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Broccoli is bad for you, like, really toxic bad

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Don’t believe the headline – broccoli is one of the healthiest foods you can eat. But as a case-study into how we can become needlessly fearful of eating many foods, I will show how by selectively citing some scientific research and blowing it all out of context, you can build a case for any food being ‘toxic’. Even wholesome broccoli. Yes, broccoli is bad for you.

If you have a small amount of scientific nous, it is super easy to mount a case for any food or nutrient being harmful and toxic by selectively quoting scientific research. Grains, soy, gluten and even sugar are the current faves here.

The Internet proliferates with opinion pieces quick to vilify particular foods and nutrients as being ‘the cause’ of many of our health problems by over-cooking (see what I did there?) one side of the research evidence. To show you how this is done, I present for you a masterclass on this art form on how you can turn perfectly healthy broccoli into one of the most toxic foods a person can eat. After I do that, I’ll give you some practical tips on how to spot when it is being done and what you should really be concentrating on for best health.

So read on as I lift the lid on the toxic chemical soup that is broccoli, and explain why every mouthful you eat is pushing you ever faster to an early grave.

**Commence parody of creating fear of a food**

Toxic broccoli

You’ve been told since you were a child that eating broccoli is good for you. Sorry to break it to you, but your parents lied to you. Have you ever stopped and questioned on what basis this advice comes from? Broccoli certainly gets the health-halo for being a green vegetable. But when you start to dig a bit deeper, an alarming picture emerges for just how bad broccoli is for you.

To start with, broccoli is a well-described goitrogen. Goitrogens are chemicals that suppress the function of the thyroid gland by interfering with iodine uptake, a key mineral needed to make thyroid hormone. This blocking of iodine uptake causes the thyroid gland to enlarge; a goitre is the end result.

Broccoli is loaded with goitrogens, particularly one group called thiocyanates. The consequence of eating these thiocyanates is the potential to develop the very serious condition of hypothyroidism. What is hypothyroidism? Well, do you or have you ever experienced any of these symptoms?

  • Fatigue and low energy levels
  • Unexplained weight gain
  • Depression
  • Slow heart rate
  • Intolerance to cold temperatures
  • Fatigued and aching muscles
  • Dry, coarse skin
  • Puffy face
  • Hair loss
  • Constipation
  • Problems with concentration

If you said yes to any of these, then you’re a candidate for being hypothyroid and I would be looking at broccoli as the prime candidate for causing this.

And it is not just goitrogens you need to be worrying about. Broccoli is loaded with formaldehyde, a natural by-product of oxidation and which is known to cause cancer in rats. Formaldehyde is used in the manufacturing of plastics, foam insulation, fungicides, mirrors, insecticides, petroleum, resins and industrial chemicals. No one in their right mind would eat any of these things so when you see this list, just add broccoli to it as well.

Pesticides

But the biggest thing you need to know about is what I like to call the ‘dirty little secret’ of the organic food industry. Organic food is good for you right because it doesn’t contain any pesticides? Wrong. Broccoli is overloaded with natural pesticides which are part of the plant’s natural defence system against harm. And what you’re not being told by Big Organic is that half of those pesticides when tested on laboratory animals have been shown to cause cancer.

Well at least organic broccoli doesn’t contain any human-made pesticides I hear you say? Sorry, but organic growers are able to use if they wish ‘natural’ pesticides and they are not required to tell you about it. Many of these natural pesticides are actually more toxic than synthetic pesticides. To make things even worse, there is no national monitoring system for these natural pesticides as is the case for the system in place for synthetic ones. Organic broccoli: you may as well be using Round-up for your salad dressing and get your toxic cancer-causing pesticide hit in one go rather than eat it.

And remember those thiocyanates I mentioned earlier? Well those too can cause bladder cancer in rats. We have graphic warning signs about cancer on cigarette packets, so why do health authorities continue to sit on their hands and take no action against broccoli?

**End of parody – the rest of this blog post is legit**

Time for a reality check

Okay, so back to our normal programming. Broccoli is awesome and is super healthy for you and I rate it (along with other cruciferous vegetables) as one of the best foods you could be eating. It contains a host of nutrients linked to reducing cancer risk. On top of that, it is high in fibre, low in kilojoules and is packed with lots of nutrients such as vitamins C and K, and is a good source of vitamin A, folate and potassium.

So, what about all those alarming health concerns I wrote about? Ignore them. Most of them are theoretical as lack any context of dose. Just about anything will cause cancer of the everything in rats if you give it in high enough doses. Although if you have low iodine levels and were at risk of hypothyroidism, you would be wise not to be eating several kilograms of raw broccoli each day.

Organic broccoli is good for you. Conventional broccoli is good for you. There are thousands of other things you could worry about to do with your health rather than tiny doses of natural or synthetic pesticides.

Even though there are some hypothetical risks from eating too much broccoli, they are more than outweighed by the health benefits. That is what matters here: the overall balance for what it means to your health and broccoli breaks the scales here for health benefits.

By selectively quoting research, you can build a case for or against any food if that was your agenda. Throw in some emotive language, and you’ve got yourself a winner for getting the public’s attention. You can then make quite a bit of money out of doing this too from book sales and building up a large social media following.

Take soy for example. You’ll find opinion on the Internet vilifying it for its endocrine disrupting ability. Yet the research to support these claims are overplayed compared to the many health benefits linked to its consumption. In some cases, too much soy could be a problem such as for women with estrogen receptor positive breast cancer undergoing active cancer treatment. But eating it as part of a varied diet is a health win. Just like for broccoli. And grains. And fruit. And legumes. And…you get the picture.

Let’s hate on nutritionists

Cars were once designed to be big and heavy like a tank to stand the impact in the event of a crash. We now know that the safest way to design a car is to make it able to crumple to better absorb an accident impact. Yet nowhere are there loud social media voices calling out the credibility of car designers because they ‘got it wrong’ some decades ago. Would you really want the safety design of your car left to Google University experts?

Same in medicine. Medical treatments are always advancing as new research emerges. Yet we don’t trash the whole profession because some decades ago treatment of stomach ulcers was done by diet and stress management when it was a bacterium that was the culprit and antibiotics are the effective cure here.

Yet here we have it in the field of nutrition that credible nutritionists and dietitians are routinely lambasted. All because some aspect of dietary advice given in the past is different to today. And worse still, current advice is not instantly changed the minute a new publication on the benefit of Fad Diet X comes out.

The voices of experts are just as credible and just as valid to listen to today, and they get it right far more than they get it wrong. Expertise is not the ability of someone to repeat blog post opinions and quote a few sentences from scientific papers that agree with their point of view. Expertise is not proportional to the number of someone’s Facebook, Twitter or Instagram followers.

Learning from the people who have nailed it

So how do you know if what you’re hearing or reading is going to be credible information rather than a biased con job like the one I pulled on broccoli? Well, you could undertake a PhD in nutrition and learn how to do it like the pros (not to be recommended) or you could take the easy option and just see if it passes the following test.

  1. Is the advice you’re reading also repeated consistently by the voices of credible nutrition professionals, researchers and peak health bodies? If yes, go to 2. If no, raise the sceptical flag.
  2. Is the end result of following this advice pointing you in the direction of eating more plant-based foods and less highly processed foods and sugar without banning any foods or food groups or labelling certain foods as toxic? If yes, go to 3. If no, then strongly consider doing it anyway.
  3. Eat foods that you like eating and you know that agree with you and that fit within the themes of the advice.

If advice passes this basic test, then you’re on the path to following in the steps of the dietary patterns of some of the healthiest and longest-lived people on the planet. They eat a mostly plant-based diet, and incorporate daily, natural physical activity into their lives. They also do not overeat and learn to stop eating before they feel full.

Long-lived people don’t avoid dairy foods, or soy or gluten. They don’t calculate the glycaemic index of their meals. They don’t ruminate on if the grains they are eating are stopping the absorption of other nutrients. They don’t take supplements. They eat. They move. They enjoy. They socially engage with their community in person. They live.

Yet even between the different long-lived communities, there is diversity in the foods they eat. Showing there is no one single ‘right’ way to eat, only flexible guidelines. Choosing mostly seasonal fruits and vegetables, and a variety of beans, nuts, seeds and grains is the cornerstone of their dietary pattern.

Get the basics right and you can hit the snooze button on needing to ever again pay attention to anything you ever read or hear in the media or from populist nutrition gurus again. And you also get to enjoy eating broccoli too.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. “Same in medicine. Medical treatments are always advancing as new research emerges. Yet we don’t trash the whole profession because some decades ago treatment of stomach ulcers was done by diet and stress management when it was a bacterium that was the culprit and antibiotics are the effective cure here.”

    It seems like you miss the point of your own article. A balance is necessary for health. Work life balance. Microbiome balance. I assure you just antibiotics without fixing the underlying issues will just result in reinfection.

    Reply

  3. I’m here to say a cousin of my mom used to eat lots of raw broccoli which btw I used to for some time and it tastes better than cooked. He died from colon cancer and people kept saying it was because of the raw broccoli. I had precancer cells cuz I was eating too much sugar I suppose and started eating cooked broccoli and they went back to normal. We tend to cook broccoli and spinach where I’m from for recipes. Carrots are beneficial eaten raw for instance (for the glutathione I suppose) but some veggies may be harmful if consumed raw in large quantities. I live on raw milk and raw eggs and I’ve seen major improvement in my health. Too much of everything tho may be detrimental. Studies on rats I take them seriously cuz after I read how the raw egg white can cure cadmium toxicity I applied it in real life on my dog who developed parvo and her pool smelled like detergents from the vaccine her breeder gave her.. the raw eggs saved her life. Parvo is fast and dogs die within a day. Dr Deva Khalsa found out about the parvo proteins in dog vaccines causing the “epidemic” just to lower the dog population. I read how the action of DHT opens the door for these proteins to enter the cells and I knew when my girl entered puberty she’d develop “parvo” a cat disease… As for blueberries having the toxic substances of vaccines… did I read that right? um vaccines poison the blood right away, no digestive tract. I’ve had family members die recently after the infamous vaccine and let’s not talk about the amputations and cellular necrosis depleted glutathione and PE, a friend of mine my age 33 passed away after the jab, her leg developed gangrene (lower fat there) docs gave her antibiotics and she died the same day perfectly healthy, left a baby behind. Coroner said the only contributing factor was the shot. Take what you write on here more seriously. Blueberries and vaccines are the same now okay. I do agree that obsession with monitoring what we eat precisely is unhealthy, and monitoring our health obsessively was condemned by Plato who made fun of Herodicus the father of sports medicine, he lived a life of bad death torturing himself and his patients so consumed by it so meticulous as Plato said. “He lived his eternal torture not to deviate from his usual diet and by this wisdom he dragged his life …not having any other occupation” . As for the Adventist cult, it’s the Cronian cult of the Phoenicians and other middle eastern nations (a danger to humanity as our philosophers thought) which influenced Europe so of course they may push veganism. Osiris (Hades- sun god- Dionysus a Semitic non Greek god) it is said that civilized Egypt and ceased cannibalism turning it to veganism from which we see the dionysian wine and bread offerings Gen 14:18.

