Eating too much broccoli? 5 health risks to be aware of

After eating a lot of kidney beans or having aerated drinks, you may experience symptoms of excess gas. Yes, your diet can affect how much gas you produce, and consuming certain foods and drinks may worsen symptoms. Joining the list is broccoli, a cruciferous vegetable like cabbage. You can eat it raw as part of a salad, or steam, roast or stir-fry it. The green-coloured vegetable is loaded with a host of nutrients. But eating too much broccoli can cause gas, especially if you consume it on a daily basis. There are more dangers of consuming this vegetable in excess.

This vegetable has some amazing health benefits. It is good for your bones and also has a lot of fibre. However, it has some serious side effects as well. Be it thyroid or your digestive system, too much broccoli can impact your health in a negative way. Health Shots for in touch with dietician and clinical nutritionist, Anshika Srivastava to understand the disadvantages of eating too much broccoli. 

What are the disadvantages of eating too much broccoli?

Consuming too much broccoli can lead to the following health problems:

 1. Can impact thyroid levels

Broccoli impacts the functioning of your thyroid gland, because it is goitrogen in nature. They are the chemicals which suppress the functioning of the thyroid gland, the butterfly-shaped gland in the front of your neck. This chemical interferes with iodine in your body, due to which your thyroid gland enlarges and leads to goitre. A study, published in Cancer Causes Control, supports this claim.

“Broccoli also has thiocyanates. This compound is very dangerous because it leads to hyperthyroidism, and due to which, you experience problems like weight gain, fatigue, hair loss, and a bloated face,” informs Srivastava.

2. Can lead to gastric issues

Another thing that too much broccoli can do is create gastric issues. Broccoli belongs to the cruciferous family, just like kale and cabbage, and leads to gastric issues as well as bloating in some people. The National Institute of Diabetes and digestive and Kidney Diseases, also lists broccoli as one of the cruciferous vegetables that can cause gas. 

3. Can lead to bowel irritation

Another reason that one must avoid eating too much broccoli is that it can give you issues with your bowel movement. Broccoli is rich in fibre which is good when eaten in moderation. “If you eat too much fibre, then your body doesn’t make as many enzymes to digest it, and hence you experience bowel irritation”, says Shrivastava.

4. Increases chances of an ischemic stroke

There are also some other side effects of broccoli. If it is not cooked properly, it increases the isoflavones present in it, due to which chances of an ischemic stroke increases, especially in women. The common type of stroke occurs when a blood clot blocks an artery leading to the brain. This disrupts blood flow and causes damage to brain tissue.

5. Can interfere with certain medications

According to The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, people taking blood-thinning medications should keep a tab on their broccoli intake. As per the study, broccoli contains vitamin K, and that could have an impact on the effectiveness of your medicine.

How much broccoli should you eat in a day?

How much is too much broccoli? The answer to this is that you should must limit your consumption of this vegetable to one or two cups a day of cooked broccoli. The best way of eating broccoli is my steaming it. The high fibre content of broccoli can make it hard to digest in the raw form.

Broccoli comes under the list of superfoods, but it also has some side effects. Eating too much broccoli may cause digestive discomfort like gas or bloating, and lead to thyroid issues. Also, if you plan on using it in your salad, make sure to steam it to avoid the side effects.