that information.
Thanks!
If you are doing better eating raw spinach, then by all means keep eating that salad. I think that there are as many ways to eat healthy as there are different people. I think that what may work for one, may not work for another. You are listening to your body and I think that is the smartest thing no matter what anyone else says. Good luck with your healing.
Both lemon juice, and vinegar neutralize the oxalic acid in spinach. I usually add both of these ingredients into my salad dressing, and I believe it’s good to dress the salad just a few minutes before serving, long enough for the lemon juice and oil to do their magic, but not long enough to wilt the greens. Enjoy!
Merina Alchemy\’s last post: Site under construction…
Organic oxalic acid, defined as that which occurs in nature in its raw form, can actually be beneficial to the system. Once foods containing oxalic acid are cooked, according to the dean of juice therapy and author of Raw Vegetable Juices, Dr. Norman Walker, the oxalic acid becomes dead and irritating substance to the system. He feels that in its cooked form it binds irreversibly with the calcium and prevents calcium absorption. An excess of cooked oxalic acid may also form oxalic acid crystals in the kidney. In the live organic form of oxalic acid, Dr. Walker claims oxalic acid stones and calcium blockage do not occur because the organic oxalic acid can be metabolized appropriately. according to Dr. Walker, oxalic acid in its raw form is one of the important minerals needed to maintain tone and peristalsis of the bowel.
Hi Anonymous, as cited in the post, the book Nourishing Traditions is the source for the oxalic acid – don't eat your spinach raw info. Remember that digestive distress and damage can occur without any symptoms of indigestion. I certainly wouldn't be eating baby spinach raw if you have advanced cancer. Cancer is an autoimmune disease with its root in the gut anyway.. eating something that further irritates the gut is not a good idea.
Hi Anonymous, your argument for oxalic acid reminds me of an article supporting phytic acid that I read a few years back. The article was in support of eating freshly ground wheat flour raised the modern way with yeast – hence the bread was not properly prepared as in traditional societies (sprouted, sour leavened, or soaked). The author said that phytic acid helped chelate toxins and other baddies from the gut (true) and hence it was great to eat bread made the modern way (wrong). That woman has since suffered colon cancer which is one of the risks of eating too much phytic acid for many years. Sooooo, your oxalic acid argument while it may be true in theory – needs to be balanced against the negatives – as with the phytic acid is good for you baloney, Dr. Walker is going down the wrong path with this flawed and incomplete argument as well.
This is a good one. Raw spinach stuff is everywhere! I see athletes in the cafe loading up on spinach and HB eggs for iron and protein, but the iron really doesn't get used!!
Lots of great comments. Would this also be true, then, of broccoli sprouts?
Broccoli sprouts are not toxic like alfalfa sprouts but are still best cooked in butter due to the goitrogens. If you put a few on a salad now and again and you eat lots of iodine rich foods, this is not a worry.
You say that traditional societies didn't eat much sauerkraut (which may be true), but in the traditional Korean diet kimchi (made from fermented raw napa cabbage or radishes) is more than a staple. It was what saw them through the winter, and they probably eat as much kimchi as rice. It's served at every meal (my mother-in-law was eating pizza once and went to get the kimchi out of the refrigerator because she couldn't stand not eating kimchi with a meal), even breakfast.
How on earth can you reconcile that with what you're saying about thyroid problems? I know that Koreans eat a good amount of seafood and seaweed. Does that make up for it?
(Very interested in this, since my family eats a lot of kimchi)
Hi Harmony, you hit the nail on the head .. a diet high in iodine will be very protective of the thyroid. Given that almost all Westerners eat a diet insufficient and iodine and most are overweight/obese indicating thyroid dysfunction, this does not work in our culture. Once the thyroid is whacked, simply upping iodine doesn't always fix it either. Someone who has been raised on a thyroid supportive diet has a much different tolerance for goitrogenic foods.
Eat a large spinach salad every day? It is virtually inevitable that you will succumb to kidney stones at some point from the oxalates according to p. 46 of the Spring 2010 edition of Wise Traditions magazine – article on oxalates by William Shaw Phd.
I love this post! My mom was just here, reading one of the health magazines I get. I always just ignore things that don't fit with a deeper understanding of nutrition, like this, so when my mom read to me that one sort of cabbage was good raw and one wasn't, I told her that wasn't entirely true. But, the article was in print and I wasn't. I am going to have to forward her this!
What about blanched spinach/kale…cooked for about 2-3 minutes? Is that considered safe?
– LOVE THE INFO!!! -
~ kat
Yes – should be fine! No need to cook it to death.
Hi Sarah,
This article and posts are so interesting and helpful ; I am eating nuts lately, should they be soaked ?
Hi Kate, yes raw nuts should be soaked in filtered water with a bit of sea salt overnight and then dried in a warm (not hot) oven to preserve rawness. Raw nuts that are not soaked cannot be easily digested due to the copious anti-nutrients in the nuts themselves. Many folks who have trouble with nuts find they can eat them easily once they are properly prepared.
thanks, Sarah, I bought Sally Fallon's book a couple of weeks ago and I am so happy about it ; it's the information I was hoping to find for years, and your blog gives the strengh to keep on ; I live with mcs, hope it will help. Really appreciate all the details you give me for walnuts ; I always heard about soaking other nuts but never walnuts.
Regards
Kate, the only difference with walnuts is to make sure you store them in the fridge as they will easily go rancid in the pantry. They are more delicate than other nuts.
Oh, I understand, Sarah, thanks !
Very interesting…have been reading/hearing a lot about green smoothies lately. I think the key to everything is to eat it in moderation. Nothing is going to be the be all and end all or miracle cure, etc. So, as long as we are eating a good variety (of healthy foods of course) we should be fine. I think when we start picking everything apart constantly it's hard to enjoy food because we're worried about it being bad for us. I really have to work on not being obsessed with the kinds of foods I eat as I'm a huge health nut. But to keep sanity in my house (aka not drive my husband crazy)I try to offer a good varied diet, not getting caught up in any one "superfood" of the moment. So, I'm really glad to have read this article to keep me from jumping on the green smoothie bandwagon because I know that would not go over well in my house.
Any idea about Cilantro, does that have a high oxalic acid amount. Would it be safe to use in green smoothies on a daily basis ?