    Reply

  4. Calling our parents (or anyone) liars is not accurate. “Ignorant” is a more accurate term.
    I am not intentionally trying to deceive my children if I tell them something I believe to be true. Using that kind of language hurts your cause, and is itself a lie.

    Reply

  5. Not that anymore commentary is needed on this article… I really wanted to skip to the end and just comment, but I had to read ALL of the comments because it was shocking for me that most commenters lacked higher order thinking skills.

    Most people were reactionary. And, most people attacked you because they felt their beliefs are being threatened.

    Have you considered creating a research report categorizing the types of comments just for kicks?

    Aside from that, research IS highly biased depending on the source of funding and opinions of the researcher. We dive through data and skew it to make it say whatever we want. This is an especially useful habit in politics (e.g. the vax is “safe and effective”).

    I wish more people were taught to think, but unfortunately that’s not a desired outcome of the modern education system.

    Reply

        • So you just eat the meat of the animals who eat greens like broccoli and you think you’re safe? Ahhh, you’re very smart bud

          Reply

          • Cows don’t eat much broccoli. They eat grasses and mostly stay away from broad leaf plants, aka vegetables and weeds as they are toxic in large amounts. The organs of the cow expels most toxins from its body and from there it produces a very high quality protein and fat for us omnivores and self proclaimed carnivores to enjoy. That being stated I love broccoli but the first thing it does is makes me hungrier than before I ate it. When I go to sleep broccoli it will cause inflammation throughout my body and the first bad symptom is snoring. Then I will experience stiffer and painful joints and a couple of pounds of weight gain from the inflammation/fluid retention the next day. I say this from my own experiences with my elimination diet/ carnivore lifestyle. I have occasionally gone back for one day to a selected vegetable. I have had the same results with tomatoes and potatoes. However olives and squash, I seem to tolerate very well.

          • I sometimes rely on Burger King for their 100% USDA grade A beef that happens to be the most nutritious food on the planet. It is delicious and very satisfying. I just don’t eat anything else there except for iodized salt and water.

      • @all plants have defense mechanisms to survive. Just some worse than others. Brussel sprout have the hight carcinogens. 130. Watch Dr Chaffee on YouTube. Plants are try to kill us. Just look around at the disgusting shape of people. Everywhere. Fiber is a live. Damages our guts. Eat carnivoreand mostly everyone is healing from almost everything. Dr Ken Berry. YouTube carnivore diet. You should be glad if you find something helpful for you. People think they know truth fron wherever. But mostly 95 % of everything you think you know is a lie. Nasa. Nukes. Moon landing. Dr Martin King was a sex addict. Men too and youg boys and girls. Heroine addict. Alright wake up. Your friends need you

        Reply

  6. People should know that dihydrogen monoxide is found in Broccoli and intake of this chemical in large quantities can and will cause deadly effects.

    Reply

    • Too much water to quickly can be deadly, yes. What is really funny is that You think that plants’ natural defence systems are healthy to eat. Eat meat and grow up.

      Reply

    • 🙂 🙂 🙂 Oh Bobbo! You’ve made my day!!!
      I can attest to your statement I can’t inhale any amounts of DHMO without choking and vomiting. As a child I was often exposed to DHMO for 15 minutes or more at a time which would cause grotesque turgidity of my skin.
      🙂 🙂

      Reply

  8. I am somebody who has been a very long time Juicer Of all things dark green; Broccoli absolutely ruins your health!

    I have experienced it first hand and once I cut it out everything went back to normal

    First hand experiences are way more valid than your machinations ponder rations of nutrient metrics

    I was not an open minded person and I may not have believed it myself but once I cut broccoli out I started feeling great now I juice dark green mixed leafy greens The result has been amazing!

    AVOID Broccoli

    Reply

    • broccoli doesn’t ruin MY health, it may ruin YOURS. we’re all different and our bodies respond to different foods.

      this is like the equivalent of going on a walk and then tripping and spraining your ankle, and proclaiming that everyone should “AVOID EXERCISE!!”

      Reply

  10. I thought all in all this was a great article. I suppose there MIGHT be a valid complaint I read in one comment that some might not understand the satirical portion was satire. Yeah, maybe, maybe it would be good to really clearly demark the satire just to help some out. But, as pointed out in the article, there’s way more toxic stuff people are going to bumble into on the ‘Net where misinformation or lazy-information is being passionately proclaimed to anyone who will read and (hopefully) click on an ad. I’d much rather have articles like this.

    Reply

  12. I don’t need more evidence that what broccoli made in my stomach several times.

    Last time I eat raw broccoli several days in a row, and have both constipation and diarrhea and felt like crap for a week. I’m not sure if I have only IBS or maybe also SIBO but definitely broccoli is a food to be cautious about.

    Reply

  13. Any extraordinary claim mandates being accompanied by extraordinary evidence. I saw no evidence either way in this piece. Your Honor, the defense rests.

    Reply

  14. Ummm. Does this author not know how the endocrine system works? This is a fucking troll article.

    Talking about hypothyroidism and then not even understanding how negative feedback works is CLEAR in his post.

    This article is CRAAPP.

    Reply

    • Any person who uses the F word or any other cuss word Had already lost his credibility. Because, cussing and swearing, is a small mind trying to express itself. Fact is, All fruits and vegetables are good for food, and promote health. Broccoli has more protein than meat, but no one complains about meat dangers here. i Broccoli-has far more nutritional benefits than the small infinitesimal amount of so-called negatives, Besides, why don’t we get together, extract the formaldehyde from the broccoli. You can drink regular Formaldehyde, and I will drink the broccoli Formaldehyde, and let’s put the theories to the test, and let’s do the same with round up. Fact is, For instance, protein in animal products gives cancer while protein in broccoli repairs to DNA and promotes health . Plant base ingredients are different from other ingredients.. The body was made to run on it. I am sure you would agree with me, that we do not understand how the body handles chemicals. But again, cussing people are not just unprofessional, but also disrespectful, rude and bottom feeding. So, the conclusion is, their opinion does not count

      Reply

        • Broccoli contains more protein per calorie than steak and, per calorie, spinach is about equal to chicken and fish. Of course, you’ll need to eat a lot more broccoli and spinach to get the same amount of calories that you do from the meat.

          Reply

          • More vegan nonsense.. Broccoli is not a legitimate source of anything but ascorbic acid and some vitamin k. No one is getting enough protein from broccoli. Vegans look like shit.

          • This is an incredibly misleading way to represent protein in broccoli. I’ve seen the image too, a photo of a steak and a photo of a lovely head of broccoli announcing that there is more protein in 100 calories of broccoli vs 100 calories of steak. Why not just show a photo of a steak with 50 grams of protein next to a pile of broccoli with 50 grams of protein? Because it would be so ridiculous comparing such a gigantic pile of broccoli to a steak and saying “See, broccoli has way more protein”!

            Such a sneaky manipulative tactic by vegans

        • The way the body absorbs PLANTS’ proteins is not the same as the way meat proteins are absorbed.
          Go beyond that confirmation bias of dismissing valid arguments « just because you feel like it », many athletes are switching to plant-based diets… (But if you’re into dying at 50 from either heart failure or stroke, good for you…).

          Reply

          • Plant bioavailability is beyond Abysmal compared to meats in just about every way. Your insanely dilusional. Ask yourslef why pure 100% red meat carnivore diet is producting the best blood work analysis and promoting healthy muscle structire which helps metabolic function. Many have been on this pure red meat diet for 15 years staight often curing IBS, autoimmune, Hashimoto’s disease, and other metabolic related disease caused from vegan or raw vegan diets. Pure carnivore is not the most fun diet but its results have to be respected. All the vital vitamins and minerals are in meat if they are healthy raised animals. I’ve studied, practiced and coached others with great success on these matters. How about you?

      • You have no idea what you’re talking about. Animal protein doesn’t cause cancer. There is no evidence of it in humans, certainly not with meat. Casein may cause issues. Also all fruit and vegetables aren’t good food or health at all. What a bunch of vegan nonsense lies. There are 1000s of toxic fruits and vegetables at a minimum. Stop making things up.

        Reply

      • Everything you just said applies to your own thought process is not others oh my God a cuss word oh no welcome to the real World cupcake

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      • Protein in animal products gives cancer..? You must be highly toxic and delusional from too many plant foods. Literally thousands of years our ancestors hunted and evolved on animal foods. Agriculture was implemented to feed slaves. The most dominant animals in nature (with the most similar digestive system to humans) eat bones, organs, meat. This is common sense. Nobody has ever died from eating too much meat. The studies are from the 70’s and are totally manufactured by Big Ag. They don’t tell you that those people that “eat meat” are eating it through things like McDonald’s with seed oils, trans fats, sugar, carbs GALORE. Things we never consumed throughout history until industrial revolution and Big Ag. There are some fruits and veggies out there that aren’t as toxic as others but at the end of the day we need ZERO carbs to survive and plant foods are non-essential.

        Reply

  15. Tim Crowe, have you never heard of gut health?

    Many people realize through working with a specialist, that they are intolerable
    to many “healthy foods” like broccoli, raspberries, Greek yogurt and more. In fact,
    there’s an entire company that has been very successful in chronic disease reversal
    based on helping people remove foods that trigger gut health issues.

