Why does everyone always talk about greens for your gut when many also say, “Kale is not all it’s cracked up to be?”

Let me help you understand more about the topic today.

Kale Me Crazy

Aka. What is kale? And why do I love it so much?

Kale continues to rank as one of the world’s healthiest foods. It belongs to the Brassica family that includes cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, collards, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts.

Here are some nutritional stats for just 1 cup cooked:

• 98% Vitamin A 
• 1,180% Vitamin K (hello miracle for the misfortunate bruisers like me!)
• 71% Vitamin C (and you thought only oranges would give you that vitamin!)
• And obviously….so many more things

More Kale Benefits

And here are some more kale benefits:

1. Contains two types of antioxidants, namely, carotenoids and flavonoids.
2. It only takes 100 calories of kale to provide over 350 milligrams for the most basic omega-3 fatty acid (alpha-linolenic acid, or ALA).
3. Low-FODMAP. Yes, it’s true. Kale is low-FODMAP.

Okay, so kale is so wonderful. Then, what are the downsides to kale?

Kale and Your Gut

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Here are 3 reasons you might not choose kale right now on your gut-healing journey:

1. Low Thyroid

   If your gut is not healed, there is a good chance that your thyroid function is also off. Kale contains glucosinolates, which impacts the thyroid and metabolism. Goitrogens, found in many vegetables, can be problematic for patients with thyroid disorders. Chris Kresser has a great article all about it HERE.

2. Insoluble Fiber

   Remember, kale is an insoluble fiber. That means that, in addition to having many positive benefits, if you already have IBS-D and/or IBD-D, kale is not likely to help. Insoluble fibers speed up movement. 

3. Dirty Dozen

   Kale is part of the Dirty Dozen list, which means that it’s one of the crops that farmers use the most pesticides on. And why does that matter for your gut? Pesticides can induce gut microbiota dysbiosis and result in multiple potential adverse effects.

But let’s say you don’t have a low-functioning thyroid (namely, Hypothyroidism), you tolerate insoluble fiber, and you’re getting organic kale, then should you eat it?

Kale Recipes

Well, I don’t know? Only you can know that.

What I will say, though, is that I love kale and eat it whenever I can. You’ll find three recipes in my book, The Leaky Gut Meal Plan that use kale:

1. Baked Kale Chips, page 130
2. Boosted Green Smoothie, page 72
3. Eggs and Greens Buddha Bowl, page 71

If you’re looking to simply boost a juice, smoothie, and/or smoothie bowl, check out the Perfect Fermented Kale HERE from Perfect Supplements. (If you use code GUTSY10 at checkout, you’ll always save 10% on anything from Perfect Supplements.)

One Serving of Perfect Kale Contains:

• 9 Calories
• 1654 IU Vitamin A
• 22mg of Vitamin C
• 25mg of Calcium
• 83mg of Potassium
• 0.32mg of Iron
• 6.32mg of Magnesium
• 46.14mcg Vitamin
• 31.29mcg Vitamin K2
• 20% Protein by Weight
• 12% Fiber by Weight

Sources: HERE, and HERE.

So what do you think? Do you eat kale? Like it? Love it? Leave it? Let me know.

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:

1. Sautéed Swiss Chard and Kale with Fig
2. Top 22 Paleo Soup Recipes
3. This Food is Good for You Unless It’s Not

Xox,
SKH