Cilantro is best fermented, although a bit of raw cilantro is fine. In smoothies daily? I don’t think so. There is a GREAT recipe for fermented cilantro salsa on this blog, by the way (guest post from Stanley of TenderGrassfedMeat.com)
http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/2010/11/fermented-cilantro-salsa-for-chelation/
Thanks for the article. Too many people cling to the assumption that raw vegetables are the healthiest way to to eat them. As for eating them cooked, wouldn’t the Weston Price people recommend using unpasteurized butter from pasture-fed cows?
Josh Zimmer, AP – Sarasota
Hi Josh, absolutely – grassfed raw butter is best. Unfortunately, some are unable to afford this luxury in which case store butter is an acceptable option.
I found this u-tube video that explains that it is safe to eat cruciferous vegetables raw, as long as you don’t have a thyroid problem and as long as you are getting adequate amounts of iodine in your diet. Sarah – can you watch this video and see if this information is good. I think it is, but I can always use another opinion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5o2kICC4Tg&feature=player_embedded
Small amounts occasionally is ok, but it is not safe to eat them every day in the quantities folks are consuming them in green smoothies etc. Chris Masterjohn says the eating goitrogenic veggies fermented (such as sauerkraut is ok in small amounts as long as there is enough iodine in the diet and not a thyroid problem.
HOWEVER, given that upwards of 80% of Westerners are hypothyroid to some degree, it is not wise to eat cruciferous veggies raw. I only eat them in very small amounts as fermented condiments. Its just not worth the risk!! Why not cook them in butter? Once you have thyroid problems it is so very difficult to undo .. it is foolish to roll the dice with this one and “assume” you don’t have a thyroid problem when most everyone does to some degree.
Thanks for the advice, I will for sure cut down on them
Awesome. It is better to be safe than sorry and there are so many wonderful veggies to eat raw that are safe so why take an unnecessary risk with such a delicate gland as the thyroid. It is butterfly shaped for a reason I think!
Think of a butterfly .. you only have to touch it’s wings slightly to damage and kill it. I think the thyroid gland is the same. So very delicate and needs to be protected vigilantly.
Thank you for all of your very thought provoking posts! I have been doing the Body Ecology Diet for about 3 months now…So I am, of course, eating A LOT of cultured veggies (mostly napa cabbage, daikon, broccoli, carrots, celery, onion, etc) so this worries me a little. The cultured veggies are helping me lots (and I REALLY enjoy them!) I probably eat at least 1 cup per day. Do you think I’m safe if I try to eat more sea vegetables? I also try to make and consume coconut kefir as often as possible. Also, I’d love to hear any other thoughts you may have on elements of the Body Ecology Diet where I may need to take caution. I use a ton of ghee in my cooking as well…Thoughts on ghee?
Thank you!!
Superb blog post, I have book marked this internet site so ideally I’ll see much more on this subject in the foreseeable future!
This is really interesting! I’ve already sent your post on milk off to my family at home (I’m living on res at university), but I think I’ll have to compile a list of ones that would be of interest to my dad; he was diagnosed with prostate cancer a few years ago and went on this total health path because of it. He drinks green smoothies a lot from what I remember, so it’d be good for him to see more points of view on the subject.
I’ve always thought it best to eat how people used to but that it depends on your personal background. I mean, a Japanese person would react differently to foods than a British person or an Irish person, for example. Your thoughts on this?
Yes, cultural heritage is quite important. If you pickup a copy of Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, Dr. Price discusses the different diets of the various cultures. Best to stick with the ones that most closely mimic your own cultural heritage. I don’t do well on rice, for example, and so do not eat it often. But someone with Asian heritage may do quite well eating it more frequently.
http://astore.amazon.com/theheahomec0a-20/detail/0916764206
Wow, very interesting. I knew some of those due to oxalic acid should be cooked, and of course the potatoes. I was rather looking forward to having tasty fiber-rich veggie drinks that I make myself; guess I’ll focus more on the fruit end of that deal. After I do more research.
Diann\’s last post: Smoothie Test- First Attempt And- Second
Obviously, you haven’t done too much research on people who eat raw food diets.
(By the way, what they do to the meat nowadays…I wouldn’t eat it if you paid me!)
When you cook your food, evenly lightly, your immune system reacts to it as a toxin.
It goes through a process that generates white cell activity against the food, because the body can’t recognize the cooked food, so it reacts to it as a toxin. Which isn’t good when your trying to get nutrients out of the food.
And when you cook your food, your cooking out live enzymes in the vegetables.
The only way to get the most out of the vegetables is not the cook them.
There is meat out there that is raised properly. I often wonder why vegan propagandists seem to overlook that….
Also, does this mean that generations of people have been eating toxic food for thousands of years and thrived because of it? The “science” that makes the claim that the immune system reacts to cooked food as a toxin makes no sense whatsoever.
On the bright side, this claim works for raw dairy, which is extremely beneficial!
Shouldn’t cauliflower also be on the list to not eat raw? When I lived in Switzerland for a short time, 32 years ago, i lived a few months in a remote community in the Appenzel called Ebnat Cappel, there i remember seeing many older people sitting on the porch on this quaint care facility with huge goiters on their necks. In some cases they were bigger than their faces! I had never seen this before in my life or since. I wonder what it was in this area, reasonably remote and beautiful. Or if this is where they came for treatment. My German was poor and my Swiss German even worse so i never understood what this was all about, but the visual image has never left me.
Yes, cauliflower is a cruciferous veggie and is listed above.
Will freezing spinach break down the oxalic acid? or does it have to be cooking? what about freeze dried, since organic freeze dried spinach is available now and would work well directly in a smoothie?
Hi Sally, freezing does not break down the oxalic acid. A brief steam or cook to wilt the spinach is what is necessary.
I was beginning to think this article was quite scientifically sound until I got to this bit:
“a proven way to gently detox the gut”
Surely not? We all know that “detoxing” is a complete myth. If anything is a “proven way” to detox the gut, I would love to see the proof.
Adam\’s last post: The psychology of climate change denial
Hi Adam, the source of this statement is from Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride MD’s book called “Gut and Psychology Syndrome”. She discusses vegetable juicing as a method for gently removing toxins (as in impacted fecal matter) from the gut without too much stress to the body.
So you mean that vegetable juices act as a laxative? Not quite the same thing as “detoxing”, is it?
