Not all veg is ideal!

[AllyHayHay]

There's such a force to get us all eating more and more veg, and whilst this great, since a lot of people dismiss them, it isn't all rainbows and sunshine either.
I love the stuff, but was surprised by some of the finer details - so perhaps best to be aware?

For instance, spinach. I ate it almost every day for a long period of time. It goes with most everything and I love it. However, it is high in oxalate, which can reduce the absorption of calcium, and in excess can cause kidney stones.

Not worth throwing it aside, but still a good thing to keep in mind.

Green beans, a great source of non heme iron, A and K vits, etc. But also contain phytic acid, which can bond with minerals to inhibit them being absorbed by the body.

So all things in moderation then.
But health advice never mentions these things and veg are touted as 100% problem free and that we should stuff them down without question.

It would require you to eat a LOT of the same vegetable to get those effects to a problematic extent. Plus cooking them breaks some of it down.
But too much of anything is a problem.

I think most people are sensible enough to check it's ok to eat shit tonnes of the same food items.

I don't know, I consider myself reasonably intelligent and had no idea about spinach. Most people have busy lives and don't sit researching nutrients. The idea that we need to consume as much as our guts will allow is slightly misleading.

Sadly most info online has a strong bias, so trying to locate research that isnt either anti-vegan or anti-carnivore is tough. A lot less info for the moderate, middle ground!

Perhaps they ought to tell us how much is too much?
I have osteoporosis in my family and am just past meno. I do have concerns about calcium, but strive to eat a varied and balanced diet (inc meat).

Spinach youre apparently only meant to eat a handful a day- hilarious so that they only sell it in giant bags that go off within days!!!

But health advice never mentions these things and veg are touted as 100% problem free and that we should stuff them down without question.

Got any examples of this? All the health advice I've seen recommends eating a variety of food, with plenty of fruit and veg.

I'm sorry but the world isn't heading towards being 50% obese or overweight and struggling with devastating metabolic diseases because of eating too much spinach or green beans.

Most people have busy lives and don't sit researching nutrients.

Too busy to stick a couple of words into Google?

It cooks down to nothing.

Spinach weighs hardly anything. One of those enormous bags is only about 200g. You'd have to eat a ridiculous volume of spinach to cause a problem.

I think it's only raw you have to be careful with the volume of spinach - cooked you can eat as much as you want. So the risk is minimal because to eat enough raw spinach to cause an issue would take some doing!

I don’t think the advertising about vegs can cause massive increase of spinach eating and subsequently kidney stones forming. Definitely not, especially considering spinach taste and price, and it’s not easy digestible So I wouldn’t worry too much.

Yes, about obesity - this is why veg are touted as the answer, and in many ways this is absolutely correct. It also helps people to avoid UPF's, which is a very good thing. I think most health advice is geared towards weight loss as opposed to general health.

I am not much of a fan of meat, but unlimited amounts of veg is not without it's own issues, especially for those with IBS, etc. Not all plant toxins/phytochemicals are equal.

My post is mostly concerned with that - the idea that unlimited amounts of veg are always innocent. I got rid of a ton of gastric issues when I slowed down on the raw salad stuff. I now have a more balanced diet which includes a moderate amount of booth cooked and raw veg.

Have you cooked spinach? That giant bag is just a handful!

@AllyHayHay 100g is common recommended portion size - and that is much more than most people serve themselves.

When you’ve cooked that big bag it serves only two or four (depending on bag size). You’d have to eat nearly a kilo of spinach a month before it moves into potential problems.

As for the iron, as with all plant based iron if have it with some Vitamin C your body will absorb it much more efficiently.

No one anywhere says “binge on one particular vegetable,” they all advise a good range of veg from different groups and in different colours.

Show me someone who OD’d on a particular vegetable and I’ll show you someone with an eating disorder.

Haa yes those enormous bags of spinach, what is it with that??

I'd say most people are at least partially uninformed about everything, tbh.

The health advice I’ve seen speaks about eating the rainbow because fruit or veg that are the same colours tend to have the same nutrients so if health is the goal then to go colourful.

I suspect that you have to eat crazy quantities for the negative health effects and sticking to a portion will be fine but I can’t be arsed to Google. Remember that you can even drink too much water.

They should put a warning on Popeye 'do not eat this much spinach at home' 😂

I freeze it for curries. But I get your point about the huge bag.

yep. ridiculous.

The NHS advice is to aim to eat 30 different fruit & veg a week. Not 30 servings of spinach or green beans 😊

Probably for a family. If you are using spinach in curries, it is easier to use frozen spinach, then you only defrost the quantity you can eat in one sitting.

I buy spinach a massive bag can barely do a family meal once you wilt it down with a bit of butter.

General advice is that you should eat a variety. All that eat a rainbow stuff. I don't think the suggestion was ever that one lives off spinach.

I've never seen any health advice which says only ever eat one or two types of vegetable as part of your 5-9 a day, which is essentially what you'd have to do to reach the levels you're talking about.

yes but that massive bag cooks down to only a handful 😀