Dallas County Living Well Magazine Fall 2014

Don’t Eat Your Vegetables By Wesley Waters, PharmD Candidate R emember the slogan, “You Are What You Eat”? If you were a child of the 70s, you might remember that Saturday morning cartoons were separated by Time for Timer, ABC’s public service announcement cartoon featuring a microscopic, top hat- and bowtie-wearing mascot named Timer. Kids were unknowingly introduced to the concept of food choices affecting their health by way of catchy phrases, such as one that made them “Hanker for a Hunk O’Cheese.” Alright, well, if you didn’t hear it there, then your parents might have been the ones to insist that you eat all of your vegetables before you would have been allowed to, for example, have dessert, be excused from the table, go out and play, or engage in some other dopamine pathway rewarding activity. A groundbreaking article in the late 1950s published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition stood in stark contrast to this practice with the new term “Goitrogen,” used to describe the thyroid-suppressing action of certain vegetables and other substances. These substances can have negative side effects for those who have thyroid dysfunc- tion, those predisposed to thyroid dysfunction due to genetic makeup or environment and, in some cases, those with no predisposing factors at all. Goitrogens, mostly derived from the cruciferous family of vegetables, were shown to inhibit thyroid peroxidase (TPO), an enzyme required to activate thyroid hormone in the body. The most active goitrogens are found in broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, soy products and gluten-containing foods, easily avoidable in the everyday diet; However, Bisphenol A (BPA), a manmade compound from plastics and other environmental sources, not so much. One recent patient discovered that her “Green Shake” was doing her more harm than good. The kale she was adding was also suppressing her thyroid function. Regardless of whether the hypothyroidism was caused by the diet, an autoimmune disorder or genetics, the constant supply of goitrogens did not help. I consulted with a young lady recently, who had a lot going for her: athletic, healthy and young; she had good genes also, but a less than optimal diet led her to experience symptoms of thyroid dysfunction. She didn’t eat many cruciferous vegetables; One recent patient discovered that her “Green Shake” was doing her more harm than good. The kale she was adding was also suppressing her thyroid function. 38 North Dallas Living Well Magazine • Fall 2014

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