    They are called Betr Health. Several of their successful members cited broccoli as a trigger to excessive inflammation. Removing it and other foods which triggered gut inflammation, helped them
    REVERSE DISEASE. I think there’s no safe food to use as an example of extrapolating
    from research studies.

    Reply

    • Why do think people have gut issues? Not from what they have been eating, but because of what they have been thinking. Wrong thinking causes many more problems that wrong eating. Eat right, think right, eliminate right, no problems.
      LOL. The problems are pandemic, but that’s human nature, can we change it?

      Reply

      • What people are eating and timing are important in the modern society because the food produced nowadays are different from what it was long time ago.
        Wrong thinking alone won’t cut it in my opinion. Feeling good and happy eating junk food won’t make you feel happy. One needs to take care more of what they eat and the timing of the intake of the food (OMAD, intermittent fasting) instead of eating 3-6 times a day including snack

        Reply

    • I eat broccoli every day, three times a day. Not only is my stomach strong and healthy above average. But I am healthy otherwise

      Reply

  16. Happy to see one of my favourite veg in the spotlight.
    Also OK with the obviously Click-bait title – good work!

    Not so impressed with the clumsy Satire.
    If the purpose of the article is just to entertain then that’s fine, mission accomplished!
    However, I would imagine the writer intended to make it instructive and helpful to as wide an audience as possible.
    Can you imagine how confusing the message might be to a someone where english is a second language or to dyslexic, Asperger, ADD or other comprehension difficulties,

    Oddly, for such a health-positive article, any mention of the message being a bit lost or confusing seems to have attracted a lot of very unsympathetic comments for any that might struggle to, ‘get it’

    Anyways, now craving broccoli and looking forward to dinner 🙂

    Reply

  17. Nonsense. Look, for example at the people who live the longest in the U.S. and you will find that they come from a town in California called Loma Linda. This town is overwhelmingly Seventh-day Adventist. I am a Seventh-day Adventist who is here to tell you that animal proteins are the causes of many of the cancerous and heart diseases that exist today. Please do the research.

    Reply

    • I agree. I think people who live on plant based foods are ultimately much more health. There are 5 blue zones around the world which have been part of significant research – where many people are living to well over 100 – and some of the reasons include low or no meat.

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      • Not really. There are a lot of antinutrients contained in the plant. I am more biased on thinking that carbs are the main source of insulin resistance which is the root cause of the world’s health problem such as hypertension, diabetes, cancer etc. Look up Dr. Berg, Dr. Fung etc. You will get another perspective of the insulin resistance and the problem caused by it.

        Reply

        • Dr. Berg is an idiot….carbs are not the main source of insulin resistance. Go read a book on biochemistry and stop spreading misinformation. Yes, carbs are the easiest way for your body to get glucose but it’ll turn fat and protein into glucose as well in a process called gluconeogenesis as your body requires glucose to function. GLUT4 works as the channels to move glucose across the plasma membrane and insulin causes an increase how fast GLUT4 channels can operate. It is the decrease in GLUT4 channels and the lack of binding sites on the cells surface that leads to what is known as insulin resistance.

          Why do these GLUT4 stop functioning the way they should?? Adipose tissue (aka body fat) is the main culprit as those cells, along with muscle cells, all use GLUT4 but as the amount of Adipose tissue increases the rate of uptake falls off greatly so while your muscle GLUT4 cells keep working as they should at first, your adipose cells start resisting the glucose as their GLUT4 channels aren’t operating as they should or the number per surface area have decreased. In summary, the increase in adipose tissue mass results in a decrease of GLUT4 mRNA and protein expression. Now if you are able to understand that, the question you should be asking is how does the increase of adipose tissue affect the GLUT4 mRNA and protein expression in muscle….that is a the question that researchers are working on as that is the key to really “curing” diabetes. The leading belief is it has to do with hormones released by adipocytes.

          So what causes insulin resistance??? The answer comes down to FAT and how too much fat tissue screws up the metabolic system for your entire body.

          Reply

          • Is somebody who lives and maintains very healthy one of those conditions you described all I can do is 😂 at everything you said

      • Blur Zones are bullshit. Longest lived prior are from Hong Kong and they also happen to have the workday highest meat consumption.

        I know, tough to swallow.

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    • you should check T Colin Cambell’s research on casein,also effects on animal protein on IGF-1,tmao ,new-5g and chronic inflammation.

      Reply

      • The biased research that has been completely discredited? How much have you checked it I wonder? Did you know oxygen is extremely toxic when you isolate it in a lab experiment and test it on cells, so should we stop breathing?

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        • While, I am on board with the carnivore diet, to some extent., Ive noticced everyone on it is a complete @$$hole.. angry and verbally hostile…. I strongly believe that they are taking on the energy of the slaughtered animals and the torment they have undergone from inhumane practices…. I cant wait to get yelled at ,… Im ready !!! sock it to me

          Reply

        • While, I am on board with the carnivore diet, to some extent., Ive noticed everyone on it is a complete @$$hole.. angry and verbally hostile…. I strongly believe that they are taking on the energy of the slaughtered animals and the torment they have undergone from inhumane practices…. I cant wait to get yelled at ,… Im ready !!! sock it to me

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    • Not true! Processed animal proteins are definitely unhealthy- but even unprocessed animal products are unhealthy when they come big agricultural farms Learn about where your food comes from and how it’s treated to determine whether I’m telling the truth.

      1) Farmers must pump them with antibiotics because of the filthy, cramped living conditions

      2) BGH does lead to growth if insulin factor-1 in humans, which accelerates cancer
      https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3614012/

      3) Being artificially-inseminated against your will (rape) and kept pregnant CONTINUALLY is cruel- this is what must be done to cows to make dairy in BIG AGRICULTURAL FARMS

      3) Being CONTINUALLY milked by MECHANICAL MILKING ALL DAY LONG is painful (torture) and cuts the cow’s udders, leading to mastitis, where pus and blood ooze into YOUR dairy product (this happens at BIG AGRICULTURAL FARMS)

      4) Dairy cows only live 5 YEARS before collapsing out of exhaustion (Big Agri Farms)

      5) Once they collapse from exhaustion, they’re dragged, electrically shocked and picked up with a forklift to be butchered (Big Agri Farms)

      If you’re going to eat animal protein- get it sourced from ethically raised animals and don’t eat in huge quantities like the sizes people buy at Costco/Walmart.

      1) Buy from ethically-sourced farms
      2) Reduce your consumption (most Americans eat much too much sugar and animal protein)
      3) Got compassion for animal torture?
      4) Care about our earth?? ( Top 5 meat & dairy companies (JBS, Tyson, Cargill, Dairy Farmers of America and Fonterra) produce more greenhouse gas emissions annually that either Exxonmobile, Shell or BP!

      Peace.

      Reply

    • There are plenty of people in the world who eat only animal products and many live to be over 100. I know you just talked about the U.S., but there are many more problems here than what they eat, although I would agree that the standard U.S. American diet is one of the worst in the world You can research that, I may be entirely wrong, who knows.

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      • No you are correct the only people that are wrong are vegans and vegetarians who insisted that that is the only health way to be just as people who only eat meat are insistent that that’s the only healthy way to be the reality is both of those sides are wrong and stupid

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    • Da F*@%* outta here with your silly cult lies. I’m looking forward to the day when SDA is fully exposed for the meddling that has poisoned dietary guidelines world wide. Learn a thing about real, actual scientific, research before you contribute even more than you already have to the state of chronic disease we are facing. Cherry picked data – like Loma Linda along with the all the Blue Zones needs to reassessed and inclusive ALL the facts.

      Reply

    • 😂 yeah I’m probably not going to take my health advice and nutrition advice from somebody who’s in an actual legitimate cult….

      Reply

  18. “A few studies have found a small but significant increased risk of disease with higher intakes of glucosinolates, which are obtained mainly through cruciferous vegetables. In two studies following three large prospective cohorts of 42,170 male and 168,404 female health professionals for several years, a higher intake of glucosinolates was associated with a slightly higher risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes in men and women. Individuals with the highest intakes of glucosinolates had a 19% increased risk of type 2 diabetes compared with those with the lowest intakes, even after adjusting for other factors that can affect diabetes, such as BMI, physical activity, and smoking. [5] The strongest associations were observed for Brussels sprouts when comparing the highest (1 or more servings/week) and lowest intakes (never or almost never). In a separate analysis of these same three cohorts looking at intakes of glucosinolates and heart disease, participants who consumed one or more servings a week of Brussels sprouts and cabbage had a higher heart disease risk than those who consumed these vegetables less than once per month. [6] The authors did not recommend avoiding these foods but rather emphasized a need for more studies to replicate and confirm these findings to better understand this possible relation, as several other studies have shown a protective effect on diabetes and heart disease with higher intakes of cruciferous vegetables.”

    This was taken from https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/anti-nutrients/. As you might know, broccoli is a cruciferous vegetable. So it might not be “one of the heathiest foods you can eat” after all.

    Reply

  22. Ripper, did you even read the article?? You mention one single point that you attribute to Icelandic longetivity but there are several such as growing food in a greenhouse pesticide free, tight social interaction, etc…
    What you wrote here is exactly the single point kind of thinking the article is trying to tell us not to do.

    Reply

    • Nonsense. Look, for example at the people who live the longest in the U.S. and you will find that they come from a town in California called Loma Linda. This town is overwhelmingly Seventh-day Adventist. I am a Seventh-day Adventist who is here to tell you that animal proteins are the causes of many of the cancerous and heart diseases that exist today. Please do the research.

      Reply

  24. I like this article. Although I hated it at first because I was eating broccoli while reading it lol.
    It’s a really good point that people just need to lighten up and figure out what diet works for them. Same goes with everything else in life. Everyone’s unique so not everything you read will apply to you.

    Reply

  25. You wasted my time reading all this. What is the point? It’s not funny. I was actually gonna stop half way and never eat broccoli ever again but all this sounded so stupid….I guess you have too much time on your hands. Actually I’ve read that broccoli is man made so not sure if it’s that healthy. But who knows.

    Reply

    • You seem lovely….and thick as shit…This article will help waaay more people than is does ”waste their time”. Just because it didn’t say what you wanted it to say to improve whatever narrative you’re trying to spin….How abhorrently obnoxious and ”left-winged” of you…..

