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Conventional belief is that raw vegetables are always healthier than cooked, but this is not true depending on the plant foods eaten according to lab testing and anthropological evidence by experts in the field.
I stopped by one of my favorite healthfood stores today to pick up a large glass of fresh juice made from organic raw vegetables for an early lunch on the go. As usual, I asked for the a carrot, celery, beet, spinach and cucumber blend. But, hold the spinach. I definitely skipped the green smoothie too!
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 people that come in here and love the spinach in their juice.”
Ah! Great question!
The truth is that not everything should be eaten raw, especially vegetables!
Some raw 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 Raw 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, maca root, 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. Kale chips are a safe choice too.
Raw Vegetable Greens
Some veggie greens contain a chemical called oxalic acid. This substance is a very irritating 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 vegetable 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 Vegetable 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.
- Raw alfalfa sprouts are mildly toxic and inhibit the immune system. Eating large quantities regularly can make the skin overly sensitive to the sun or trigger autoimmune symptoms that mimic lupus.
Dr. Weston A. Price on Raw 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. Raw vegetable juice made from veggies that are safe to consume uncooked 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!
References
Nourishing Traditions
The Role of Oxalates in Chronic Disease, William Shaw PhD (Director of The Great Plains Laboratory for Health, Nutrition and Metabolism)
More Information
Best Green Juice for Congestion
Nightshade Vegetable Contraindications
Cleansing Myths
Hi Sarah,
This article and posts are so interesting and helpful ; I am eating nuts lately, should they be soaked ?
Yes – should be fine! No need to cook it to death.
What about blanched spinach/kale…cooked for about 2-3 minutes? Is that considered safe?
– LOVE THE INFO!!! –
~ kat
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! 🙂
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.
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.
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)
I was hoping someone would ask about this. My mother-in-law is Korean and eats kimchi with everything. She came over once when I had cooked a gumbo and brought kimchi. She’s always talking about how good it is for you.
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.
Lots of great comments. Would this also be true, then, of broccoli sprouts?
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!!