Calling all Dieticians: Can you eat too many cooked greens?

[Leah_S]

I've been eating 6 cups of cooked greens daily for the past 9 days.    Doing it mainly for the nutrients therefrom and as low-calorie source of calcium, protein and fiber.   By cooked greens I mean:  spinach, kale, collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, cabbage, beet greens, etc.      

 

Thus far I've had no negative side effects, but are there are any negatives that could arise from this practice (Goal: 2 cups cooked greens with all 3 meals) if I keep this up long-term?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[milovany]

I think it's uncooked greens that can cause a problem (maybe spinach especially?).  I'm not a dietician, but remember that one because I used to eat a lot of raw broccoli and it .... hurt ... so I looked it up.  I believe it had something to do with oxalic acid in uncooked greens. 

[shukriyya]

The oxalic acid is reduced but not removed with cooking. That's a lot to take in 3 x a day, 7 days a week. I'd probably cut back to 1/2 that amount and supplement the other three cups with different veggies--roots like yams, carrots and beets, bell peppers, summer squash, celery, mushrooms etc.

[Melissa in Australia]

You should only eat spinach 2 to 3 times a week otherwise the acid builds up too much in your body.

[JumpyTheFrog]

I read about a woman who ended up in the hospital after eating 2 lbs of bok choy every day for a month. It screwed up her thyroid. I don't know if it was raw or not.

[JumpyTheFrog]

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/death-bok-choy-eating-put-woman-coma-article-1.448093

It says she ate 2-3 lbs raw every day until it induced severe hypothyroidism that put her in a coma.

[Seasider]

I know that my friend on Coumadin (a blood thinner) was instructed to not make any changes in the typical amount of leafy greens he consumes, so there must be some affect on blood viscosity?

[LucyStoner]

You can have too much of pretty much anything. I would suggest diversifying a touch.

[JumpyTheFrog]

I know that my friend on Coumadin (a blood thinner) was instructed to not make any changes in the typical amount of leafy greens he consumes, so there must be some affect on blood viscosity?

 

I think it might be because of the vitamin k in leafy greens. I think they have to do with blood coagulation.

[SunnyDays]

I think it might be because of the vitamin k in leafy greens. I think they have to do with blood coagulation.

 

Yes.  Vitamin K helps your clotting factor.  Here's an article I found explaining it.

 

http://www.livestrong.com/article/422923-what-happens-with-too-much-vitamin-k/

[Catwoman]

Why would you want to keep up that kind of diet long-term? :confused:

I'm no expert, but I think you're going way overboard with the cooked greens.

What else are you eating? I think a balanced diet is better on a long-term basis than concentrating too much on one particular kind of food.

Even if you're lacking the nutrients found in the cooked greens, I don't think it's necessarily a great idea to suddenly start bombarding your system with them.

[milovany]

I've been eating 6 cups of cooked greens daily for the past 9 days.    Doing it mainly for the nutrients therefrom and as low-calorie source of calcium, protein and fiber.   By cooked greens I mean:  spinach, kale, collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, cabbage, beet greens, etc.      

 

Thus far I've had no negative side effects, but are there are any negatives that could arise from this practice (Goal: 2 cups cooked greens with all 3 meals) if I keep this up long-term?  

 

Probably should clear something up:  Six cups once cooked?  Or six cups raw, that cooks down to about a cup? 

[Sisyphus]

Woah- I never knew any of this! Ds eats raw broccoli by the boatload, as a snack. He just munches straight on the bunch. As far as I know, no ill effects? He eats it every day, one or two bunches (or whatever the big tree looking broccoli thing is called).

My dad has a heart valve and must be careful of certain veggies due to coumadin, but I never knew of any other reason why more wouldn't be better in the case of veggies. Color me confused!

[Catwoman]

Probably should clear something up: Six cups once cooked? Or six cups raw, that cooks down to about a cup?

That's an excellent question and makes a huge difference! :)

My assumption was that she meant 6 cups after cooking, but your absolutely right that she may have meant that she started with 6 cups of raw veggies and then cooked them.

Six cups of something like raw spinach ends up cooking down to practically nothing, so if that's what she meant, I'm far less concerned that she's overdoing it than I was when I thought it was 6 cups after cooking.

