is cabbage toxic to thyroid?

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is cabbage toxic to thyroid?

by Gladys
(Tinian, MP)

I would like to know if cabbage can be toxic to our thyroid since cabbage is a part of brassica family, and it can inhibit thyroid function, since it contains goiterogenic compounds, is it true?

Thats why I'm so scared to eat cabbage, but I've heard from a friend that she really lose a weight by eating cabbage soup, I really want to try, please help me, thanks a lot.

Dear Gladys,

I'm sorry but'm not allowed to give you here any medical consultation. The above mentionned toxical complications I've never heard of.

Please ask your doctor pefore you start your cabbage soup diet or ask a doctor online in the form below.

All the best,
Gabriela

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is cabbage toxic to thyroid?

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Dec 11, 2010
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addendum to previous comment
by: Saskia

I forgot to specify that what I said in my previous comment related to an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism), since consumption of cabbage is only really a issue for people with hypothyroidism, (this is also a much more common problem than hyperthyroidism). I assume this was what the questioner was referring to - if hyperthyroidism is the concern then brassicas shouldn't cause problems at all.

Dec 11, 2010
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Cabbage does suppress thyroid function in large quantities
by: Saskia

Cabbage, along with all members of the brassica family, can have a slight thyroid supressing action. However, the only people who should be at all concerned about this are those suffering from thyroid disorders (daily consumption of brassicas has been show to have no effect whatsoever on healthy people's thyroids). Even people with tyroid problems can enjoy brassicas in their diet, as long as they are not eating unusually large amounts (although if you are suffering from a thyroid disorder it is probably a good idea to talk to your doctor about this).

If you are really worried about the possibility of thyroid problems (for instance if there is a history of them in your family, or you think you might have some symptoms), there are several steps you can take to reduce the effect. Cooking reduces the actvity of the thyroid supressing compounds, so cooked cabbage will be much better than raw. The other thing you can do is to include ingredients that support thyroid function in your diet, i.e. those containing iodine or selenium, like seaweed, fish, eggs, dairy products, strawberries, brazil nuts & mushrooms. Although seaweed is not a common ingredient in the west, it is easy to include it in a cabbage soup diet as it makes a great base for a stock (it is used this way in japanese cooking - look for "kombu", aka kelp, which can be found in many health food shops, oriental shops or some large supermarkets. You just break off a piece and boil it in water or stock for at least 5 minutes, or just stick it in the soup while it's cooking then fish it out at the end. Kombu has quite a mild flavour compared to other seaweeds, it doesn't taste bad at all!). Another low fat way to get some seaweed in your diet is to eat sushi, which is generally wrapped in seaweed, and usually contains healthy ingredients like fish and vegetables in addition to the rice.

There is actually a small correlation between high intake of brassicas and a decreased risk of thyroid cancer (as well as lots of other types of cancer), so if you are concerned about thyroid problems because of a history of thyroid cancer in the family that's actually a reason to include MORE cabbage in your diet, not less.

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is cabbage toxic to thyroid?

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is cabbage toxic to thyroid?