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.

But surely the handful is the teeny tiny amount you get once a full bag has wilted down into absolutely nothing!

You would have to eat massive amounts of spinach to be affected.

Obviously this would not be moderation.

My average weekly intake of spinach is about 6 leaves. I think I should be okay.

@AllyHayHay

Where did you get the idea that we need to consume as much veg (or spinach) as our guts will allow?

I've never come across any such advice.

Spinach comes in big bags because if it was packed tightly into smaller bags it would rot quickly as the moisture would be squeezed out.

You know the difference between weight and volume, right? A big bag of spinach doesn't weigh much. A bag of sugar of similar size weight a lot more.

“The dose makes the poison”

This.

It is good to be aware, I eat a lot of raw spinach because it comes in big bags, is tasty and is very easy to add a handful to sandwiches, egg on toast, salads etc. Hopefully it's not enough to be doing me any harm but I might cut it down a bit. You can freeze it in bags and then crunch it down into small pieces for cooking so you don't end up rushing to eat a whole bag before it goes off.

Eating lots of raw cauliflower and other brassicas has been shown to negatively affect thyroid function…cooking them apparently negates the negative impact

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4740614/