You'll NEVER guess what my Dr wants me to give up!

Alcohol... nope, that's fine
Cigarettes... actually I don't smoke
Other drugs... nah
Cream buns and fizzy drinks... nope, they're OK

:o BROCCOLI :o

OK so some of you may remember my unexplained episode of gout last year (I thought I'd broken my foot but really I had drunk old man disease) now I have this unexplained swelling of the ankles which gets quite bad sometimes. I am yet to get all the tests so I don't have any real answers yet, I have the form I just have to find the time to go.

Well.... last night we were out to dinner with my family and my Uncle who is a Dr was there. He asked me how I was (as you do) and we were briefly chatting about my weird issues. When we were ordering dinner no one wanted vegetables except me, they were all happy with salad but I insisted we get veges as well. Then we were all talking about how much I love broccoli and how I eat it every day and that DH is a bit sick of it. Then my Uncle says well, that's your problem then, your kidneys are failing due to your constant ingestion of oxalate. STOP EATING BROCCOLI! :wall:

Sheesh, I am bit sad about this, actually I'm devastated, I LOVE broccoli and I seriously do eat it every day. Part of the reason why I love it so much is because I thought it was good for me. Don't worry I'll be getting all the tests and second and third opinions about this. But geez... broccoli... I didn't see that one coming that's for sure. :lol:

:o Far out man!

who would have though :o !!!

:lol: how bizarre! whoda thought?

I'm glad I read that all the way to the end...I thought you were having some um...froggy bum troubles, when you said Broccoli:rofl: What a chance conversation hey? Right place, right time, right person hey :)

heh heh
that is a weird thing to have to give up LOL

Well I don't know much about humans but in wildlife it is a vegetable that I have been told to avoid for quite a few mammal species (when I was a zookeeper) because it can be toxic to them.

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...froggy bum troubles

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:spit: BWAHAHAHAHAHA..

:rofl: That absolutely cracked me up! I'm gonna remember that saying now!

Yes, broccoli can be high in some nutrients that if you get too much of, your body can't process. Like everything in life, it's good in moderation!

I certainly didn't expect that one! :rofl:

LOL, You've got gout :P I would never have thought broccoli would give it to you though. How long after stopping eating it before you improve?

I heard about this on a health show recently. I can't remember which show, but I've just googled it and found this: "... too much broccoli can cause hyperoxaluria, says Maurice A. Ramirez, DO, an emergency room physician and author of the soon-to-be-released book You Can Survive Anything, Anywhere, Every Time. "This is increased urinary excretion of oxalate caused by excessive intake of oxalate-containing foods (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, etc.) resulting in kidney stones," says Ramirez.

And this:
Broccoli is one of the richest vegetable sources of calcium, iron, sulfur and magnesium. Furthermore, broccoli is contains abundnat pantothenic acid (Vitamin B5) and Vitamin A which may be very beneficial for wound healing and rough skin. Broccoli is a great source of Vitamin C, exceeding citrus.
It is important to note that broccoli has five goitrogenous chemicals which disrupt the body's ability to use iodine. It is important to limit or avoid in cases of thyroid deficency and low iodine.

It was really interesting what they were talking about on tv. If I remember, I'll let you know.

Far out brussel sprout!

(does this mean you're an old soak...? Or are you really blaming it on the brocolli?)

man who'da thought it? How bizarre! I love brocolli & brussell sprouts ...

:o wow!
That's really interesting.
And, Epacris, if it's true... I'm sorry you will have to cut back on your fave vege ;) but at least you'll have an answer & will feel better :hug:

:o OMG :o who would have thunk it huh?

Rachel would you believe broccoli is one of the only things I can't tolerate in pregnancy? I never get/got morning sickness or other aversions but all 4 times I have been pg I have almost immediately gone off it!

:rofl:

Far out we're in trouble if the kids find out about this! 'No way mum, it'll give me gout!'. :lol:

I'm bummed for you Rach, but also really glad that your uncle was able to give you some insight that might really help you. :hug:

Wow. Well there ya go - vegies are bad for you - its official....

oh of course! :doh: :o

why is it always our favourite things??? :hug: Rach. Hope you're feeling better soon.

Thank you lovely ladies for your kind words and/or your blatant mockery of me and my situation. You have either made me feel all warm and fuzzy or given me a hearty belly laugh. :lol:

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Far out we're in trouble if the kids find out about this! 'No way mum, it'll give me gout!'. :lol:

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Yeah, :shhh: let's just keep this quite hey. :lol:

And for those of you wondering, I do an absolutely ripper impersonation of Les Patterson... sitting on the lounge, with my gout foot up on the coffee table, drinking red wine, slopping it about a bit, eating cheese and crackers, getting crumbs all down my front... in my best Les Patterson voice "Sorry darl, I won't be able to help with dinner bath and bed for the kids tonight, me gout's playing up again..." :lol:

I knew it. Brocolli is one evil vegie.

