Eye Vitamins

Cooked collard greens has 30 times more lutein-zeaxanthin (carotenoids in the human eye macula, essential for good vision) than carrots, 20% more protein per calories than cooked broccoli, 3% more protein per calorie than cooked lentils, 11% more protein than cooked kale and higher protein quality than lentils, kale or milk (aminoacid score 94 versus 91 for kale, 86 for lentils, 85 for milk). Collards also have 3 times more absorbable Calcium and many other nutrients than broccoli (see the top vegan sources of Calcium at https://plus.google.com/+AlexP/posts/W5iRpgBk3iS, many above milk).

Collard greens are easy to steam and unlike other cruciferous vegetables, have far fewer goitrogens (compounds mostly destroyed during cooking, which interfere with the thyroid when eaten raw in large amounts – too much of any food is bad). Because of these things, I have started eating a lot more collard greens with the aid of the pressure cooker Not to mention, steamed/cooked broccoli has 47% more carbs than steamed/cooked collard greens per 100 grams – which is not ideal for glucose control

► check your glucose 1 hour after meals.

Steamed/cooked kale has 14% more carbs than collard greens, but less than broccoli, so I gave up eating kale – since collards have more absorbable Calcium, 11% more protein and higher quality protein (94 versus 91 aminoacid score).Steamed collard greens and other veggies prevent cancer and heart disease. Steamed collard greens lower cholesterol more than steamed kale, mustard greens, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage.

It’s good to eat broccoli and kale (https://plus.google.com/+AlexP/posts/MtTgbHado1E) too if you like them as each may have different anti-cancer compounds, especially if you steam/pressure cook them for a few minutes, in case you want to eat more to lower goitrogens.

Also since vegans need B12 and vitamin D, it’s best to see if you get enough iodine from iodized salt or, if you have hypertension and avoid salt and any salty restaurant or processed foods, from a multivitamin brand that has the 150 mcg of iodine (100% of RDA, Recommended Daily Amount) added also, like the NatureMade MultiVitamin, as explained at ► https://plus.google.com/+AlexP/posts/3Gfxa6zYqrF , since cruciferous veggies (including collard greens) eaten past a certain level may require in certain people with less iodine in their diet to get a higher iodine intake than normal for their anti-cancer and other benefits.

The human macula is known to contain three yellow carotenoids, 3R,3’R-zeaxanthin, 3R,3’S -lutein.Glucosinolates found in raw cruciferous veggies like collards:These compounds have anti-cancer properties  and you will find many studies about these compounds.

However, certain glucosinolates, in certain conditions (overeating raw cruciferous veggies, 2-3 pounds a day non-stop for months (2-3 pounds of red cabbage is one big head of cabbage eaten raw daily; 1 pound of kale is 2 bunches, so 3 pounds is 6 bunches a day, every day for months in a row, that’s just impossible, no human being, even using a blender, will eat 6 bunches of kale a day, even 4 is way more than anyone would eat raw), which honestly nobody does, perhaps 1 in a million people if that, etc) can interfere with iodine uptake by the thyroid. Boiling crucifers for thirty minutes reliably destroys 90 percent of the goitrogens (the glucosinolates that interfere with thyroid sometimes).

Cooking does destroy many anti-cancer compounds and 18-60% of all glucosinolates (including anti-cancer ones, not just the goitrogen glucosinolates).If you eat kale (also broccoli, cabbage and other cruciferous vegetables) RAW daily in huge 2-3 pounds amounts (nobody can eat collards RAW in even moderate amounts, it tastes too strange), it is best to eat enough iodine, since at 2-3 pounds of kale/cabbage daily in RAW form, the intake of glucosinolates (that form goitrin that can interfere with iodine uptake by the thyroid) is high. If you don’t eat iodized salt, and are vegan, it’s important to eat vitamins with iodine anyway even if you almost never eat kale, collards, mustard greens, red cabbage or broccoli.

They did some animal studies and noticed feeding huge amounts of raw kale causes hypothyroidism. However, Dr. Jeffrey Garber, chief of endocrinology at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, and lead author of the latest clinical practice guideline on hypothyroidism in adults, says the risk of minimal in getting hypothyroidism, unless you are already iodine deficient and you eat kale raw in huge amounts daily.

Kale is claimed (NOT PROVEN) to cause hypothyroidism in humans (animal studies are not human studies) – in certain people – if you eat 3 pounds daily uncooked, which nobody does as it tastes weird and takes eons to chew. Cooking reduces the glucosinolates that can cause hypothyroidism in humans, so you can probably eat a pound or 2 cooked daily if you get enough iodine. Also there was only one single report in humans that led to hypothyroidism – a lady ate 2-3 pounds of bok choy for several months, not kale. Boy choy is way easier and tastier to eat, kale and collards taste so strange, that eating 4-6 bunches (2-3 pounds) a day raw is a no-no for any human being usually.

From one hypothyroidism case and some animal studies one cannot draw “don’t eat kale” conclusions 🙂 Meat eaters miss on many important things that vegans don’t miss on, such as potassium, magnesium, some vitamins, flavonoids, glucosinolates that prevent cancer, polyphenols, biophotons, fiber, etc. One can be vegan and live 7-12 years longer than meat eaters,  It’s good to be informed, since you are less likely to move into panic when meat eaters start making fun of kale/collards/broccoli due to some glucosinolates. 🙂

These glucosinolates are actually what prevents cancer too… 🙂 and why many doctors say eat kale, collards, broccoli, cabbage – mostly cooked/steamed, etc. Too much of anything is bad usually… 🙂 without proper iodine intake in this case, etc. But I repeat a third time, no human being will eat 4-6 bunches of kale/collards a day, every day, for months on end, raw or even as part of a smoothie. A sumo champion maybe can eat that, but then, for that sumo champion, the dose to cause damage is way higher.► VEGANISM