      Reply

    • Ohhh god… @Kelly, he’s putting so much effort in trying to explain that if you have information in a science-related field it needs to be backed up by scientific articles/journals/studies… something. Here you are claiming Broccoli is man-made give us a evidence for it… don’t just say and leave … This is science we are talking here!

      Reply

    • Kelly Rowland – this article may have been meant for people that value objective science-backed information presented in a way not to rile people’s emotions. Many internet articles take snippets of science-backed information, without context (like how much you actually need to eat before said toxic effects take place), and present it in a sensationalist fashion.

      This article is awesome – it wasn’t so much about broccoli, but how research can be presented in ways that are misleading and false. He is writing about how we all should take a deep breath and look deeper into whether or not to believe in what any article is trying to say. Thats it, and for me, that is important.

      Finally, your (and other’s) comment that broccoli is “man-made” and allude to the premise that man-made is not healthy. Again, a deeper investigation of what “man-made” means is in order here. Yes, when “Man=made” = GMO (Genetically-Modified Organism), this is increasingly the case. I am very wary of anything Genetically Modified, but then again, most of the enzymes and vitamin supplements (e.g. Digestive enzymes, Vitamin B12) are made from genetically modified microbes. You most likely have these “man-made” supplements in your house.

      This “man-made” Broccoli, on the other hand, is made through the time-tested process called Hybridization, which a human acts as a like an IVF doctors and puts the seeds and pollen/sperm of two types of plants/animals together to mate. Almost all plants you see today is the result of hybridization. Roses, orchids, vegetables and even animals (e.g. donkeys). After cross-fertilization, nature does the rest. To call this method “man-made” is a disservice to the power of nature.

      This is a process by which farmers took plants that were not so edible (and, in the case of early wild almond trees, toxic) and made them better tasting and nutritious for human consumption (sweeter, less bitter, easier to chew). Almonds, peanuts, collard greens, carrots, boysenberrys, tangelos, oranges and strawberries are all then “Man-made”. Are all these bad for you? Not if they are organically and sustainably grown. Be well and flourish.

      Reply

      • at last, a sensible reply to the article……i have seen the internet sensational headlines>>>” “America`s favourite veg is toxic, stand by for a shock !” so i thought about that, did some research, talked to some people that are doing bio-research at University, and of course, the thought that broccoli could be toxic is *******!!, however if i diet of ONLY broccoli or anything else come to that is undertaken, then what happens next may well be toxic!……these sort of uneducated, sensationalist headlines need to be carefully monitored, so that people are not scared off what may well be a healthy food source! and that concern`s not just broccoli , and not just vegetarians or meat eaters!! Think before you act on any sensationalist claims, and do some research yourself!

        Reply

        • Hmm. If I didn’t know better, I’d suspect satire has been totally lost on a significant portion of readers.

          Someone should mount a study on the detriment to health of these alarming trends..🙃.

          Reply

  26. i never liked broccoli and never ate it a lot. This showed me I was doing the right thing and it amazed me.

    Reply

  27. The article was funny as hell. Someone will not eat broccoli cause they didn’t read the whole thing. Bawhahahaha . But this shit was funny as hell tho. When I read the title I was like wtf. Then I keep reading and found myself literally loling literally .

    Reply

    • hahaha… I literally thought ” yes… I never have to eat broccoli again. ” And then I thought ” shit… Ive been feeding this to my family for years.”. And then…. I read on. Excellent article that shows us how we all can be so gullible, My mother in law is always doing diet differently. one minute its everything soy… the next… oh no soy is bad for you. Over her years its been bread, potatoes, milk, cheese, the list goes on.
      I MUST show her this. Not that it will change her mind.

      Reply

  28. The fear of food section is more accurate. I’ve stopped consuming dairy, gluten, fruits and any food that give me gas. I now feel amazing!!! And lab results proof it! Now I will stop broccoli because it also gave me light discomfort. After stopping broccoli (and caffeine) for a few weeks I’ve noticed no bad breath, reduced male pattern baldness and steady energy and better focus throughout the day.

    Reply

    • Yes, You were probably hypothyroidic but because the ”average” thyroid result is so skewed from taking all thyroids into account you just didn’t know it. Ask is there any change in your TSH, T3 AND T4 levels and if they’re down (up is going more towards to under side of things) chances are you were hypothyroidic for your body. I hope whatever was wrong is gone away now…But it could be the placebo affect…..Weeks of a diet is nothing; not that I’m bashing what you’re doing, I’m just stating the facts and if you look into what happens to vegans after 3 to 4 years

      Reply

  29. Enjoyed reading your post. It’s nice to see someone who is detail oriented and obviously has a high bandwidth of knowledge. Few people out there know both about “crumple zones” in cars and Cruciferous veggies!

    Reply

  30. I love this post – I remember seeing it on all my dietitian friends social media when it was first published and reading it again today I remembered why. So disheartening that dietitians not taken as seriously as other professions so info like this is so useful! Thanks 🙂

    Reply

  31. Just found this article while researching whether or not dairy really causes inflammation (nah). Excellent points made — too many reports of nutritional “hazards” are just info-bites with no context and no regard for the public’s (mostly) short attention span. Thanks!

    Reply

  34. Hi Tim,
    Interresting. Could you please share the sources ? Which studies does this article rely on ?

    Thanks

    Reply

  35. WOW! Thank you for writing this!
    It was a real eye-opener.
    Of course everything is dangerous in high doses and if you use it every day.
    Why worry about wegetables and not worry about fast food?
    This article got me thinking :-9

    Reply

  36. So…I have a 7 year old son with a syndrome and we are trying to figure out what he can’t eat so we can heal his gut, improve his immune system, concentration, increase his weight and growth etc etc. We are currently doing an elimination diet with him and I have been using kinesiology testing on the side to see which foods weaken his body by holding them close. His arm strength is 10/10 on normal testing. Gluten and dairy (and skips crisps) are the worst offenders causing a significant reduction in strength of 1-2/10. We did a blind test for red peppers to see if we could put them in some home made turkey burgers (minus the bun of course). My husband and son have their eyes closed while I hold random foods in front of my son and my husband tests him. I thought he wouldn’t react to organic broccoli and was very surprised to see that his arm completely weakened…so I searched the internet for what’s bad in broccoli and came across this article. After reaching the point on organic fertilisers, I decided to thoroughly wash the broccoli under tap water and retest. His arm was back to a 10/10! CONCLUSION: So he can eat organic broccoli so long as the pesticides are washed off.

    Reply

    • This is literally the craziest thing I’ve ever heard of. How do you suppose holding a food next to someone’s body would affect them? Some kind of magical “pesticide ray”?

      Reply

      • I’ve heard crazier, but yeah: this is pretty high up on the list. Unfortunately, I’ve heard this kind of bunk repeated in numerous places. It’s apparently a pretty common method of “diagnosis” among the credulous uninformed.

        Reply

  37. Dentist’s wife who worked 5 years in fluoride research I really enjoyed this article! If you
    Really care about your thyroid and Iodine levels, paint a circle of topical iodine on your skin.
    If that circle is still there 24 hours later…you are OK, not excellent but OK.
    Far more deadly than Brocolli is Fluoridated water!!!! Then add Bromine that is added to all
    Baked goods! Then they took Iodine out of salt. VERY FEW PEOPLE are Iodine balanced!
    They are bombarded with blockers far stronger than Broccoli! The solution is simple….
    Add sea weed to your diet and paint your skin…..you will absorb the Iodine you need until
    Your body has enough….then it will remain a bright orange circle on your skin. Realize
    Water is Life! As Standing Rock says Mni Wichoni……..Protect your Drinking water…raise and
    Bake your own food…… Use the whole synergetic system to achieve health.

    Reply

      • why the need to name call? you cant get your point across without verbal abuse? this is common in this thread of the so called carnivores …

        Reply

  39. Nice suggestions , I learned a lot from the info – Does anyone know if my assistant would be able to obtain a template IRS 8404 document to type on ?

    Reply

  40. James you are absolutely right, lol natural selection and Darwinism at work. The misinformed are misinformed because they don’t take the time to research and find out the truth behind what they see as a headline. One comment said people are too busy to read the article. They are too busy! Busy doing what? Busy being misinformed. Great article Tim, you nailed it, have no regrets. The articles title was meant to grab your attention, the body of the work meant to educate and the comments are proof it worked.

    Reply

  41. This article was pretty ordinary. Wasting my time trying to be clever. Learn to edit.
    However…. broccoli is much tastier than broccolini which has been designed and bred to within an inch of it’s life. Broccoli, cauliflower and other floret type vegetables do take on & absorb significantly more chemicals and other sprays by their very physical nature.
    Moderation and awareness and try growing your own.

    Reply

  42. “WoW” I couldn’t even finish reading this 😂
    Organic grown food saved my life, I am finally able to live and enjoy my life with my kids.

    As for the synthetic grown food! That nearly took my life and took a lot of my time with my kids away!

    I now trust only in what God created for us, not what man tampers with to make big $$$ and lie to us for all these years to do so.

    Thank you Organic Farmers x

    Reply

  43. I hate this post.
    YOU WANNA KNOW WHY?

    The ending… it is EXACTLY what I was gonna right!
    The thing with formaldehyde in all those bad stuff — I was gonna use carbon as my example of building blocks that are used to create good and bad things.

    DANG, you are SOOO just like me. LOVE the title disclaimer BUT hate YOU for making points that I WANTED TO MAKE MYSELF 😉

    Reply

  44. I developed a Goiter from eating too much brocolli and other cruciferous vegetables. So to your point that it is not viable “scientific” Information – It is! My thryoid became much much worse and ended up severely hypothyroid which got much better after I stopped eating goitrogens. So which part of your article is supposedly false just to trick people into believing that other articles shouldn’t be followed as advice? Because as far as I can see – there has been no other article I have ever read that has been so misleading and so inaccurate as yours.

    Reply

    • Thank you for your message Sara – later in the article I did write that hypothyroidism could be a problem if one at ea lot of goitrogen foods. Without making reference to quantity/dose then any food can turned into a case-study for ‘toxic effects’ which is what the article theme was about.