Man, I LOVE brocoli! It's my absolute fave and we eat it here umm...almost every night!!

I've never had gout but I do have problems with fluid retention...I get cankles in summer even when I'm not prg..when I am, total elephantitis.

Are gout and fluid retention the same sort of thing? :dunno:

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"Sorry darl, I won't be able to help with dinner bath and bed for the kids tonight, me gout's playing up again..."

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BAAAAAAHaaa haa haaaaaaa! I can see it now!
Rach, this is actually quite scary. We LOVE broccoli in this house and we eat it quite a lot too. Probably not every day, but every couple of days for sure... Will be a bit more imaginative with the veges from now on!
Hope you get better soon.

And BTW... erm... what're "froggy bum problems" ?!? Do I want to know?

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Man, I LOVE brocoli! It's my absolute fave and we eat it here umm...almost every night!!

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Willow, :hug: we are broccoli soul sisters! :lol: ETA: And you too Snacks! :hug:

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I've never had gout but I do have problems with fluid retention...I get cankles in summer even when I'm not prg..when I am, total elephantitis.

Are gout and fluid retention the same sort of thing? :dunno:

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I don't really know. I'm having a whole lot of blood tests done for kidney/liver/thyroid function and other things atm. My Dr Uncle is pretty convinced that my gout and swollen ankles are both a symptom of fluid retention, due to poor kidney function, brought about by my apparently excessive consumption of broccoli.

I'll let you know how I go. For you, I guess ask you GP? Maybe get some blood work done? :dunno:

So there's oxalates in a few other vegies too. Check up on it and see what else you need to avoid. I'd say spinach is probably off your list too. Sorry to break it to you! :hide:

Fingers crossed you sort out all your issues!

FWIW - my doc has told me "more salt, more fat"!!! I actually find this quite difficult!

Glad to hear we aren't the only ones here who have been told to limit our broccoli intake along with other green leafy veg. My DH gets kidney stones and his Urologist gave him an information sheet listing things that he really should avoid eating. I was shocked to see a lot of vegies were listed :rolleyes: Red Meat is also another food to limit :doh:

WOW! :o:o:o

and here I was thinking it cause excess farting :)

Man...what am I gonna do with Mario...he eats it everyday aswell (its one of the few vegetables he DOES eat) and being autistic..its all about routine

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Man...what am I gonna do with Mario...he eats it everyday aswell (its one of the few vegetables he DOES eat) and being autistic..its all about routine

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I'd keep doing it, maz. Until you're advised otherwise, it's probably OK.

Try a small pinch of bicarb soda in water each day. Helps neutralise the acids in the body, too much acid is a big cause of gout and other health issues. There are plenty of products on the market that does that same job, eg alkaline drop, but they are about 45 a bottle and bicard does the same thing!

Hmmm :think: maybe I need to eat more oxelate containing foods if they inhibit iodine uptake... I can't have iodine with my particular kind of thyroid condition. But like Nettie said... everything in moderation I guess. Thanks for the heads up Epacris! Hope you feel better soon.

Well I didn't see THAT coming! :lol:

How are you going now you're on rations?

I hope you get better and all that fuzzy stuff, but to be honest i'm just subscribing to this thread to see what happens next.

"Tomorrow night on weird medical emergencies...."

Actually, I've read it recommended to avoid broccoli and its relatives during conception and pg, so it's not too "out there" to me :)
I think, too, that with globalisation and coolstoring, humans in the West overrdose on just about everything that could otherwise be good for us - cos we're eating foods out of season and our systems don't get that seasonal diversity they evolved to until relatively recently on the time scale of human existence. Hence coeliacs, dairy intolerance, wheat intolerance etc.
Makes sense to me. And, like Rory, I go off broccoli naturally during pg, anyway!

Great point about eating too many foods out of season Maya! Nature usually has a reason for everything.

Thanks so much everyone for your replies and concern. :hug: I still haven't had a chance to get my blood taken. :redface: (I promise I'll make time soon). I have only eaten three small amounts of broccoli this week, I'm weaning myself off it :lol: I wouldn't want to see an anti-broccoli hate wave come out of this thread, but yes, I guess we should all try to be a bit more imaginative with our vegetables. :lol: And actually, now that I'm looking at them, my ankles are much better! :think: