Cruciferous vegi question

(Todd Chester) #1

Hi All,

I keep hearing how wonderful cruciferous vegetables are for T2’s which I am. So I looks them up to see what they were. Some of them are not at all keto/T2 friendly at all. Further research shows that the term “cruciferous” means any vegetable with a four pedal flower (looks like a cross if you hold your head right). All that means virtually all “dicot” (dicotyledons) plant with skinny pedals. (Dicots have four or five pedals on their flowers).

So “baloney” has to be called! Not all dicots with skinny pedals are T2/keto friendly.

So what “dicots” (“cruciferous” ) vegis are T2/keto friendly? My current list is: cauliflower, cabbage, bok choy, broccoli, Brusselssssss sprouts.

Many thanks,
-T

(Rebecca ) #2

Wr eat all the above except for the bok choy. I do have sautéed spinach on occasion (I know it isn’t cruciferous).

#3

a flip response here for some chat but Google…‘toxins in cruciferous vegetables’ and check out some of that info :slight_smile: You 'hear/read how wonderful, just wondering if ya ever checked out the ‘bad side’ info out there on it? Not a slam to what ya love to eat on Keto at all, just wondering if you checked the other info on those veg? Some veg one eats fits one ‘so well’ on how you feel eating it ya know, but sometimes one has to dump alot of veg that doesn’t set well with their physical body.

#4

I love cruciferous vegetables! Could not do keto without them.

I think the only thing else not on your list are radishes, turnips, kohlrabi & daikon (which is really just a very large/long radish)

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #5

Cruciferous vegetables are like nuts: some are keto-friendly, and some just have too many carbohydrates. Broccoli and cauliflower are my mainstays. We also eat leafy greens, either cooked (spinach) or in salad (various lettuces).

I’m guilty of using the phrase “cruciferous vegetables.” But I suspect that there is no single, easy term to use that works in all cases, alas!

Also, I just watched a video of a lecture by Anthony Chaffee, and it’s kind of scary to reflect on how many phytochemicals are known carcinogens. Makes you wonder, sometimes, why they tell us meat is bad because it causes cancer!

#6

I looked up what cruciferous veggies are and they totally look like what people call keto friendly vegs, I didn’t find any very carby ones… Which are they? Though cauliflower never was even remotely keto friendly to me as I was unable to squeeze it into my 40g net carb limit (except tiny amounts in soups) so it’s about the minimum amount one can eat too.
No idea about their goodness for T2. And what is good for people not related to T2, that is very individual. I avoid vegs for reasons. Half a tiny red radish or a thin slice of a big white radish is welcome here and there though :wink: It’s crunchy, juicy, lovely, suits some very rich fatty or salty meat! It’s about zero nutrients but I don’t need that from my joy food with a tiny practical use.

I don’t even care about “keto friendly”, it’s not how things work IMO. Anything may fit into my keto that I don’t need to eat in too big amounts. And of course, not everything is healthy for us and it’s individual to some extent. So if we find an item bad even though it belongs to a group that is called keto friendly or beneficial or even the very item is hyped? We should just avoid it. Health isn’t a clear cut thing, no one can tell us what is ideal or beneficial for us. There are okay-ish guidelines but that’s it.
Even on this forum, we eat very differently from each other even when we are veterans and know very well what we are doing. We are just that different. It’s so very helpful I lost my interest in vegs, one less problem to worry about.

(Todd Chester) #7

I love my vegi’s too!

Anyone try those giant radishes you see on those Korean soaps?

I do love my meat as well. But I have to be careful as over half of it gets converted to blood sugar, but fortunately, very slowly.

(Todd Chester) #8

Nutrition data is down at the moment, so by memory the only one I remember that was carby was rutabaga.

Turnips: YUK! YUK! YUK! I even home grew some as home grown always taste better. Turnips are the exception to the rule!

And I just noticed that arugula is on the list too: YYYYYYYUUUUUUKKKK !!!

Here is an extensive list (scroll past the pests list) or these dicots.

#9

I don’t even know what rutabaga is so maybe that’s why I didn’t know any carbier ones.
We don’t have turnips for humans either here as far as I know…

I grow radishes. Various kinds. I have white, yellow, red and purple small ones every year because they look cool :smiley: Once I could grow huge daikons, no idea how, my soil isn’t so great… And this year I try to grow summer ones! Radishes are easy, low-carb, fun and I am able to grow them in this soil.

Arugula is the thing on pizza, right? Mostly harmless but I dislike almost all green leaves as they taste like grass to me… If they manage to have a proper flavor (sorrel, onion, mint, even wild garlic), I am fine with them occasionally.

#10

You mean the daikon/mooli? Absolutely! I use it to make a Indian style curry with some sort of meat stew. Yummy!

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #11

It’s a Swedish turnip. In England, therefore, they are called Swedes. In the U.S., rutabaga is the name that the Scandinavian immigrants called it, so the name has stuck, over here. The Swede/rutabaga is a root vegetable and just as starchy as a potato. It has a more interesting flavour, however, at least in my opinion.

(KM) #12

I have never heard of arugula on pizza, maybe you’re thinking of basil? Arugula is also called rocket, it’s a kind of spicy salad green.

(Alec) #13

Step away from the poisons… they are in these plants, this is real, and these plants are not good for you. They are not real food. They block the uptake of nutrients.

#14

Nope, I looked at the images online and it looked the same. Now I looked up the Latin name, yep, it is the very common thing on pizza here. We call it rukola (ruccola) though. I think I tasted it once when my SO had a pizza full with it on top, it’s very neutral, basically nothing to me and it makes it loads better than most green leaves…
Is it supposed to be spicy? Can’t be very much considering the used amount and my memories…

(KM) #15

It’s not super flavorful like an herb, but you’d notice the taste in a lettuce salad. It has a bit of a bite to it.

(Eve) #16

Add kale to the list - it is a great veg and low in carbs. Hopefully not one which has poisons in it!

(Eve) #17

Which ones are particularly bad?

(B Creighton) #18

These are actually some of the true cruciferous vegees. Someone also added kale, however, I see no problem adding a few other lettuces to the mix. I regularly eat a kale salad with my own homemade MCT salad dressing. These have all been bred from a plant called wild broccoli over thousands of years. I believe they are all keto/T2 friendly, and eat them all during my keto winter periods - usually with some added butter and minimal spices. I don’t believe asparagus is cruciferous, but it is another I regularly eat. I also tend to eat a lot of natural coconut, seeds and nuts - even some during keto.

(Todd Chester) #19

Your body is designed to handles a certain amount of plant toxins. People can lose this mechanism though. It is called MSC/TILT (multiple chemical sensitivity/toxin induced loss of tolerance). It is no fun whatsoever. They mainly react to human produced toxins though, not toxins from editable plants. (Poison oak is not editable.)

Also keep in mind that the animals that you are eating had to eat these plants to start with and that these toxins are stored in the animal’s fat. You are still consuming them.

(Todd Chester) #20

Problem with kale is that is tastes like medical waste (penicillin flavored oak leaves). Arugula is another one. Its tastes and has on aftertaste of poopoo (literally). It is really gross.