Adam\’s last post: The psychology of climate change denial
Hi Adam, no – not a laxative. Why don’t you refer to the book I source for details? Part of the detox is the easy to absorb minerals that the body uses to bind up toxins, if memory serves. Please refer to the book I sourced for details rather than post sarcastic comments. Thank you.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist\’s last post: Health Lessons Learned in a Buddhist Monastery
Sorry if you think I’m being sarcastic, Sarah, that wasn’t my intention.
I’m just trying to understand what you mean by detoxing. I doubt that a book would shed much light on it: books don’t tend to be very reliable about this sort of thing.
Does the book cite any peer-reviewed literature on this?
Adam\’s last post: The psychology of climate change denial
Actually, forget that. I thought, from the fairly scientific tone of the start of your article, that you might be interested in discussing the science.
But I’ve just spotted another post on your blog (one that spouts crazy anti-vaccination conspiracy theories) that shows that you’re clearly not interested in science.
Sorry to have wasted your time.
Adam\’s last post: New podcast from the Institute of Clinical Research
I’m not sure all of this is true. If you could email me the scientific research I would greatly appreciate it. I have helped several women come off of thyroid medication due to diet which is high in spinach, kale, etc including myself. Many people that take supplements have kelp in them and those aren’t cooked at all. Heat kills the vitamins and nutrients in it. The dark greens are loaded with B vitamins, and minerals that are needed for the adrenal because you can’t work on one and not the other.
Here’s a great article by William Shaw Phd (Director of The Great Plains Laboratory for Health, Nutrition and Metabolism) on the role of oxalates in chronic disease. He writes that virtually everyone who eat raw spinach frequently will get kidney stones. I don’t doubt that you’ve helped people get well by eating raw veggies .. for a short period of time this can work as it is very ph balancing and detoxifying to the body. But to do this long term will steal your health if those veggies are the type that are best consumed cooked:
http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/1894-the-role-of-oxalates-in-autism-and-chronic-disorders.html
Hi Adam, yes the GAPS book is rather well sourced. Dr. Campbell-McBride MD talks about the Gergen institute which has used vegetable juice to detox cancer patients and help them get well for quite a long time (again, this is what I’m recalling .. the last time I read the book was last summer). I do know what you mean about most healthbooks, though. Not generally a good source for on target wellness info.
Adam, you are absolutely right .. I am not at all interested in vaccination pseudo science as cooked up and presented as facts to the public. Being from a medical family, I’ve seen all the games that are played by Big Pharma to protect and expand profits and I am only interested in the true facts and unbiased science on this blog. “Science” isn’t all that it seems sometimes and one has to dig to find the source of the study and who funded it to be comfortable that the findings are truly objective.
Thanks for this information. Since I usually have more raw spinach and other greens than I can eat, I cut them in small pieces and add them to my taco meat, along with onion and garlic. They practically “dissolve” in the frying pan, and I enjoy knowing that I am getting the “green” nutrition that is needed.
What a creative way to eat your greens! Thanks for sharing!
So, just noodling this through… would dried parsley/ chives contain oxalic acid? I guess they are not cooked but just dehydrated at low temp… Your thoughts? Thanks!
Hi Jenn, yes they would but if you are using them in small amounts as a garnish or whatnot, it should be fine. The idea is not to consume these veggies in raw green smoothies or to eat them frequently as in a daily spinach salad.
Hi Sarah, I’m a big fan of your blog and while I generally agree your premise here about not eating veggies raw as much, I did want to point out that it is NOT true that heating oxalic acid destroys it or lessens it. I am very oxalate sensitive and have researched this thoroughly as it is extremely important to me and my son (who is mostly recovered from autism). I am also normally a big fan of NT but this is one thing that they got wrong.
The only way to lower the oxalic acid content of food is to boil it as some oxalate is water soluble. The boiling liquid must then be discarded. This only removes a small amount, and so only helps with foods that are already borderline low enough to eat. Steaming and sauteeing does not reduce the oxalate content at all. All of the veggies that you list as high oxalate are still extremely high in oxalic acid after cooking- in fact, sometimes cooking INCREASES the availability of oxalate, for example in spinach and swiss chard (for reference, a low oxalate diet is normally between 40-60 mg per day):
Raw baby spinach has 160 mg oxalate per 1/2 cup
Raw spinach has 114 mg per 1/2 cup
Spinach steamed 15 minutes has 697 mg per 1/2 cup !!!!
Spinach, boiled has 334 per 1/2 cup
Raw swiss chard has between 174-210 mgs per 1/2 cup (depending on color)
Steamed chard has between 487 and 921 mg per 1/2 cup (depending on color)
Boiled chard ranges from 293 to 375 mg per 1/2 cup
These are the most recent testing values available. There are many old values available online that were done using less accurate testing methods. People with Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, migraines, urinary or genital pain and problems including Vulvadynia, sensory processing issues, autism (according to the Great Plains lab, 84% of people with autism test as having an oxalate problem), visual disturbances or eye pain, or various skin problems are all likely to be sensitive to oxalates. Additionally, since oxalate binds to minerals and metals, having high oxalate levels in the body makes a person more likely to be injured when exposed to toxic metals such as mercury or lead.
This is such an importnat issue, please do more research about it and re-do your post. Many people look to you for advice and while you usually are right on in this case this information is wrong and will actually hurt people.
Sierra\’s last post: Making Sense of Probiotics
Wow, great info Sierra. I hope Sarah reads this and responds or reposts. It’s dangerous to have this misinformation out there.
Your information regarding oxalates is wrong and can easily be found contradicted within the information of the link you provided by William Shaw. Oxalates do not disappear when cooked And it is more than just greens containing high and unhealthy amounts.
As suggested above, you really should research further and redo your post, the harm you can do by leaving it as is, is unjustifiable.
Sara,
As far as I know the *only* up to date and accurate source of information regarding oxalate levels can be found in the files of the yahoo group Trying Low Oxalates and listed as the spreadsheets. They report on recent testing from the only two organizations that are doing these tests on an ongoing basis. They have tested some foods under various preparation methods and clearly show that with extremely high oxalates such as spinach even boiling and discarding the water make very little difference.
Having lowered my oxalate intake several months ago I am learning that oxalate damage can be cumulative and very wide ranging.. Much more so than is commonly reported, even in the two articles on the subject that appeared in the Wise Traditions Journal recently. It is a topic deserving of much more research.
