The Vegetable Detective

I'm kind of alarmed at how not-alarming people are finding this. The idea that eating the foods we most need to eat for health will result in heavy metal poisoning via a vector about which there is no regulatory control or even awareness is a pretty big deal.

<i>&quot;To test this link, Hubbard started playing a little game. Whenever the clinic would send him someone with the kind of chronic problems associated with thallium, or any other complaints that were hard to pin down, Hubbard would scribble kale on a little note-card and turn it face-down on his desk. After a short work-up, he’d ask the patient to list his or her favorite vegetables. Over and over, people would mention the crucifers, especially kale. Hubbard would nod, say he expected as much, then show them the note-card on his desk to prove it.&quot;</i><p>Compelling.<p>What are the odds things would turn out any different with the rest of the population of Marin?

I stopped reading after this sentence:<p><i>&quot;One kale sample reported thallium at 1.14 ppm, nickel at 20 ppm, and aluminum at 120 ppm. (As has been widely reported, aluminum is often suspected as a cause of both autism and Alzheimer’s disease.)&quot;</i><p>It&#x27;s pretty controversial claim that aluminum is related to Alzheimer&#x27;s disease <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.webmd.com&#x2F;alzheimers&#x2F;guide&#x2F;controversial-claims-risk-factors" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.webmd.com&#x2F;alzheimers&#x2F;guide&#x2F;controversial-claims-r...</a>

Is there good information available regarding soil nutrient density for the plants that we eat? I&#x27;ve seen surprisingly little discussion of this topic in the healthy eating community, which I assume is due to lack of data.<p>My layman&#x27;s understanding is that the nutrient density of the soil is equally (if not more) important to the &quot;healthiness&quot; of vegetables than the particular species of plant itself. It&#x27;s almost common sense, on some level.

Snopes argues this article should be disregarded for lacking rigorous data. <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;m.snopes.com&#x2F;kale-not-safe&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;m.snopes.com&#x2F;kale-not-safe&#x2F;</a>

I realize that most readers are innumerate, but this sort of bombshell reporting really calls for numbers and a proper statistical analysis.

Every food pretty much follows a Gaussian curve in terms of benefit. There&#x27;s an ideal amount, with too little being bad, and too much being bad. All plants have some form of natural toxin as a defense against being eaten. Even broccoli has oxalic acid which can lead to kidney stones in high amounts. Cooking helps mitigate these, as well as sourcing from an organic farm or your back yard. But it&#x27;s always safer to eat a variety of vegetables, so you distribute whatever toxins each one has, natural or man-made, and get varied nutrients. There&#x27;s no silver bullet.

&#x27;A molecular biologist is finding what could be dangerous levels of heavy metals in plants like kale, often called the “queen” of the vegetable kingdom. And they’ve shown up the most in organic varieties.&#x27;<p>Seems as if there is no food ingredient that is really safe, always ? Something that can be trusted to be healthy whatever.

I often wonder what water high water-content fruits like strawberries have been subjected to. An interesting article but I don&#x27;t think I&#x27;ll knock broccoli on the head just yet.