      Reply

  45. Hi Tim, LOVED your article. Last week my husband told me broccoli was bad and I shouldn’t eat it. I asked him if he read that from an article written by a meat eater or a vegetarian. Three years as a Vegan and I eat tons of different vegetables. So I decided to research what my husband might have seen. The first two articles raved about broccoli and then I came across yours. I started laughing at the Reality Check section, as I was so happy to read a great article that tries to teach people how to read information carefully. It’s also funny how I was eating broccoli while reading.
    The 35 minutes worth of comments I also read were entertaining. Great Article, thanks for writing it.

    Reply

    • You should spend that 10 minutes learning how to use autospell. Great tool. You don’t even need to be smart to leave comments anymore. I’m surprised this isn’t the only thing you’ve read aside from cartoons,. In the last six years

      Reply

  47. I’m pretty late to this party, so I won’t repeat any supporting arguments – I just want to firmly cast a vote that this article is brilliant and much-needed. The day that we abandon irony as a literary device, especially in surrender to lazy, impatient ignorance, is the day that we’ve lost a lot more than our nutritional awareness…

    Reply

  49. Hi Tim,
    I for one found this article interesting, engaging and informative. Don’t let the idiots of this world, who only look at headlines make you change your style. One huge problem with our world today is the shallow people that only look at headlines or blurbs and actually live their life by it. There is still those of us that actually read and find out the whole story.
    Thanks for a fun read.

    Reply

  50. “Long-lived people don’t avoid dairy foods, or soy or gluten”.. TRUE…However long-lived people who don’t avoid dairy foods,soy,or gluten usually live long in sufferance with some type of health ailment- diabetes, high blood sugar, lupus, arthritis, etc with limited mobility and someone to care for them as if they are an infant again….It is through modern medicine that “buys” them time and prolongs their death..You call it long-lived, I call it the walking dead.

    Reply

    • Ashley, the long-lived people of Italy, southern Japan, and other areas of classic longevity, do not live like infants in their old age. Or even the midwest – my great grandmother lived off of a high-gluten, high-grains, high-sugar, high-fat “farm diet.” It was FAR from “paleo,” and even far from veggie-heavy. And she, like several generations before her, lived into triple digits and to the day of her death, was still milking cows and doing chores, fully independently.

      I don’t think anyone is advocating “SAD,” here – the McDonalds and Starbucks and Walmart diet. But it’s ridiculous to equate Italian shepherds or French rural villagers with Floridan retirement homes.

      Reply

  53. Loooove this. Received a call from my hubby that he has hypothyroidism from too much broccoli…. Tried to reassure him that sounded a bit stretched, but embarked on my own research. Did a quick google search, to which your article was the first thing that came up. Sent said article to hubby and asked if that’s what he read, of course he replied yes. I think you just won a lifetime of future arguments for me 🙂 Thanks!

    Reply

  54. Great information, Mr. Crowe! I especially like the bit about “long-lived communities” which follow basic health guidelines and otherwise “eat..move..enjoy..live”.

    I will say, as others have, I think the article misses the mark. I tend to find satirical articles online as more of an annoyance than anything else, unless they are clearly labeled as such and on a website that is clearly intended for an audience which appreciates satire (e.g. The Onion). Only speaking from my own experience of the article, I felt initially confused and then irritated, as I have a strong loathing for “gotcha” headlines and “clickbait”.

    With all that said, I do agree with you, sir, that if we dig deep enough and cherry-pick enough peer-reviewed articles and studies, we can condemn anything we like. So in this regard, I compliment you on the message. Keep up the good work!

    Reply

  55. Great article. Some people have no sense of humor, are lazy readers and take delight in mean spirited trolling. The point was well take: too much of ANY thing- even a good thing can be bad for you.

    Reply

  56. I also must as admit that I know more big words than any of the above commenters. I know lots of big words and karate. So that is that. Broccoli helps me have good sex. And I know better karate, too.

    Reply

  58. Another great reason for eating broccoli is many people on diets are finding it very filling, very versatile (in food prep) and of course, very low in calories. It seems to be a recommended staple in a variety of balanced diets.

    Reply

  59. It should be noted that the people most sensitive to the taste of brocolii (which you really shouldn’t ever be eating raw anyway thyroid problems or not) aka that “hate the taste” and think “tastes like poison” are right as they nearly always have iodine and thyroid, lymphatic, or gastric issues where the consumption of much broccoli will greatly exacerbate or trigger. There is a reason people with a high quality sense of taste hate certain foods individually, and why you shouldn’t be force feeding your sensitive kids things that make them sick…

    Reply

  60. Just stumbled on this- what a great article! Don’t lose your creative writing style just because some people can’t be bothered to read past a headline. If you’d created an article attempting to explain the nature of foods being demonised by the media it would have gotten nowhere. This is clever and will have had a much greater impact in getting your point across.

    If people are going to be so heavily influenced by a headline without seeking further information then they’re going to be bombarded by nonsense from every angle for the rest of their lives anyway. Not to mention that any internet search related to ‘health,’ and ‘broccoli,’ will return far more headlines advocating broccoli as a superfood.

    Great article Tim!

    Reply

  61. You did really well in this article until your car crumple zone statement, which has causality completely reversed. Automotive designers did not design cars to crumble because it was “better” than simply having high design rigidity. Automotive designers moved to crumble zone designs because federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards essentially required many automobiles to move to this design paradigm inorder to comply with federal law. Inorder to comply with CAFE, car companies had to reduce vehicle weight to gain additional MPG for their designs. The cuts in weight were primarily in the amount of steel used to construct the car. Less steel meant less material able to absorb an impact, which means a greater likelihood of vehicle occupants getting killed in a collision. The move to the crumble zone design methodology mitigated this. It is only “better”, if you mean better at fulfilling government mandates without also killing your customers. It is certainly not better with respect to nudging the car in front of you at 5 miles per hour and having your fender fall off

    Reply

  63. Great article thanks Tim, one of the best I’ve read on your site so far.

    I’d only go as far as to say that you didn’t sell the symptomatology well enough with hypothyroidism as you’ve been far too specific.

    Being vague and using simply lethargy and fatigue would have done the job perfect, because everyone’s had phases where they’re been fatigued…

    Reply

    • I must disagree with Troy…
      I feel as if I’d only go so far as to say that Tim did sell the symptomatology well enough with hypothyroidism. And that is that.

      Reply

  64. If you’re going to start with a parody, then do so with as few words and as short a paragraph as possible, often no more than one or two sentences. By writing a long, drawn-out parody with fretful links, you’ve achieved exactly the opposite in your modern readers that you have hoped. Unthoughtful (and therefore unethical) writing style.

    Reply

  66. Wow, you sure copped a bit of backlash here TC! I liked it though!

    You clearly stated at the top of the post that you were going to show how information can be taken out of context.

    It’s a perfect example of nutrition ‘gurus’ selectively picking out pieces of information and drawing conclusions for vested interest. And it’s a perfect example of the public jumping blindly onto fads and diet bandwagons.

    Reply

  68. Tim this article is great, don’t listen to the whingers. Part of your point was for people not to believe silly titled articles or biased articles and I am amazed people complained about just that ‘oh but what if I just want to read the title’ well then sir you are a dickhead and will look like a idioit when opening your mouth I am sure. I hope these people don’t have children. There are a lot of dumb lazy people in this world Tim. Your article was effective and enjoyable to read. Thank you.

    Reply

  69. Tim – Well *I* thought it was a good idea. When I first saw the title, I reacted with a skeptical “what??” and clicked to see whether it was some idiot posting or a joke. *I* thought you made it pretty obvious what you were doing, but WOW – I guess I was wrong. I don’t know which astonishes me more: the people who were convinced by the article that broccoli is bad, the people who figured out it was a satire to make a point – and got MAD at you for making it, or the people who figured out it was a satire – but CONTINUED to insist that broccoli should be avoided!! i just…I just don’t get it. You try to help people sort through conflicting info and they get ANGRY?? Wha–?

    No good deed goes unpunished, I guess.

    Reply

    • True. Everyone is stupid. And they really are a complete disappointment. I mean, really, why would a person write an article that was false lol. This article is true!
      Really…why do we have to share the same planet…
      I should admit I wish I had prettier feet, though…

      Reply

  70. Tim I disliked this article. I feel it was such a dumb idea. It certainly did not work for me. I wonder how many people read the first part of you article and thought they’d really learned something 🙁

    Reply

  71. I’m guessing that this is the point where we are supposed to throw out everything we know about food and the food industry and just go for those GMO products..because..after all, you can’t even trust broccoli…

    Reply

  73. I love this! The dude got a bad rap from some for the headline ..but it gets the attention of the audience intended for and is educational about how some strike fear in others by concentrating on one part of the chemical make up of a food that alone may be toxic in large doses but not in the foods form and the amount we can eat. They do the same with skincare. I used to work repping an all natural skincare line who used to compare one ingredient in non natural product stating this same ingredient is in petrol…and would you put petrol on your face? …it’s such a great way to scare people…but what they don’t realise is some very commonly used natural ingredients are proven skin irritants and destroy the skins structure. I hate fear driving! 😯

    Reply

  74. As a nutritionist and food nerd, I really appreciate this article. From a human behavior perspective, I see why people are in a tizzy about the title and lengthy example you made as well. With the media overload today, most readers have become grazers. Sigh.

    This article, of course, may not fully apply to the field of clinical nutrition but it does provide a valuable perspective. Side note- as a sufferer of GERD, acid reflux, and peptic ulcers, I have to say antibiotics were not effective for me. I was on antibiotics and other meds for years and it only got worse, until I addressed my diet (not for weight loss, I was a string bean, but for inflammatory triggers). Just wanted to address the blanket statement/example you made 🙂

    Keep fighting the good fight!

    Reply

  75. Very insightful article that is likely to help me personally distinguish better between fact, fad and downright misinformation. I am not sure if I fully agree with everything being said (even though I do not hold a degree), as I don’t think any one source can provide the complete insight on any given subject. But this is no doubt a very big push in the right direction and so insightful and well put that it won’t take too long before we will republish the article, of course with the proper attributions. Really appreciate that you allow redistribution and look forward to read more of the material on you webpage, thank you very much.