If folks are sensitive to oxalates, then completely avoiding veggies that contain them such as spinach seems to be the best route to go. For those of us not sensitive to oxalates or who do not consume a high-oxalate diet, wilting the spinach before consuming (and discarding the cooking water) seems wise as this is the traditional preparation method – traditional cooking methods have their roots in maximization of nutrition and minimization of anti-nutrients.
I like your original article in many ways, but you’re really side-stepping this issue.
The point is that cooking or wilting does NOT significantly reduce oxalates. Yes, that may not be much of an issue for many people, but for those that it is an issue your article contains inaccurate information that could be harmful. How about an edit?
If wilting spinach did not improve nutrition and reduce antinutrients, traditional peoples would not have prepared it this way – they would have avoided eating it entirely or would have eaten it raw as cooking it wouldn’t have made any difference.
Oxalate always interacts with the biochemistry of the body- people who are sensitive are people who know that some of their symptoms are caused by this interaction, but they are not the only ones affected by eating oxalate. Traditional peoples who ate traditional diets had a different physiology then we do today because of the constant assault on our gut flora that modern life is. A thriving and robust got flora is essential to safely eat relatively high levels of oxalate. Anyone who has ever taken antibiotics, or whose mother or grandmother ever did, has been set up to poorly tolerate oxalate as the bacteria that helps us degrade it is very sensitive to antibiotics. Wilting spinach may reduce other anti-nutrients but it does not reduce oxalate for anyone. Including spinach in a diet has been shown to reduce calcium levels in the body. The information that you have posted here affects everyone, not just those of us who are aware that we are sensitive.
Sierra\’s last post: Addressing ADHD With Dietary Changes
Oh how I wish cooking eliminated oxalates. I got my first kidney stone while eating cooked spinach in my omelet most mornings. Now I know that while some of the oxalate leaches into the cooking water most remains in the food. Steaming or sauteing won’t eliminate any of it.
My younger daughter is very sensitive to oxalates and cooking high oxalate foods doesn’t make a difference for her. While many people are just fine with oxalates, many others have serious health consequences from consuming them and I would hate for someone to cross oxalates off their list as a possible source of the problem just because they eat high oxalate foods cooked.
Notice the influx of low oxalate diet people?
Although one may think they are not sensitive to oxalate, at the very least oxalate is absorbed at 22%. That’s for the “non-sensitive,” normal people, without leaky gut syndrome. If you have any chronic condition or auto-immune disease, the amount you are absorbing is likely more.
Oxalate cripples mitochondrial action by botching up enzymes and transporters, that your body needs for detoxification.
You can learn more that the website I included http://lowoxalate.info
or access the latest spreadsheets on oxalate content by joining a great group of people from all walks of life who are on the yahoo group trying_low_oxalates.
I did not know I had an oxalate problem, and had no kidney stones or any symptoms which I would have related to oxalate. I probably consumed thousands of milligrams of oxalate a day. I thought the condition of my health was typical of a 40 year old mom. That is stressed, anxious, harried, “losing it,” tired, etc.
Going low oxalate, for my children, who are “not quite neuro-typical,” has allowed me to get off Wellbutrin, has allowed a chronic skin condition to heal, has allowed me to get off allergy medication, has gotten rid of my brain fog for the most part. My carpal tunnel is GONE!!! I feel at least ten years younger.
I know there will be people who cannot believe they could be healthier and they continue to have a salad of spinach leaves, beets and almonds (Oh my!) Which by the way would have been something I would love, back in the day.
If you refuse to give up your oxalates, that is your choice of course
Please consider taking a calcium citrate supplement about 15 mins prior to eating. This increases circulating calcium and will allow the oxalate to bond up to it and be excreted, and reduce the amount of oxalate absorbed. This calcium should not be included in your daily requirement for bones (which should be taken on an empty stomach.)
Sara,
Even people who do not seem sensitive to oxalates can be asking for trouble down the road by consuming too many of them. The body sequesters them. They can build up unnoticed over time and can cause damage in all parts of the body, depending on the individual. I also suspect, based on my own experience, that this kind of gradual oxalate damage may be at the root of numerous problems attributed to “aging” such as poor sleep and irregularity.
I am not saying that everybody should avoid all oxalates. That is almost impossible anyway. But I am saying that it is helpful to have accurate information on how much oxalate is being consumed. For example, going by the list accompanying William Shaw’s article, one would think that pecans and peanut are the only high oxalate nuts to watch out for. Per 100g of nuts, raw pecans contain 46.5 mg., raw spanish peanuts contain 142 . But almonds contain a whopping 465! Without this kind of accurate information people may be eating a much higher oxalate diet than they realize.
Moderation certainly is the key. Overconsumption of any food can certainly lead to problems.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist\’s last post: Monday Mania 3-14-2011
I agree that you cant avoid oxalates alltogether, its in practically all foods to one extent or another. The key is to avoid the REALLY high stuff like almonds, spinach, chard, rhubarb and a few others, consume the high and medium oxalate foods in small amounts that are offset with more low oxalate choices.
I love spinach, chard and almonds but I wont ever eat them again and certainly wont feed them to my child again. The potential nutirtional value is offset buy the poison they contain. Oxalic acid is basically what is used to flush radiators, and these foods have high amounts of it. We do however enjoy kale, macadamia nuts, pistachios and sunflower seeds in moderation and eat plenty of other healthy low oxalate greens like broccoli raab, collard, mustard, pea greens and cress. We dont lack for a variety of healthy food options and my family feels much better now that we’re watching our oxalate intake.
Sarah
My nutritionist told me not to worry about the thyroid issue in juicing kale, chard, etc. as the amount is very small. In fact he has me doing a liver cleanse juice with comprises celery, beet greens, 1 beet, kale, and an apple. He is VERY knowledgeable and I totally trust him!
Hi All,
Still peeing Razor Blades and vaginal issues were bad, there would be few times they were good. So I figured it was how I had to live for the rest of my life in Horrible pain.
I know for me I didn’t know for years I had an Oxalate issue. I have had IC and Vaginits for over 18+ years in HORRIBLE Pain. No Doctor seemed to beable to help inthe first few years. I then Got rid of all the Specialist……. I went to school. I became an Iridologist under Dr. Jensen. I learned about nutrition. went to other Herbal classes in seattle, did all RAW foods which made me worse. I couldn’t figure it out I was cleaning,Raw food,Organic I did everything I learned!!
