DoctorOz: The Truth About Kale - Is It Really Healthy?

Sometimes, an unexpected turn of events can throw you off your game. But, it can also be an opportunity to grow and end up with something even better than before. Today's show is all about overcoming life's curveballs. So we're going to start off with some headlines that are throwing a lot of you off. They're about kale. They're now saying it could be bad for your health. But are the claims based on real science? We're going to get to the bottom of that. And, you're going to meet the inspiring comic everybody's talking about. He's wowing the judges and audiences on America's Got Talent. It's an accident that left him with a permanent stutter. But he didn't let it stop him. Quite the opposite, actually. And finally, a wife whose husband woke up from surgery a totally different person. They're showing you how their story can revive your marriage in three steps. So, let's get started with the rise and fall of kale. Kale, the much-loved veggie adored by millions of fans, had humble beginnings. I knew kale before it was kale. Some people said kale was bitter, but we always got along. Kale got its start as an extra, an afterthought, a mere garnish ignored on a plate. Then catapulted overnight to its breakout role as a prime ingredient in smoothies, going from virtual unknown to all-out superstar. In no time at all, kale had full-on celebrity status, Kale was pretty famous by 2012. You couldn't go anywhere without seeing it on a menu. But when it showed up in a Beyonce video, I knew kale was a bona fide superstar. Kale was on a wild ride, a fan favorite in supermarkets across the country, and the ultimate honor, an invitation to the White House for Thanksgiving dinner. But then it all came crashing down. Kale, the world once at its feet, has fallen on hard times. I saw an article accusing kale of being unhealthy. I couldn't believe it. My super greed. It was causing everything from heavy metal poisoning to hair loss, forgetfulness, even hypothyroidism. And just like that, kale has gone from superfood to produce pariah. But what's the real truth? Is kale doomed to be a falling star, or can it turn over a new leaf? You gotta love it, the rise and fall of kale. Okay, hands up if you're a kale lover. We've talked about it so much. Alright, now if you don't mind, for all the folks who have their hands up, how many of you have cut down the amount of kale you're eating? One lady here, go ahead. What is it about these headlines that's bothering you? Hi Dr. Oz. How are you? I'm great, how are you? Very well. So I actually used to buy three or four bags of the pre-cut kale at the supermarkets, and I've cut down to about one bag ever since my mom sent me this article about the heavy metal poisoning and how it can actually be dangerous for you. I really like it as a superfood though, and a leafy green, so I'll buy one bag a week and I'll supplement the other greens with other stuff. Have you all heard the news, back and forth? Head noddings. So it's influenced some, not others. Keep the mic, it might come up handy later on. So let's take a look at how this kale story unfolded. It's actually fascinating. It teaches us a lot about how information is pushed around these days. It's actually like a domino effect. You all play dominoes, right? One domino falls and all the other ones fall after. So the first domino actually was with an article, and then there was another article. The first one was an opinion piece in the New York Times. It linked kale to a sluggish thyroid. There was another article. It was a report about a researcher who linked kale to heavy metal toxicity. They both caused a big stir in the blogosphere, and people began to write about the so-called darker side of kale. Then what happened? The next domino was it got picked up by more mainstream media sources. Even more people started reading about it. And, like our friend just described us, her mom started sending out letters, and our friend kale started taking a bit of a beating. So let's get to the bottom of these claims, starting with the link between kale and heavy metal toxins. Let me ask Dr. Holly, who's the medical contributor for CBS Evening News, to join us. How are you, Holly? You read these articles. I did. You just heard our audience talk a little bit about how they're changing some of their behaviors. You think these articles are trustworthy. Well, you know, we really can't draw any major conclusions from these studies. You know, in one of them, it was a very small pilot study. It just involved 20 patients and was done in the researcher's home lab. The main point, though, is that this is not a cause-and-effect study. It only establishes a link. So, yes, people in his study showed higher-than-normal levels of thallium. Yes, they said they ate kale, but he couldn't prove that kale caused their high thallium levels. Or any symptoms they may have been having. Let's talk about where these metals come from, because this is an important issue for all vegetables. Sure. Now, thallium and some other heavy metals are a normal and natural part of our soil supply. They can be in the