Raw Broccoli: Crabby Draws the Line

Cartoon by Natalie Dee

I may have mentioned before that I'm one of those crackpots who will often heed the results of the health studies I read.

For example, years ago I read that red bell peppers have more nutrients than green ones, and blue potatoes have more than white ones. So I will actually go out of my way to buy blue potatoes and red bell peppers.

I know full well that often these studies are followed up by newer studies that say the opposite. But when I'm not tearing my hair out cursing all the conflicting studies, I tend to remember the last thing I read, and if possible, I do what it says.

On the other hand, sometimes when I don't like the results, I pretend I never even read the study.

Like when I read that you shouldn't put milk in your tea or you won't get any of the antioxidant benefits. I tried tea without milk, didn't like it, and so I said "Feh! I'll drink it the way I like it!" (Actually, I'm guessing I used a different word than "feh," but I bet it also started with an "f".) And while the jury is still out on the whole issue, at least one tea with milk study came along and said--nah, it's ok--go ahead and add milk if you like.


So what's the latest study I plan to ignore?

One that says raw broccoli delivers ten times more of the anti-carcinogen sulforaphane than cooked broccoli.

Which is great news for all you folks who like it raw!

But I hate raw broccoli and don't mind it cooked. More specifically, I like it best if it's overcooked, and combined with other tasty ingredients like olive oil or garlic or cheese.

(And yes, there was indeed an earlier study that said the opposite: that cooking broccoli increased antioxidants. But alas, there's a difference between how much of the good stuff is in the food, and how much actually ends up in your bloodstream, so that's part of the reason the studies go back and forth. Am I ridiculously obsessed with stupid unpredictable antioxidants that keep changing their minds? Yep, apparently so!)

Anyway, as much as I like the idea of all that virtuous sulforaphane being ready and available in raw broccoli, I'm still going to cook the hell out of it. Of course, I could just eat TEN TIMES AS MUCH broccoli as I used to in order to make up for the fact that I cook it, but I think I'd rather say "screw it" and croak a decade or so earlier.

Oh wait. Wasn't I just saying the other day about how I'm feeling all inspired to be more positive on the blog from now on, and not quite so Cranky?

Whoops!

Well, um...

Hang on, I'm thinking...

Got it!!

(If this blog had a soundtrack, harp music would now be playing...)

Broccoli may have been the vegetable they studied, but it isn't the only one that has sulforaphane in it, right? There's cabbage and cauliflower and some other ones too. I bet they're also pretty powerful cancer fighters if eaten raw.

Raw cabbage... that's coleslaw! And raw cauliflower.... that's not so bad! Especially if you dip it in something yummy. (At the moment, let's ignore the fact that most yummy dips are full of saturated fats or the wrong omega's or whatever.)

So until the scientists change their minds again, I'll skip the raw broccoli, but please pass the raw cauliflower and dip. And I'll take a side order of coleslaw!

(Anyone placing bets on how long this whole "have a more positive attitude" thing is gonna last?)


Does anyone else read about health research only to ignore the findings they don't like? Anything in particular you're ignoring at the moment?

Update on the Raw Food Diet

Do you have it in a different color? Transparent is so last year...

Did you ever wonder about Cinderella? I mean, did she really think she could live happily ever after with a guy who's got some weird frangible shoe fetish?

Health is not a fairy tale

It's like those shows that celebrate someone losing 200 pounds... but there's never any follow up on these shows to find out what happens next.

Here at Cranky Fitness, we are determined to shun such prevarications. So it seemed like a good time to provide an update on how my body felt after the 30 days of 90% all raw vegetables.

- Because I was on such an extremely low-fat diet, my skin broke out. (I know -- it's supposed to break out when it's greasy. I'm weird. The only time my skin has problems is when I'm behaving like as a teenager, i.e. going on extremely rigid and unrealistic diets.)

- Because I became so used to eating vegetables 90% of the time, it was no hardship to transition after the 30 days into eating lots of cooked veggies. Roasted vegetables, lightly sprayed with olive oil, are much more filling than their raw relatives.

- Because I've gotten so used to eating vegetables, it's -- wait for it -- gotten to the point where I, the most confirmed carnivore on the face of the planet, don't crave 'substantial' food like meat, chicken, or fish. Used to think those were the essential cornerstones of a meal, without which you would have cranky, resentful stomachs. Turns out that's not a basic law of nature. Gravity is a law of nature. Meat with every meal? Not.

- Look, if you're a guy please skip this point and go on to the next. (Are you gone? Good.) Okay, I have to mention that going cold carrot was an incredible help in that it made the cramps much, much, much, much less painful. (I would like to throw in a few more 'much'es into that last sentence, just to emphasize the point, but I think you got the idea already.)

- I put on a pair of jeans and walked around for 20 minutes before realizing that these were my 'skinny' jeans that I'd not been able to fit into two months ago. Still haven't unpacked my scale, but I take the jeans as proof that the raw food helped me shape wise.