I am in good health. 5’5 120lbs never sick except Bladder and vaginal pain.
Over 3 years ago I learned about Oxalates in food. I had to turn all of my eating around. I found The Vp Foundation, ordered all there info. I then found the Low Oxalate Group, I started Low Oxalate Diet. in a week I noticed a differance in 3 weeks my bladder was 1/2 the pain. I then started taking calcium citrate before I ate……. WOW is all I can say. in 3 weeks all my pain was GONE!!!! I could sleep. I didn’t have to get up and pee 10x at night. I was so happy I cried. All the pain after all those years GONE!!!!
See I never knew I had an issue with Oxalates I am so glad I experimented and found out that is what all my pain was from. I am leading a great life! I have a NEW lease on life now
Hope this helps someone find there health
Thank you
Pam
Hi Sarah
Wow what alot of great info. What are your thoughts of wheatgrass juicing and eating sprouts like sunflower, brocilli, lentils etc.
I enjoy a shot of wheatgrass juice from time to time!
It’s quite high in sugar so best to not overdo. Sprouts of sunflower, lentils are wonderful foods to enjoy on a salad or whatnot but I would skip the broccoli sprouts for the reasons listed above in the post.
I love adding kale and spinach to soups – raw and letting them wilt from the heat or stir into quinoa with tomatoes again for a couple of minutes to wilt. Is this enough cooking or should I steam or saute them for a couple of minutes first?
I love fresh, home-grown, raw spinach. I can’t stand it cooked, even a little wilted – I just don’t like the taste, but love it crisp. I had never heard anything bad about eating it raw, so this is something totally new to me! I read somewhere that eating certain things with the spinach (protein, citrus, etc.) would neutralize this problem. I eat spinach most days for breakfast on my bean and egg burrito with bell peppers and salsa, on sandwiches for lunch and in a mixed green salad for dinner.
As for the increased kidney stones, I had the opposite experience. I have a propensity for kidney stones, used to get them almost every year (and they are INCREDIBLY painful, and there is nothing that can be done about them except live through it – childbirth was not that big of a deal in comparison). Since I’ve been on a healthier diet, including no caffeine, lots of water, healthier eating all around, and this eating spinach (when I never ate spinach before) I haven’t had a stone in more than two years. I know this is only anecdotal, but if anyone should get kidney stones from eating raw spinach, I think I would.
I struggle with chronic constipation caused by Celiac’s disease (I have been GF for 5 years). I have found that green smoothies help the most with it. This list knocks out all the greens I use for my smoothie! I also have hypothyroidism, which makes me extra worried about the cruciferous What greens do you recommend in order to get the fiber I seem to need without the added harm? Thanks!
I wonder if they are some green leaf varieties that are low in oxalates and therefore suitable for salad.. any clue about this?
Unfortunately, Faith didn’t provide a way to reply to her comment. What I wanted to ask her was how long she and her family have been vegans. I have heard short-term vegan success stories, but not too many long-term.
I’m most definitely not supportive of vegan diets, especially not for children, but we can’t dismiss the benefits of a (very) short-term raw fast.
Part of the trouble seems to me that these days nobody learns to cook anymore. Instead people fall victim to all sorts of nutritional fads, especially those promising eternal life, a life free from cancer etc. Man discovered cooking and preparing his food early on – and then made some progress. We are not designed to live on raw food – our digestive system is not up to it. Most of the nutrients are absorbed in the small gut so we need energy-dense food to nourish us. Plant eaters have a large colon (as opposed to ours) where they can absorb nutrients from raw stuff and from roughage. We cannot – once the food it out of our small gut, almost no more nutrients will be absorbed. Eating too much fibre can damage the very sensitive gut tissues and lead to a number of problems.
If the greens are lightly steamed (like kale) can they safely be juiced?
I have to cook Purslane and Chives?!?! YIKES!
Hmm, Sorrel (cultivated) contains HIGH levels of Oxalic Acid – my mother tried to convince me to eat a “Sorrel Salad” the other day – NO WAY! I could barely consume one entire raw leaf! That’s what Schav is for! But chives and Purslane? Purslane is a bit bitter, but more “spicey” in my opinion, and chives are not bitter at all. I just “harvested” a whole bunch of taller (~12″h) larger leaved purslane from a crab-grass weed patch that I was tilling – it was SO JUICY and yummy RAW! The normal creeping small-leaved variety is less juicy and a bit more bitter.
Well, to add to the Oxalic Acid list there is Wood Sorrel – it looks like Clover, but the leaves are heart-shaped (Shamrocks are actually Wood Sorrel) and it has yellow flowers – it is a common “weed” but totally edible (the entire plant) – I went harvesting White Clover and accidentally picked Wood Sorrel instead – it tastes like a cross between lemons and crab apples! I ate some in my “Wild Salad” the other day (the heat killed off all my cultivated lettuce, so I went wild “weed” harvesting); it was good with a simple dressing of EVOO and Apple Cider Vinegar and just some salt and pepper.
As for the White Clover, I tried one leaf – it is a very short plant, so difficult to harvest, but the entire plant is edible (including roots). I don’t know if it has to be cooked, but the one leaf was quite tough and tasted like spinach. I’ll probably try sauteeing some in butter this weekend. The fresh flowers are edible, but apparently once they turn brown they become poisonous. Red Clover (purple flowers) supposedly tastes better, but my garden has yet to be graced by that “weed” or Chickory or Burdock, for that matter
What about Common Plantain (Plantago Major)? Not the banana – the weed that grows in grass, almost like a dandelion – does that need to be cooked? I know you can use the fresh juice to cure a whole host of ills, but what about consuming it on a regular basis as a veggie? Should it be cooked? I dug up a whole bunch from a gravel parking lot and planted them in a pot – I won’t actually eat those until new leaves form next year though. And Lamb’s Quarters? I think that is supposed to be cooked, but it just makes such a yummy salad!
Ah, well, I guess I’ll have to start making a lot more omlettes with all these veggies that must be steamed / sauteed first.
Actually, that is a good question: Do you have to actually steam and dump the water first, or is simply sauteeing the fresh veggies in butter enough?
Great blog, btw: it is a fun, short and sweet take on W.A.P / Traditional / Whole Foods diets!
