Leah_S Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 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? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 You should only eat spinach 2 to 3 times a week otherwise the acid builds up too much in your body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 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? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 You can have too much of pretty much anything. I would suggest diversifying a touch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunnyDays Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 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/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 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? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphus Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Most likely when your body has had enough, it will let you know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leah_S Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 Probably should clear something up: Six cups once cooked? Or six cups raw, that cooks down to about a cup? Six cups once cooked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Yikes, that's an awful lot. I think it would be better to diversify your veggie intake more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 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? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 I would think an excess of vitamin K would be bad for some conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 OP, what has inspired you to eat this way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Six cups once cooked. Thanks for the clarification. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leah_S Posted March 29, 2014 Author Share Posted March 29, 2014 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 Six cups once cooked. that is a lot. I would honestly expect some gastro issues to hit at some point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KayT Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joules Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 Well, I hope the diet works for you, but it sounds pretty :ack2: to me. I could never eat that way long-term. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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