[Rosie_0801]

Most likely when your body has had enough, it will let you know.

[Melissa in Australia]

That's an excellent question and makes a huge difference! :)

My assumption was that she meant 6 cups after cooking, but your absolutely right that she may have meant that she started with 6 cups of raw veggies and then cooked them.

Six cups of something like raw spinach ends up cooking down to practically nothing, so if that's what she meant, I'm far less concerned that she's overdoing it than I was when I thought it was 6 cups after cooking.

 

:iagree:

 I was imagining 6 cups cooked
 

[Leah_S]

Probably should clear something up:  Six cups once cooked?  Or six cups raw, that cooks down to about a cup? 

Six cups once cooked.

[JumpyTheFrog]

Yikes, that's an awful lot. I think it would be better to diversify your veggie intake more.

[sassenach]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the reason one wouldn't want a highly elevated oxalic acid level is because of its effect on the kidneys, right?  As in kidney stones?  

[Slartibartfast]

I would think an excess of vitamin K would be bad for some conditions.

[Seasider]

OP, what has inspired you to eat this way?

[Catwoman]

Six cups once cooked.

Thanks for the clarification. :)

[Melissa in Australia]

Most likely when your body has had enough, it will let you know.

 

your body sometimes lets you know when you have had enough in surprising and painful ways.
 

[Leah_S]

OP, what has inspired you to eat this way?

I'm dieting and I'm aiming to eat 1400 daily.    

 

I've realized that IF AT EACH MEAL (breakfast, lunch, dinner) I eat the following:

2 cups of cooked greens 

3 half-cup servings of vegetables (choose 3)

1/8 c. nuts/avocado/healthy fat

2/3 c. beans/lentils/eggs

 

and if I have a piece of fruit for a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack, that I end up eating right at 1400 calories.  Plus, I get the required protein, fat, calcium, fiber, folate, with no need of any vitamins/supplements.    I end up with the great percentages also: 18 to 20 of calories as fat, 20% of calories as protein, and about 60% carbs.   (BTW, I don't calculate all of this by hand; I've learned this by entering it in to my AWESOME www.dietpower.com software.)

 

Dairy doesn't sit well with me at all, so I need some other source of calcium.       

 

While I like to use my dietpower, I don't want to enter stuff daily.   Eating this way takes the thinking out of it and would thus makes it an easier habit for me.

 

 

 

 

 

Also...I thought the oxalic acid was an issue if the greens were RAW and that the cooking neutralized this.

[LucyStoner]

Six cups once cooked.

that is a lot. I would honestly expect some gastro issues to hit at some point.

[Seasider]

Thanks for the explanation. You are much more disciplined than I! Though I do love a mess of cooked greens with a dash of hot sauce...

Listen to your body. I do believe if it's too much, your GI system will let you know! Personally, I would also be interested in blood values so I'd be asking for bloodwork at my next physical.

[KayT]

I thought for sure you must trying to follow some version of Dr. Terry Wahls Protocol diet for autoimmune disease. It calls for 9 cups of veggies a day broken down into 3 cps of leafy greens, 3 cps of colored vegetables and fruit, and 3 cps of sulfur vegetables. If she got better from MS this way I doubt it will hurt you any especially since you are cooking your greens and not eating them raw.

 

 

[Joyofsixreboot]

I would think it's ok if
1) you have no underlying health issues(kidney, bp, etc.)
2) you vary the greens-kale, spinach, turnip, beet, mustard, etc. Variety is key usually.
3) listen to your body-bloating, pain, gas are signs you're overdoing

While this might be easy I'm not sure this is good over the long haul.
*low oxylate greens have calcium that is more bioavailable so the calcium in kale is easier to use than, say, spinach. You might like this http://www.ellenskitchen.com/faqs/calcium.html

[Joules]

Also, keep in mind that spinach is on the dirty dozen list and kale and collards aren't very far down. If you aren't buying them organic, that much of the contaminants may cause a problem.

I'm still trying to imagine how many greens you would have to buy each day to yield 6 cups cooked. As much as they cook down, I think I'd have to go to the grocery and fill my trunk each day!

[Catwoman]

Well, I hope the diet works for you, but it sounds pretty :ack2: to me. I could never eat that way long-term.