Christi,
You can still eat these greens to get your fiber – just cook them first. Cooking does not eliminate the fiber content! In fact, fiber is meant to be CHEWED! I do not understand why people think you can “drink” your fiber?!? I also hate that suddenly “fiber” has been added to the oddest foods nowadays – my mother recently purchased Polaner Jam (no HFCS) and it had “added fiber” – Oh my, it was VILE! The texture was like Jello (YUCK) overloaded with cornstarch grains! Umm, am I crazy or does “whole fruit” jam / preserves not already have plenty natural fiber in it to begin with?
Just eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies, and even cooked and you should be fine. And you can still eat non-grains like Quinoa. Oh yeah, don’t forget to drink PLENTY OF WATER! That should help with any constipation problems! And avoid SUGAR, especially sodas and drinks with added sugar (and avoid all NON-cane /honey / maple syrup /Stevia “sweeteners” all together) – too much added sugar will cause constipation – humans cannot digest Fructose, so avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup and AGAVE at ALL COSTS!
Hmm, I’ve been reading though all the comments (LOTS
) and began thinking about something regarding RAW Oxalic Acid being good, and about consuming LOTS of fermented sauerkraut (cabbage).
I’m including the entire oxalic acid quote below for reference.
Upon first reading I thought to myself ‘Hey! Good point! Schav is a VERY Oxalic Sorrel soup! And it is a VERY TRADITIONAL Eastern European staple food!’ Schav is a cold (usually) soup made by boiling cultivated garden Sorrel (not Sheep or Wood Sorrel) in a pot of water. This is allowed to cool and it is poured into bowls and into the soup is added a chopped up hard-boiled egg and a dollop of sour cream. It is served with a boiled potato with either butter or sour cream on the side (personally I chop the potato into the Schav). This is how it is eaten. ALWAYS! Usually the sour cream content is so high that it is more like a cream soup. The Sorrel soup alone is SO SOUR you cannot possibly consume it alone.
So, anyway, at first I thought – HEY! You do NOT discard the water from Schav – if you did you would not have any Schav! And, since they’ve been eating this forever in the summer months, then it can’t be all that bad, right? So, it must be that the added calcium from the sour cream is what makes it edible! And maybe the added protein and fat from the egg as well.
So, you see, at first I though Dr. Walker’s argument made sense. BUT, in fact, if you think about it, the key is that the Sorrel is COOKED! So, even though you are consuming the Oxalic Acid water, it has been cooked AND in combination with the DAIRY and EGG, perhaps it IS ok for humans to consume. Now, this sounds to me like a valid hypothesis worthy of further investigation!
As for consuming LOTS of sauerkraut, specifically kimchi, I must admit that I consume a LOT of sauerkraut – just like ALL Germans and Poles – but, it is actually FRIED with pork chops or a Wurst (as a Vegetarian I replace the meat with carrots – NO TOFU / Soy EVER!). So, if you really LOVE sauerkraut then you can consume all you want if you fry it up in fat! YUMM!!!
Quote:
Anonymous October 15, 2010 at 9:51 pm
“Organic oxalic acid, defined as that which occurs in nature in its raw form, can actually be beneficial to the system. Once foods containing oxalic acid are cooked, according to the dean of juice therapy and author of Raw Vegetable Juices, Dr. Norman Walker, the oxalic acid becomes dead and irritating substance to the system. He feels that in its cooked form it binds irreversibly with the calcium and prevents calcium absorption. An excess of cooked oxalic acid may also form oxalic acid crystals in the kidney. In the live organic form of oxalic acid, Dr. Walker claims oxalic acid stones and calcium blockage do not occur because the organic oxalic acid can be metabolized appropriately. according to Dr. Walker, oxalic acid in its raw form is one of the important minerals needed to maintain tone and peristalsis of the bowel.”
“Good” vs. “Bad” foods: one person says this food is the healthiest thing in the world, the next claims it is a toxic poison. Seems a LOT of people here are “offended” by this article – either they believe All veggies should ONLY be consumed raw, or they believe that Oxalic veggies are deadly to “everyone.” Sorry, the Raw Foodies lose the argument with statements that claim ALL cooked foods will kill you (the Human specieas would have died out long ago). Now, the Oxalic-Sensitive people do have a point, but I do NOT think that this entire post must be re-written. However, perhaps a *Disclaimer* should be included that states that some people ARE Oxalic-sensitive and that they must avoid such foods altogether as cooking will not remove all the Oxalates. Commenting that this advice is bad for “ALL” people and Oxalic Acid should “never” be consumed by “anyone” is absurd! That’s like a Celiac chiming in on a whole grain recipe and claiming that it should be re-written because “Everyone can / will be negatively affected by gluten.”
This article is accurate, in my opinion. I TRULY believe that you should primarily consume a diet based on the traditional diet of your ancestors – that’s why I CAN eat tons of crucifers and have no problems – Eastern and Northern Europeans have been doing this for eons!
This article is good general advice for HEALTHY people!
While there may be oxalic acid in crucifers (I haven’t looked that up), if you actually *read* the above article you will see that the HHE classifies crucifers and high-oxalate vegetables into two different categories, not the same one.
You may or may not wish to take note, also, that good health as relates to diet appears to arise from two different behaviors: one, avoiding foods that cause disease but also two, eating foods that encourage good health. Not all of the ancestors followed ideal diets–we could not have figured out which foods were healthy if no one ever chose the wrong foods!–but of those who did, clearly some of them ate foods that cause or contribute to health problems in our population today. There are people who react badly to wheat, for instance, and yet ancestral populations could eat wheat. What’s the difference? Well, we could talk about new strains of wheat and this toxin and that personal habit, but at the end of the day, look at Dr. Price’s numbers. Ancestral people who followed healthy diets got so many times more the animal fats and the minerals and the fat-soluble vitamins compared to Americans *of Price’s day* and it’s even worse now. There are people now who *never eat a food with vitamin A in it.* There are people who never touch the foods he considered most important, and yet they still eat the foods that we know to cause or contribute to health problems.
Do you think there might be a connection there? I sure do. If you’re eating more than enough of the demonstrably healthy foods, you have more wiggle room to eat the foods that perhaps are less healthy. Probably why people could get away with eating sugar in the early part of the 20th without so much obesity and diabetes. They were still getting lard and tallow and butter and milk and liver at home!