    Reply

  76. I don’t doubt your intentions but at the end of the day, this is just a poorly written article with a deliberately confusing pretext.

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  78. I eat all kinds of foods, broccoli is one of them. My body takes what it needs from my intake and my processing plant that is built in eliminates what is not needed. Just keep moving.

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  80. interesting that a key point is that nutrition and all science often looks back at it’s own historical ignorance but then later states people who take supplements dont live longer. yes recent research doesnt support vitamin supplementation but you’d have to be an idiot not to understand that all healthy foods have mixtures of healthy components that have been found and we will continue to improve upon our ability to create supplements of these compounds. People have been eating naturally and dying in short lives for thousands of years, the equivalent of driving a ’55 buick for road safety. its time to demand more from nutritionists than this blloodletting as medicine. Where is the Tesla or Apple (computer) of health? Its time.

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  81. Infuriating, I read the title and was force fed this dribble to have the predicted outcome. Attention seeker and point missed completely. Like myself people will read the title then skim through this rubbish to find out that yes, it isn’t true. I’m so angry right now you wasted my time. You must be an ignoramus to think this is a healthy alternative to what we already know. You’ve essentially “pulled a prank” and made us all feel like idiots for bothering.

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  83. Interesting read but don t like the undocumented (near) vegetarian bias… and the undocumented pro soy stuff… thats probably connected to your (near) vegetarian beliefs!

    Reply

  84. You lost me with your pesticide understanding. What a fun idea to twist things around to expose the often misleading information as a way to grab readers attention. But ignoring the immense information regarding pesticide use and health is alarming and just wrong. For a most recent example, the most recent JAMA neurology review published an article regarding the science around a link between Alzheimer disease. The stack of information about pesticides and health consequences is WAY too LARGE to ignore or poo poo in a satirical attempt to uncover the common happening of white washing health info on the internet. You are misleading people here and failing to read between the lines. You say eating conventional broccoli will have no health impact. But that is just a tine piece of the issue around pesticides. Eating is only one way psesticies effect our health and the health of our planet. You lost me with your pesticide understanding.

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  86. yawn. eating well – its not hard, prepare your own meals, don’t eat more sugars and carbs than you burn and you will be all good (until your get cancer or hit by a bus.)

    Reply

  87. Thank you for this post, it brightened my day. You have a great sense of humor! I am currently using your advice in finding a nutrition related article from an unreliable source and picking it apart, our first assignment in the nutrition class I am taking.

    Reply

  89. Artificial ingredients especially artificial sugars not from nature like what’s in an apple your body and belly doesnt know how to process it so it pushes it to your sides and you get love handles.

    Reply

  91. The longer-lived communities (such as Sardinia) are different from other parts of the world in many cultural and social ways, not just diet. Perhaps it’s sleep quality and stress management which make the difference, and the dietary stuff is a red herring? The longer-lived communities can only tell us that a certain diet is _compatible_ with longevity, they cannot tell us that the diet _causes_ longevity.

    You’re asking us to trust the “credible nutrition experts” who _still recommend_ a high carb, low fat diet to the entire population, based on little-to-no evidence? Give me a break. When I was eating the officially recommended low fat, whole grain diet, I was fat, sick, and pre-diabetic. When I ditched the whole grains and replaced them with healthy fats and vegetables, I became healthy and lean.

    Nutritionists were wrong about fats in general, wrong about saturated fats, wrong about cholesterol, wrong about red meat, wrong about calories in-calories out, and oblivious to the dangers of refined carbs and sugars until quite recently. When will we hear any sort of acknowledgement, admission, or apology for decades of terrible advice?

    Read some Taubes, Teicholz, and Minger to get caught up.

    Reply

  92. Well I really appreciate the content of the article, the intent behind it, and the humorous example – I just know that the anti-broccoli rant will appear on other sites on the internet as an expose of broccoli. Just wait… this thing will be a zombie. It just won’t die.

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  93. Fair enough but n the case of sugar, more specifically fructose, it’s all true. It is the devil and affects you in so many ways.

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  94. I’ll wait until a doctor or other professional confirms this stuff. Meanwhile, why you stop scaremongering.

    Reply

  95. I developed hypothyroidism 1994. And I never ate broccoli very often so that was definitely not the cause. What I was eating – a great deal of Soy products and THAT is what I feel caused my hypothyroidism. Since that time, I’ve always checked any food products to see if there is soy in them – unfortunately the majority have some form of soy.
    So I eat nothing with Soy in it………….. supposedly fermented soy is good for you – but I won’t even eat that.

    For the past year, I’ve eaten no processed foods and eat Organic produce (as often as I can find it – order online when I have to), & eat Grass-fed,Grass-Finished meats, lots of nuts & seeds and No Grains. I also use & eat Coconut Oil (non-refined, & pure), Himalayan Salt (has natural iodine), and full-fat cream cheese, full-fat half & half, full-fat plain yogurt with live cultures. (lost over 35 lbs without trying to)
    Where I live, it is very hard to find all these good foods & I have to make do with what I can find or order online – unfortunately not all can be ordered online so I’m checking out farms within a 2 hour radius.

    So I will continue to eat organic broccoli raw or cooked a little as I feel that Broccoli is still good for me (& not eating it very often is what I’ve always done anyway) and will continue to stay away from Soy and will be making my own fermented foods – Lacto only – as I will stay away from any yeast or fungus cultures.

    Despite some complaints, this was still a good article as it is always good to read about different ideas, thoughts & opinions. – Otherwise how can anyone really determine what is right for them or not especially if they only read what always agrees with what they think.

    Reading various opinions help us Learn & without learning we become stagnant.

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  96. Really interesting content but terrible referencing!

    Your hyperlinked references are to secondary sources and not even enough referencing details to find the primary research reports!

    I found http://www.pnas.org/content/87/19/7777.full.pdf from your link to http://www.science20.com/agricultural_realism/pesticide_residues_organic_what_do_we_know-98396

    but cannot find the primary reference for “Many of these natural pesticides are actually more toxic than synthetic pesticides.” within the secondary source that you’ve hyperlinked.

    References, do them!

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  98. After skimming this whole article and relying on the title to give me it’s true context, I know realize how bad broccoli is. THANK YOU Tim, you are a life saver.

    It’s time to start an anti-broccoli campaign.

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  99. Great article, but I’m not loving the blurring between ‘nutritionist’ and ‘dietician’. They’re not the same thing. A dietician is a health professional with genuine science/medicine-based university qualifications, including at least a bachelors degree. On the other hand, in most countries nutritionist is a non-accredited title. Pretty much anyone can call themselves a nutritionist. And they do. All the time. As the comedian Dara O Briain said, “Dietitian is like dentist. Nutritionist is like toothologist.”

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    • Thanks for your comment katlday and I see your point and agree with it, but the term ‘dietitian’ and ‘nutritionist’ are not protected titles so anyone can call themselves this which is why ‘Registered Dietitian’ in the US and ‘Accredited Practising Dietitian’ in Australia (which is the context I’m writing from) exist which are protected titles. Rarely though do I see someone call themselves a ‘dietitian’ who is not professionally one, but use of the term ‘nutritionist’ is used freely by people with all sorts of backgrounds.

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    • Caution. It is not like you say everywhere. At least where I live, In Argentina, we called “nutricionista” (that should be translated like nutricionist) to certified health care professionals with a bachelor degree. They must me registered, get a license number, and their title is official. Just like medics.

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    • When I completed my University and post-graduate training as a dietitian/nutritionist, I worked in public health in a state government health department. We were called nutritionists while those who worked in hospitals were called dietitians. There were no dietitians (or nutritionists) in private practice. Indeed, I was the first to venture into that domain.

      Great post Tim. The media has a lot to answer for with their headlines. Another example was John Bohannon, Harvard-based biologist and science journalist, with his fake chocolate study. I think it got even more publicity than your broccoli headline, but then he went so far as to get his spoof published in a scientific journal.

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  100. Brilliant!
    As a biological anthropologist who is now studying public health I often find myself arguing online with ‘natural health’ proponents and ‘naturopaths’ about the scientific inaccuracies about their claims.
    I think in future I’ll just link to this blog post. 😊

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  101. Thanks Tim. A voice of sanity is always refreshing. Tragically, shamefully, and to our detriment as a species, the sane get overwhelmingly drowned out by the cacophony of non-evidence-based-thinking, reactionary masses.

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  103. Oh thanks, Tim… Your article had just calmed me down when the comments got me all worried again. If the plants we eat develop toxins to stop predators and we’re now their biggest consumer, how long before they become toxin to US, too? This forkful I’m eating? The broccoli I’ll buy Friday? Those avocados currently on their way here to Canada? Sheesh – back to sleepless nights again until you address this for us! 😉

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  104. This is a silly, desperate, and incredibly time-wasting article. This articles does more harm than good for most people (including myself sometimes) who just read headlines and get the “gist” of an article. Shame on the author and ThinkingNutrition for hosting this.

    If you’re going to do click-bait, at least do it right.

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    • So you acknowledge that most people need their hand held to cross the street? I mean, it’s not a long article, a five minute investment of time isn’t asking much.

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  105. Very well done. This echoes my constant anger at the armchair dietitians on my Facebook who think because they do yoga or run marathons they are automatically trained dietitians.

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  106. Tim Crowe. I hope you will use the responses you got to this article as a teaching aid to nutrition students of how easy it is to be misunderstood. My daughter studies nutrition and told me who you are so I knew it was going to be a tongue in cheek headline and yet still I ended up feeling uncomfortable about the goiteroids etc…..?? It reminds me of the risk prevention statistics. Getting out of bed and doing Anything is risky. Yet lots of people die in bed too. Decisions decisions. What to do?

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  107. I agree with the points made in this article but this delivery style has been shown to confuse people and perpetuate myths. Read Nick Cooney’s books for more detail on what I’m talking about.

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  108. My sister shared this post on Facebook last night. My sister (Who is a dietician) has been banging on about the hype that goes on about fad diets as well as inappropriately qualified people giving out dietary advice causing other sorts of issues especially with those with clinical conditions e.g. Cancer.