A love affair with lettuce? Maybe just a fling

A coach that smells of pumpkin? Actually, I'd prefer a crock pot.

A raw food diet might make a useful transition for someone who wants to eat more healthy food and less saturated fat. I wouldn't recommend having a long-term relationship with an all-raw diet, but as an intermediate step to a more healthy diet? Might be worth a try.

I think I might suggest adding this idea to the Cranky Fitness Diet Book. Every diet book I've read starts out with an intro diet, a two-week section that is supposed to help the dieter lose weight quickly and get motivated to go on to the long-term maintenance diet.

Judging by the comments, everybody here is already into healthy diets. I feel like I'm trying to catch up to the point where you're already at. So maybe you can tell me -- did you all jump straight into eating healthily? Or was there a transitional period, where you went to an extreme version of a diet before settling into more moderate and healthy habits? (Or did you always eat 'good food' and if so were you never tempted into evil ways?)

The Raw (food) Deal

Raw food is all the rage, according to Psychology Today.

(Note the use of the word 'rage' in that statement. Its significance will shortly become apparent.)

I know that this diet has the advantage of having been around for a long time. Since before humans discovered fire, if I'm not mistaken. And it does have the advantage of being the fastest fast food possible. Grab and chew is as good as it gets. But why is it such a big deal now?

I was curious, so I thought I would look into it.

I've been following the standard PGD, or Pretty Good Diet. You know the sort of thing -- making sure I've eating 5 daily servings of fruit and veggies -- well, 3 or 4 servings is still pretty good, and hey I'll eat more fruit on the weekends to make up. It's kind of like the Pretty Good exercise plan. Doesn't really hurt you, though it's not going to help you lose weight or get into good shape.

The trouble I've found with this diet is that it's too easy for it to degrade into the PAD, or Pretty Awful Diet. You find yourself rationalizing all kinds of bad food decisions "just this once." (No, Merry, carrot cake does not count as a daily veg serving.)


So I figured I'd give this raw deal a try. I went cold carrot: eating whole-grain stuff and green leafy things and some fruit thrown in for dessert.

The main problem at work was all the eyebrow-raising that went on. "You're going to eat all that?" was a typical comment. But if you've ever tried it you'll agree that even after eating a whole cup o' green leafy things, you can still be hungry.

Very hungry.
Every day, I dutifully chomped my way through several cups of salad, bell peppers, oatmeal-with-fruit-and-flaxseed, the works. And invariably, by 4 o'clock in the afternoon, I was so hungry I was ready to chew plastic. Felt like a junkie needing a fix. (Um... I'm assuming this is how a junkie would feel. Not talking from experience.) I was irritable enough to kick innocent little kittens. I was angry.

Really angry.

The 'fix' for this problem was a quick piece of chicken. Within 20 minutes I had resumed my placid, agreeable demeanor. Or as close as I get, anyway.

How the heck am I supposed to be good when eating right makes me want to tell the world to go screw itself?


It's been a long time since my ancestors lived in caves and had names like Ungh. My ancestors have been in America long enough for the intestinal flora to adapt to a diet of hamburgers and fries. After pretty faithfully following this raw diet for a month (i.e. 90% of my diet = raw vegetables), my innards let me know how they felt about it.

- I felt much lighter. Apart from some ground up flax seed, I ate almost no fats. (90% of my diet was fat free.) As a result, I never felt weighed down.

- Since I was eating food that my innards weren't prepared for, I was also generating enough gas to make me a subject of interest to Exxon Mobil. (TMI? What TMI? That's just another TLA, isn't it?)

- In the evening, I inevitably had a dinner with some lean beef, chicken or fish. Not a lot, percentage-wise, but a couple ounces. I couldn't go all day and night without 'food.' (Somehow vegetables do not equal food, at least not to my subconscious.)

- I'd never heard that raw vegetables were like Chinese food, but it's true. Even though I ate veggies almost every hour on the hour, I was always hungry 30 minutes later. (I totaled up the number of calories I was consuming on a daily basis, and by late afternoon I usually ended up consuming about 900 calories.)

I don't care what they say about roughage and fiber, you have to eat a lot to equal the amount of calorie-satiation found in one hamburger or one Krispy Kreme. The trouble is that now I can't go back: just the thought of a fast-food burger makes me feel greasy.

I would have thought my body would have become accustomed to this diet after a month, but noooo. I'm screwed either way: good food makes me ravenous and bad food makes me sick.

Has anyone out there, a fellow confirmed carnivore, ever tried going cold carrot? If so, how long did it take? Enquiring minds (and innards) want to know!


Note: These pictures have absolutely nothing to do with raw food. (Oregon aficionados might recognize Cape Perpetua and Cannon Beach.) I wanted to keep alive the spirit of the Cranky Fitness photo competition. (This week: east coast vs. west coast.)