That said, there’s an easy rule of thumb for when people should be more careful of cruciferous veggies at least: If they taste bitter to you, eat fewer of them. Scientists have found a link between people finding broccoli bitter, and people whose thyroids are slowed down by it. Apparently their ancestors lived far from the sea and, therefore, far from reliable sources of iodine.
That said, even someone with coastal ancestors could possibly take it too far. We have a high population of people in the United States with Irish ancestry. Broccoli derives from a Gaelic word. The Irish clearly have had long experience with this vegetable so why is the rate of hypothyroidism so high?
Scratch that about broccoli coming from Gaelic and I’m embarrassed now. It actually comes from Italian, but the Irish adopted the word into their language. That said, Italy is largely coastal too, and we also have a high Italian population here. No idea how they experience hypothyroidism compared to the rest of us but quite a few of them *do* become overweight and have other hormonal issues. So… there you go.
http://t.co/TX8Kzpi
Think Raw Veggies are Best? Think Again — The Healthy Home Economist http://fb.me/zrm9ORnM
Research backs up Dr. Price on fibrous foods interfering with mineral absorption.
http://www.ajcn.org/content/72/2/466.full
If you think about it, one of the selling points the “plant-based diet” advocates have come up with for eating a diet higher in fiber is that the fiber moves matter through the GI tract *more quickly.* Stands to reason, then, that if you eat food high in fiber, your body will not have enough time to absorb all the nutrients it could possibly absorb from that food matter. And that is not even getting into the fact that so many “plant-based diet” advocates are also low-fat advocates and they depend too heavily on plant foods for their fat-soluble vitamins–this despite increasing evidence that human beings are poor converters, at best, of fat-soluble vitamin precursors found in plants.
So. Fiber’s moving the food too fast, usually there’s not enough fat there to help with mineral absorption either, and on top of that they’re probably short on the fat-solubles (definitely short on vitamins A and K2)–and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. Not just hypothyroidism but also diabetes (at least two mineral deficiencies seem to be associated with the disorder, chromium and magnesium) and osteoporosis.
On top of that the fiber causes faster cell turnover, which is also acknowledged by high-fiber-diet advocates. They say it prevents colon cancer. But where are we most likely to find cancers in the body? Any place there’s a high rate of cell turnover, that’s where.
Food for thought. (No pun intended.)
You lost me after “Raw Foodies, I love you, I REALLY REALLY DO (but, PLEASE eat some meat! You’re looking a wee bit pale).”.
I stopped reading at “Iron boost”. It has been proven that the supposed iron rich quality of spinach was a myth. I hate articles like this anyways. all it ever seems to add up to is: “DON’T EAT ANYTHING! EVERYTHING’S POISON!”
I have repeatedly read for years that cooking Spinach strengthens the oxalic acid.. Please address this and references please.
Thanks for your article!
I am vegan and so are my kids. I am in perfect health. Sarah, I am pretty sure that I could run circles around you and Dr. Weston. Any day, any time. Bring it.
Hi Sara,
I’m wondering your thoughts on peppers, peas, green beans? My toddlers love to eat these raw and boy, i was so proud that they like eating them raw. I didn’t see them mentioned on your list and was wondering if I should be concerned? I have Nourishing Traditions, but find it vague sometimes. Do you prefer to cook all your veggies or do you have a list that you enjoy raw, also?
What is your thoughts on green smoothies?
Thank you for your help!
I guess I should be more specific about the smoothie question. Smoothies seem like a great way to get leafy green into babies and toddlers. do you suggest cooking these item sand then throwing them into smoothies? Are there ant commercial brands of green drinks that are prepared properly?
I’m concerned about cooking with butter. I read that cooking it will oxidize the cholesterol.
So, instead of all this juicing, how about just making a thick soup? With buttah, of course.
Cheryl\’s last post: Is There A Self Test For Diabetes?
Someone asked but there was no answer so I’m asking again…can you juice cooked spinach, kale, cilantro, etc? My 2yodd has sever decay and according to Cure Tooth Decay we should be juicing. I was lucky enough to get a juicer for Christmas and am going to start soon. I’m just trying to get a few things clear before I do…I guess if they can’t be juiced I could just blend them up with the juice. Thanks for your blog/website!
Thank you! I have Hyperthyroidism and don’t get along with my medication. ~I will now be adding raw cruciferous vegetables to my diet….just not too much.
Do not agree. I eat those veggies all the time raw and never had any problems with my body! I’m skinny and pretty!
) Stop lying to people! Eat raw vegetables&fruits! More vitamins, more healthy nutrients! Cooked food=dead food
Not everyone can digest raw vegetables… and Sarah never mentioned fruits in the above article, either. Plus we’re only talking SOME veggies, not ALL of them…
Are dandelion’s okay for juicing? I see them alot at the health food store and wheat grass? Thanks,
Sara
This article is RIDICULOUS! You are GROSSLY misinformed and spreading this news to people who are otherwise uninformed and looking to you for correct information. Shame on you for posting this.
Steph\’s last post: Raw Food Diet – Wild Edibles!
Celery is also high in oxalate. Cooking does not always decrease the oxalates — for example it increases it in collards. The right bacteria can break down oxalates. See
http://www.lowoxalate.info/
for those knocking on the vegans…I’ve been one for years…6’2′ 210lbs, avid cyclist, workout 5-6 days a week, and I am never sick, my blood tests which I get yearly are in perfect ranges, not “pale” as some of you clowns think vegans are, and I am sure I am a lot healthier than some of you that takes this absurd advice of cooking your veggie’s in butter! BUTTER! I would love to see the inside of your arteries. For the ones that think a vegan diet is a good “short term” diet I wish you could meet my sis, who has been a vegan for 20 years, and has zero issues. Anyway, healthy vegans eat a balanced diet…which is key in any “diet” (and I use that term loosely as being a vegan is not a diet, its a lifestyle). I personally shoot for a 30-30-30 diet everyday…30% HEALTHY fats, 30% Protein, 30% HEALTHY carbs…well we will say 40% carbs since I am very active. Anyone wondering about how I get around the animal protein, since they have full chained amino acids you need for muscle repair, I use a plant based protein powder that has those essential amino acids added to it for proper uptake of protein into the muscle fibers. All you haters check out forks over knives on netflix…you may think about eliminating a lot of the crap you put in your body.