    I’m a Sports Therapist and although I have an appreciation I don’t understand the vagaries of food and keep any advise to general common sense.

    This article did come on the back of me re-posting a picture about low/non fat food equaling chemical s***storm pointing people to eating sensible and life style changes rather than fads and believing everything you read. So your article couldn’t have been more timely.

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  109. What a fab article. It’s a shame not everyone has taken the time to read it through but I guess that’s the state of today’s dramatic ‘only time to ready the headline’ society ….love your stuff thank you x

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  110. I am a broccoli scientist. It is all in the dose. Broccoli makes pesticides that kill bacteria and fungi and insects and is even toxic to farm animals fed only broccoli family veggies. But if you eat 3-5 servings a week, it will lower your risk for cancer by 50%, as well as decreasing risk for cardiovascular disease and even mental deterioration due to aging. I eat broccoli!

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  111. This article makes a very good point, but I am not sure it has been done in the right way. It is clear that is written on the internet needs to be taken with a pinch of salt but the internet also offers an incredible resource which when done with intelligent research can provide valid help.

    Hypothyroidism, which is written about in such a light way in this article, is a serious disease. Cutting out gluten, milk products and reducing sugar are all actions which most general practitioners often do not tell their patients suffering from the disease about. However cutting out these food groups can really help provide physical relief from the debilitating symptoms of the disease.

    A person who suffers from hypothyroidism or Hashimoto’s needs to take an individual approach to their food especially when it comes to eating broccoli and other goitrogen vegetables. Eating these vegetables in large quantities or in their uncooked form often worsens the debilitating symptoms of hypothyroidism but when cooked and eaten in moderation they have benefits even for hypothyroidism suffers.

    The attack given to this article makes it top heavy and seems to belittle the important part that food and food groups can play in helping for people who are really suffering from different autoimmune diseases.

    Perhaps it has been written by someone who is perfectly healthy and able to eat any food group they wish, making it easy to be glib about certain aspects of apparently faddy approaches to food. Being able to eat anything we want is of course what we all long for, but sadly is not something in which all of us can partake.

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    • I think you miss the point he makes often, especially in comments- ‘if you like it AND it agrees with you, eat it’

      -from someone with hypothyroidism and a TON of food allergies

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  112. Sardinians are indeed very long lived, especially those from the Barbagia, the mountainous region of the north east. Part of it is genetics, but diet is also important. I’m quite sure that Sardinian man enjoys his porcheddu (roast suckling pig), his pecorino sardo (Sardinian sheep cheese) his cannonau (strong red wine), his mirto (myrtle berry liqueur) and his filu ‘e ferru (Sardinian grappa). He probably also eats a lot of bread, olive oil, fruit, raw vegetables and enjoys his spiny artichokes in season. He does not eat, however, eat a “plant based diet” — Sardinia is a pastoral society with meat and cheese as vital parts of daily life across the island. A kent’annos! May you live to be a hundred!

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  113. I liked the style of this piece. It certain got my attention.

    I have learnt not to take articles either food scare or amazing nutritional claims too seriously. The internet is a place where all sorts of rubbish information is circulated. When you learn how corrupt the world of research, is it really is quite impossible to trust most of the information out there.

    Looking at the diet and lifestyle of long-lived communities is helpful. But other factors like lack of excessive stress ( in fact lack of excesses of all kinds), emotional / practical / psychological support from family, living in a healthy environment etc all have a lot to do with their longevity.

    Thanks for your article. !

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  114. Thanks for the great article! I always like reading your posts, really insightful, thought-provoking.. Great attention-grabbing headline too; was kind of taken aback at first by title, until I read the entire article, haha

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  116. Tim , excellent article. I’m getting some ‘blips on my radar’ about milk (normal, pasteurized, 4% fat) being bad for you. Does this only go to prove your point above or , in your opinion, is there merit to investigating this at all?

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  118. Very correct that cooking helps lower the amount of goitrogens in a food. Though I didn’t mention this seeing as my ‘agenda’ was to only present one part of the story in building a case that a particular food is bad for is.

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    • I think that was actually my difficulty with the article. Love your overall point and wholeheartedly appreciate the conclusions. But you raised some very specific concerns about eating the food even listing symptoms and then counterpoint your original theses as specifically. So what if you do have some of these symptoms? (I do!) Am I eating too much broccoli? (I eat fairly often.) Know what I mean?

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  119. I wonder if these studies were done on raw or cooked broccoli? Because goitrogens are destroyed in the cooking process… So one of the negatives of broccoli is not really valid as i assume most people cook their broccoli. Glad i read past the title and first few paragraphs though because I would have lost hope in the articles I read online!

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  120. What about if young children eat a lot of it. Broccoli is the only veg my 3 year old will eat so we try to give her some. Very other meal time. Could this be bad for her as she is only a toddler?

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  121. Wow, finally an article that tells it how it really is, and how I also feel about all the nutrition information out there. There is so much confusion amongst the public at the moment because they are bombarded with so many conflicting messages, that most are not sure what to do, and so they can end up just continuuing with their poor diets because it’s easier to do. I am hoping that we will find a way for everyone to finally clearly realise what you have explained here, and for them to learn how to see through those articles that are supported by weak, overplayed and selectively quoted research data. It really is just about going back to the basics. More plant based, less processed foods and a diet with variety.

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  122. At the risk of being tarred and feathered, I want to say “kudos” to you, Tim Crowe! At the outset I admit to being neither a nutritionist, nor a scientist. i’m just me, woman, wife, mother and accountant. From youth I have been a “big” girl, constantly on the one or other eating plan or diet which will cut out this or that bad ingredient to assist in the quest for a slimmer “me”. Until I realized in a blinding flash of light that our ancestors did things so differently. They foraged and hunted. They ate what was available. I’m convinced they must have had preferences, but if those were not available, they did what they had to do. And they were active. In my 35-odd years of fighting the flab I have seen fads come and go (think avocado, once dubbed the worst thing you can ever put into your digestive tract, now hailed as a saviour) and many more of this ilk.

    Then I made friends with my body. I started listening to it. I gave it what it (and of course, my taste buds) wanted. And I started “doing” more – not the “gym membership”-type doing, but the gardening, the housework, the walks, the playing in nature – and strangely the kilos started dropping, my skin tone improved, my health picked up and my emotional state became – well, awesome!!

    And that was why I clicked on your article – I was going to take a machete to you for complete annihilation of such “lies” and instead found a kindred spirit! Thanks for this article, Tim. I wish more people would stop being followers of fads and instead start living. Whilst I appreciate research being done (I also have a chronic condition for which there is no cure at present), I refuse to believe that all our food has formed an allegiance and are trying to kill us off because it wants to take over the world! 🙂 I will continue to eat with gay abandon that which I enjoy, in quantities that satisfy me and variety that will not leave me deprived …. and as a reward I am sure i will carry on looking and feeling as good as I do right now. Man I wish I knew this secret at 35 years old and not only at 60!

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      • The problem is, as you stated most will not read the entire article and will go away, maybe even quote from part of the article, being miss-informed. Spoofs about nutrition or for that matter anything are taken by many as being factual and continue to spread the lie. Consider that the next time you try to spoof anything.

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        • Yes. We should only ever play to the lowest common denominator. That’s the best way to spark critical thinking and advancement.

          Kudos on the article! I look forward to someone quoting only your title or first 1/2… –meaning they did not even read or understand the intro…

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          • Ha! Yes exactly. ONLY the lowest common denominator so its fair. lol
            Consider this the next time you write an informative, enjoyable and witty article!

  125. A whole research industry cruelly and needlessly over testing on animals so that academics and scientists can complete their theses and justify their funding….. Not to mention those nutritionists praying on fear.

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  126. Talk to a chemical ecologist and (s)he will point out that all plants are toxic, more or less. They have to be: those toxics are their defenses against insects and disease. For example, nicotine, caffeine, and thiocyanates, among 100,000 others, are insecticides.

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    • Not to mention that everything contains those scary “chemicals”, because thats what things are made of: chemicals. The extreme fear of chemicals is just a lack of education. The same chemicals as people fear in vaccines are present (in higher doses) in blueberries and cloudberries (or the norwegian multer, which doesn’t really translate into cloudberry).

      And most chemicals can be proven to cause cancer in rats in some dose… because that is how they usually test how cancerous a chemical is. Feed it to rats in higher and higher doses, untill they find a number they can write in safety sheets. In general the dose is extreme, more than you can manage to eat. When people got crazy about aspartame they often point at rat studies, tip of the day: go check the dosage.

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      • I forgot to add: the more I learn about food and chemicals the more i swear to eating a little of everything. I have worked in a food chemistry lab, mainly on fish, and the hysteria about heavy metals and toxins in specific fish, antibiotics etc.

        I believe the trick is to just never eat too much of something. Eat varied food, from varied sources, and you will very very seldom get enough of something toxic to get any effect at all, and you will probably manage to cover all imporant nutritonal needs (also those that aren’t popular or known today).

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  127. People also don’t understand that processed isn’t always bad for you. Pretty much all food you buy, organic or not, has undergone some form of processing. Processing is essential to make food safe, economical, transportable and palatable. It also gives us more variety and can increase the nutritional value of the food. Sure, in many cases processing can also make it worse. Apples will always be better for you than apple-pie. But it is a blanket approach to say processing is always terrible.

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    • “pretty much all food you buy, organic or not, has undergone some form of processing”

      So explain how the broccoli I fully intend to eat tonight, underwent processing. I can see the knife mark on the stem, but really that is just harvesting, not processing.

      I have a box with 10kg of tomatoes in it. They were ‘processed’ when they were picked, washed and packed.

      But really, that isn’t ‘processed food’. I think you have your terminology mixed up.

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      • If you purchased your broccoli commercially and did not grow it yourself, then it was most likely blanched. This basically means that it was cooked with boiling salt water for a very short period of time, then immediately cooled with an ice bath. This stops the action of enzymes and bacteria and extends the shelf-life. Usually, it’s done before freezing, but not always.

        Tomatoes, of course, are processed in hundreds of different ways, such as canning, turning into ketchup, etc. Raw tomatoes are indeed little more than picked and packed, however, they are notably not washed, because tomatoes absorb the liquids through the stem scar. Washing of a tomato with plain water only should thus be done immediately before cutting it.