soil, though, in higher amounts from things like pesticides, certain fertilizers, or even pollution. The idea is that the roots of the vegetables start to take up the thallium, and then it gets concentrated in the leaves. You see how deep those roots are, my goodness. I grow kale, actually, in my garden. Ah, very good. So I know how deep these can get. Right. So the thallium, though, and the heavy metals go into all cruciferous vegetables, not just kale. So think broccoli, Brussels sprouts, collard greens, Swiss chard. All of those things would have the same effect. So the question then becomes, does this toxin, in this case thallium, this heavy metal, specifically target cruciferous vegetables, or is it true in all things beyond them as well? It does go into all vegetables, but there's something about the leaves of the cruciferous vegetables where it seems to build up a little bit more than others. Thank you very much. So if there was thallium in the kale that this gentleman tested, then there's still a lot we don't know about what that means for our health, whether our body actually absorbs the metal. We actually don't even know. Maybe we pee it out, right? Maybe it comes out in our poop. We don't actually know that much about it or what it does to us. So what are you telling your patients? You know, I am not going to discourage my patients from eating kale or discourage them from eating any green leafy vegetables. In my practice, a much greater concern is that we're not getting enough of those really, really nutritious things. So unless your diet is just kale upon kale upon kale, hundreds of salads a day, there really shouldn't be a cause for concern. The other thing is the best diet is really a diverse diet, right? It's not about focusing on just one food. It's about introducing numerous different healthy foods into your diet every day. That's a gift to you from the show. Thank you. It's the least I could do. I'll put it in my juicer. The next claim against kale was that it could cause a sluggish thyroid. And there's some science behind this, but here's what they didn't tell you, that it's probably theoretical. Let me explain this because it's really important. The thyroid hormone is made by the thyroid gland with iodine that passes into it. You've got to have the iodine into your thyroid to make the hormone. Kale releases a chemical called thiosinase. It actually blocks the iodine from getting into the thyroid so the hormone doesn't come out anymore. So this connection makes perfect sense. Doctors learn it in medical school. I get it. But is it really important? Andrea Beeman is a holistic health expert. She loves thyroid. She's also a kale lover. So this is a theory that a lot of folks have been batting her out. Most endocrinologists, however, are probably commenting on this behind closed doors. What are they saying? Well, they're saying whether you have a healthy thyroid or not so healthy thyroid, that kale is still okay for you because it's a highly nutritious food. So can I ask one question that's more specific to this? Sure. I get that one leaf of kale won't be a problem, but if you juice it, you concentrate it quite a bit. That doesn't worry you? Well, yeah. If you're going to juice 50 leaves of kale and you're going to have a big glass of green swamp juice, then absolutely. But most people are just having two pieces of kale, throwing in some carrots, maybe some beets. They're really mixing it up so you're getting a nice variety of vegetables. So we actually, in my house, make a juice every day. And we actually take about this much kale. Just to demonstrate this, where's my top of this thing? I don't have a plunger. Oh, here it is. I have a plunger right here. They hid it in front of me where I couldn't find it. So when you put your kale in here, and you can actually squeeze it in fairly densely. Hold your ears. Half that kale I put in there. And I'll let this drip out over time, but you'll see it doesn't make that much juice. So there's a potential risk, potential risk, if all you do is eat kale and primarily through juicing forms. And the question then is left in the back of our minds for people who love kale, and I do. What else can we do? What can we add to our diet to reduce the impact of too much kale? Well, we can add Brazil nuts, which are rich in selenium and zinc. You can also cook your kale, which is my favorite way to have kale, which deactivates a lot of the anti-nutrients that will inhibit the uptake of iodine. And you could also just have a nice variety of vegetables. You guys feel more comfortable about kale now? Yes. You okay, ma'am? What are you going to tell your mom now? You have your mic? Let me see your mic. What are you going to tell your mom after the show about kale? I'm going to tell her to not worry about me so much and to supplement with other vegetables. And some selenium nuts if you're really worried about it. And some selenium nuts. All right. Andrew, thank you very much. You can stick around, actually, because up next, we are veggie voting in this year's big election to find out which green can trump kale. Not that Trump. Stay right here.