As far as the not eating raw broccoli/spinach I agree and disagree, but I do know the best way to cook it without losing nutrients is boiling a pot of water, throw the leaves in for just a minute, then remove, or throw the broccoli on a tray sprinkled with olive oil for 5 mins. If you consume your greens (raw) with olive oil the fats from the oil will allow the nutrients to be absorbed just fine, olive oil encourages your intestines to absorb more of the vitamins and minerals from the foods you eat, which makes it beneficial for individuals suffering from digestive disorders. There are many ways to combat the high levels of oxalic acid in some greens without saying that they have to be cooked….but for the love of god people if you do cook your veggies, use a healthy fat packed oil…not freaking butter!
Um, Steve, If you want to swap movie suggestions, then I strongly urge you to watch “Fat Head.” Seriously. There is nothing wrong with butter. There is not one study that proves saturated fat is bad for you. The reason everyone believes it is is because we’ve been lied to.
I think its terrific that your health is so superior. But don’t come to blogs that follow a lifestyle that you don’t believe in and then bash on us. We don’t follow WAPF principles because we have nothing else to do. We do so because the proof we have seen is enough to convince us that this is THE way to live. We don’t come to Vegan websites and bag on your lifestyle, please show us the same respect.
Sarah, I really enjoy your information, I am however having a very hard time with this article and am trying to understand. What are the chemicals in these vegetables that are harmful for the thyroid? Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.
This info is frustrating. 1. Fiber is BAD?? 2. This contradicts the paleo diet info. That doctor who overcame MS (can’t remember her name) specifically recommends kale and cruciferous veggies to help mitochondria thrive. She just says you need to rotate your veggies rather than eating heavy amounts of a single one at a time and you’ll avoid the kidney stones. Ah i think her name is Dr. Wahls.
Thank you, there is a lot of contradicting info out there for anyone!
Can you email me with a few hints on how you made this website look this cool , Id be thankful!
This seriously frustrates me! Every time I turn around SOMETHING ELSE is bad for you! Grains are bad, grains that aren’t done a certain way are bad, dairy is bad unless it is raw, too much fruit is bad, now eating raw vegetables are bad! AGGGGGHHH
I’m ready to give up and crawl into a hole. I am trying to change my family’s eating habits, but the more I read, the more frustrated I get because nothing seems to be good for you. Everything has to be done this way or that way or else it will do more harm than good. Sorry to gripe, but I’m seriously feeling like too much information is just not a good thing. I just want to be able to feel confident that I’m feeding my family right. And lately all I have been doing is second guessing myself because of all the conflicting information.
I just read your post after I submitted mine. I am feeling the same exact way you do. So sorry for your frustration! I feel so discouraged as well.
Thanks Amy for your kind comment. I always think I’m on the right track, and bam, something else that I thought was good is not. I hope your journey gets a little easier.
Anna
i feel the exact same way! i’ve been trying to go down a path towards health for the past 3 years. i was a raw vegan, then just raw (brought back in raw diary) and that didn’t work. just went back to eating ‘normally’ which for me meant not too much thought, but all whole foods. i’m currently eating an scd/traditional foods/paleo hybrid… i love these 3 because there is SO much overlap which makes me feel like i must be on the right track…
but it’s really hard when there’s so much conflicting information out there and i’m constantly second guessing myself. i love food and don’t have a hard time sticking to a certain plan, i just wish i could feel sure…
So… I read this and found myself in tears after I was done. I’m pretty much the only one in my family who attempts to eat healthy and I don’t have many friends that do either. I’ve been so proud to make a green smoothie every single day for my toddler (and myself). Spinach and kale are one of the main ingredients. Now, I’m so discouraged and have no idea what to put in his smoothies.
I used to eat kale and spinach raw in smoothies – now I simply lightly steam them, then freeze and use in smoothies. It does require a small extra step, but it works nicely!
Every single thing in mass amount can be harmful. Too much alkalinity can also be bad for the body. You are best off if you add a few light seasonings not add fatty butter every single time , and some days don’t freak out about veggies and fruits and simply allow yourself a tuna sandwich, pb&j on sprouted bread and or soup
Soup can also be delish and there are still many webpages under raw food and healthy eating that will benefit everyone. Including those that own dehydrators , juicers and blenders 
Do see : Gerson therapy documentary and Fat Sick and Nearly Dead for extreme health cases but otherwise treat your body like the temple that it is
I am a raw vegan and I am not pale or underweight….Please go to meat.org to see what you are REALLY eating! I feel so much better without it now.
How do you know what I’m eating? As a matter of fact, that website represents all that the WAPF and people like Sarah are AGAINST. Typical CAFO, if you know what I mean… The animals I choose to eat are not treated like that and are not killed in a way to prolong suffering. I really do take offense at that. Vegans and vegetarians are not the only ones who care about what they eat. Humanely raised, pastured meat IS NOT BAD FOR YOU!!!
so purslane should be added to butter cooked other greens and it will still have the good omega 3′s? the vitamin C i know is not heat resistant and will go by the way side… once it comes up and before it blooms, or just as it blooms i pick the tender tops off and add it to salads….
What do you think about green smoothies with ingredients like raw English spinach or kale with water and some flavouring such as fruit?
How do you make a green smoothie? Do you make it in a blender or a special appliance? How often can I have them? I have kidney stones and have began having frequent UTI’s.
I’m kind of vegan. voice actor. i never get sick, and work clearly productively. i see no point in eating meat for protein; only for the stable saturated fat. i eat cheese whenever i poison myself with raw veggies like (tomato) did that today.
pretty much every raw food is useless except for ICEBERG, and the lettuce family.
i’ve realized this food journey has been letting go of “food”, and relying on ahem; lettuce for organic hydration. plus it’s protected from pesticides. i don’t really need anything else.
…
I am a Seventh-day Adventist Christian. Many SDAs are vegetarian or even vegan. We eat a large amount of beans and nuts, as well as many veggies and whole grains. Loma Linda, California was identified as one of the few Blue Zones in the world, where people live much longer than others. SDAs in Loma Linda specifically live 8-10 years longer than other Americans.
Research such as the China Study have shown that animal protein is directly linked to cancer. Inject a rat with cancer cells, and then feed the animal casein, and the cancer grows. Stop feeding the animal casein and the cancer shrinks.
What do you do with this research?
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