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        • “If you purchased your broccoli commercially and did not grow it yourself, then it was most likely blanched.”

          I occasionally find a caterpillar on the broccoli I purchase in my supermarket. This is non-organic broccoli that comes in a plastic foil wrap. Yesterday I even found a live one!

          I’m quite sure it was not blanched. If anything it might have been rinsed to wash off the dirt.

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        • You do realize broccoli comes RAW in the produce section of the market. It looks like this and is in no way processed. http://rawjuiceguru.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/broccoli.jpg

          Many other foods are available in the produce section and likewise, the only “processing” they undergo is that done by the shipping department loading them onto a truck or the receiving department marking the inventory sheet that they arrived to be placed on the shelves. 😉

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  128. Long-lived people don’t eat industrial and process food. I am Sardinian and most of us eat our animals (grown with total respect and feeded in a natural way) and our vegetable. Most of us make his own dishes, sweets and bread. In my opinion, to stay healthy we should have avoid processing food as much as possible, choose organic and local and, for sure, eat less meat. And of course: do some physical activities.

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    • That’s what I was going to mention… the diet of Sardinian men is well know for “porceddu” (roasted young pork), abundant doses or lard in every plate, Casu Marzu (cheese with living worms in it – just Google it or look here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ_-JzM-YQg), roasted fish and sheep.
      Meat, fish, the sea, and lots of physical exercise is what is common in the populations who live the longest.

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  129. Funny to claim all nutrionist are on the money and not hindered by the past teachings when what they were taught is still a majority of archaic theories that are completely unfounded. But yes tell us all that we should listen to those making a living off of it.

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    • I love it that when I fly, the pilot is the expert and who also makes a living out of it, rather than someone who does it as a hobby for free and trained on their PS3 flight simulator.

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      • Ha that is the best call I’ve ever seen. I’ll try and remember it so I can use it too. Great article Tim – it really proves a great point.

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      • Agreed. I just went from donating-my-time-for-fun to becoming a paid staff member at a company. In the first job i could put in as much or as little effort as I felt like on the day and no special skills needed. Now there’s training and responsibility and I feel obligated to try my best every day because I’m not just going it for my own agenda anymore. But I’m being paid to look after someone else’s agenda.

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      • Tim, that’s always one of my favorite comebacks since I heard it. Either that or, “Hey, if you have a heart attack, make sure you never pick a cardiologist to do your open heart surgery – you wouldn’t believe how much they get paid for it, so they can’t be trusted for sure! Just ask a guy who learned from watching YouTube videos, right?”

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  130. Not nearly enough capital letters, exclamation marks, or emotive imagery to convince me. Points for smug condescension, but could have done better to leverage my insecurities. By the way, where can I buy your book about broccoli?

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  131. I have hypothyroidism and haven’t been stuffin myself with broccoli.I eat a bit of everything so will keep going the way I am. I like my food.
    There’s enough about saying you should cut out this and that.

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  132. Are there any peer-reviewed, published studies that shwo a link specifically between broccoli, with the levels of any of these elements it may contain, and any health issues?

    Or is this just like people claiming Fluoride in water is bad because fluoride in large volumes is toxic and they don’t understand that anything, in high enough doses, can be bad or lethal. Because all I see here is “Chemicals X, Y and Z are toxic, and plant A contains X Y and Z… but we won’t quantify to what levels”.

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    • If you go looking (very hard) you will find evidence of harm from broccoli, but is more case studies and a little observational evidence. But the case will be the same for any food or nutrient you care to name. I actually did do some decent searching for the dose of goitrogens in terms of broccoli equivalent needed to cause hypothyroidism so I could incorporate it into the article, but there is none to be found – it is more very general expert opinion.

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      • Post a Link then? basically you are just writing something that we could write about any vegetable or any food that exists. Always going to find something in it that can “kill” you. I prefer scientific evidence not heresay

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        • Chris – have you read the blog post? That’s what the article is about: that you can always find evidence to support a particular view if you’re pushing a particular agenda and I used broccoli as an example.

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          • Tim… i never ever take social media food info as gospel but i admit to reading your headline on brocoli bad and died a little bit inside ….as you picked my fave vegie !
            What a brilliant article..
            And ill keep on ignoring the fbk food gurus 😉

          • Great article! So glad “I” read to the end…as I love broccoli! Now if I could just get rid of the hypothyroid symptoms! My synthroid helps but is not a cure. 🙂

          • Tim Crowe: there are other ways to make a point – this silly effort bespeaks mental arrogance. spend your days better – like breaking rocks….

      • I read a media article (npr maybe?) recently about a woman who had encountered thyroid issues after excessive kale consumption. So I guess it’s possible, if the food is faddish enough.

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        • Yes, it IS possible to have thyroid problems from eating too many foods that are natural goitrogens. Especially if you already suffer from hypothyroidism, as I do. I can still eat foods like raw kale and broccoli (cooking it breaks it down so it’s no longer harmful) I just have to restrict how often. So instead of every day I can have it once or twice a week.

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  134. You are quite right to criticize pseudo-scientific arguments, and to say that one can find fault with almost any food by being selective and biased in how the argument is put forward. But equally, one must not dismiss all ‘food information’ by being a complete skeptic. That leads to cynicism.
    In the case of broccoli, the latest scientific evidence that is emerging is showing that it causes cancer, heart disease.and other ill-health. Also, by indirectly affecting the adrenal glands, broccoli inhibits lipolysis, thus preventing weight loss. It is important to keep an open mind about diet and health as new discoveries are always emerging. Please do see my new book which is currently free and judge for yourself.
    Russell Eaton, author of ‘Don’t Eat Your Broccoli: The Shocking Truth’, http://www.broccoli-info.info

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    • I admire the effort you have gone to by creating a fake website in order to troll. Well done. If on the off – chance you are genuine, please don’t reproduce.

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  135. Unfortunately non-experts have no requirement to display their critical thinking processes or and robust research. I think the lack of grains must make their brains suffer some sort of atrophy. Only in the logical reasoning section though, not in the super confident of my opinions part of the brain. That seems to be beating a loud drum.

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  136. Nice post Tim. Reminds me that even breast milk has “toxic” ingredients in it linked to all sorts of health issues if you dig far enough.
    Context is what is missing from a lot of these online health recommendations.
    Your post reminds me of Just Kale Me on Hunt Gather Love, have you read it? It’s amazing.

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  137. Loving the vegetarian pun 4 lines down from the Sardinian… ‘People on the plant’… Ought that be planet? Engrossing style, Catherine, and substance 🙂

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      • I’m sorry but I think this was a waste of my time. I don’t need to be lied to then put in another direction it’s a wast of my time and I actually didn’t like it.

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        • That’s the whole point – it’s a massive parody of “scientific” food-hysteria mongering. And you weren’t lied to; she says in so many words beforehand that that’s what you’re about to read.

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          • That is not the whole point. Most people do not have the time to ready every piece of information that is out there nor nerds attached to computer screens 24/7 as you do. The author does a GREAT DISSERVICE TO THE REGULAR GUY who reads the just the headlines. Thanks to your narrow perspective and lack of understanding of the majority of the world’s population YOU HAVE SCARED PEOPLE AWAY FROM BROCCOLI. I got the link to your article from school children who now have the perfect excuse to stop eating it. Thanks for nothing Tom Crew. Spend a little less time on the lab and get out to meet real people.

          • sorry about the typos/mistakes on my post; system does not allow to edit… it is difficult to type correctly from cell phones…

          • On a serious note if you see Broccoli or any other healthy food being doubted or discredited on a headline, surely you would go deep to find the details, it is like you see a headline ”food is bad for you” ..would you go ahead and say whoever wrote this article is nuts without going deep and find out what is really the article is about.
            that is how I felt when I saw this article, I asked myself how can broccoli be bad?

        • It was intended to educate you to not click on sensationalised banner headlines about some ‘super’ food or diet, but rather to find an authoritative site to get your nutritional knowledge from.

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          • Foolish considering most people don’t go into detail, at first glance this is spreading misinformation and doing more harm than good.

        • To the people behaving like pork chops, you have helped to further illustrate the point – ignorant people will only read the headline and then profess to be experts. The more astute will read the entire article and then establish that an article can be manipulated so you basically cannot believe everything you read. Great blog, makes a very valid point by example …. 🙂

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        • I agree complete waste of time I’m using it all the time as a cancer aid and to read this is just rubbish and scare monger get before it then tried to put your mind at rest! Thanks a lot!

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      • Hey, Tim, I think you did a great job. I understood and felt the same, there are a number of things that lead to cancer. I like broccoli and also know there are benefits but, much like MANY other things we consume, too much isn’t always good. Even taking too many vitamins can cause harm. I thank you for the time you put into this and trying to help the confused lol. Some folks just don’t take the time to read and understand cause their minds are already made up. Thanks again! 😄

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        • C’mon Tim, why would anyone want to do that? Surely reading the headline is all anyone ever needs? BTW I have 30,000pts on CandyCrush that are waiting patiently for me, must rush…

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        • This is the problem though. I appreciate the article and the critical thinking behind it, but I don’t think you’re thinking about how people read — especially in overload mode, which is the mode in which most people read. My guess is that 50% of the audience will conclude broccoli is toxic because of the headline, 40% more will conclude broccoli is toxic because of the front-loaded info, and 10% like me will stick with it long enough to get to the point.

          A fine piece, with return on investment on reading time, but this commenter lol is probably a common outcome.

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          • Thanks for your comment Scott and fully agree with you – has been a bit of a learning experience for me too in seeing how this has been received.

          • I disagree, I think its a good piece

            I am a tech author with 10 years experience and I know some people got the wrong end of the stick, but they are more likely to be people that like to comment more than they like to read. These are “projectors” they assume that they understand more than everyone anyway. Guess what they think that broccoli is good for them (tick!)

            This style is intended to be read for enjoyment and and not purely information transferal Just finished reading “The Idiot” by Dostoevsky. He could have been more brief and front-loaded the pertinent points but it would have been crap.

        • I think we all know some people wouldn’t actually read the entire article before becoming outraged, right?! Mission accomplished!!! Now, back to my yummy bowl of brocolini 🙂

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