Why I stopped eating broccoli

• Absolutely have had bloating from brassica but it’s not too bad as long as I don’t eat it at every meal (which I realized I was doing when I first went low carb). After all they are the best low carb vegs around. Now I eat them only at one meal a day and I vary the ones I eat – although right now kale, collards now and broccoli and cauliflower soon are starting to show up in my garden, farmers market and CSA. Hard but I am really tired of being bloated and not feeling tip top in the evening.

  • It’s a struggle isn’t it Miriam – I love my brassicas but don’t love the bloating – ALthough I’m so much happier with it now I know exactly what’s causing it.

    I’m learning that you can actually just have a few mouthfuls in each meal instead of a whole bowl.

    And the other thing I’ve loved about the experiment is discovering other low carb veg like celery, endive, rainbow chard, celeriac (celery root), fennel, dandelion greens. Things I hadn’t thought of much due to my brassica dependence.

    Lucky you with all those things sprouting in the garden!

    Jx

• Brassicas are well known to cause gas/bloating. Maybe taking something like Beano would help? We eat a lot of brassicas, but I haven’t noticed them as a particular standout for bloating in a long time. Maybe one of the perks of being old?

  • I’m not sure beano would work Susan. But worth a try :)

    Lucky you not getting bloating!

• I know this problem too. For me, it helps to increase the cooking/baking time. I don’t eat raw. 5-10 minutes cooking is not enough for me, however my mouth like it, :) my inside parts are not happy with half raw veggies.

  • Yes I agree the degree of cooking makes a difference for me too. I used to LOVE raw broccoli salads but it’s not worth it. Might have to experiment with overcooking and see how that goes. Thanks Christy!

• If you like the flavor and health benefits, maybe try microgreens? I’m not sure if they would be less bloating though?

  • I’ve been playing around with sprouts Lorraine and they seem OK so maybe micro greens would be good too. Thanks!

• I can’t eat cauliflower at all and have to be careful with cabbage and other brassicas. It’s more that I get stomach ache, bloating not so bad. I eat crystallized ginger, or take a capsule of powdered ginger, which usually helps.

  • Isn’t it fascinating how different we are Jan. My Irishman is really sensitive to cauliflower but he doesn’t get bloating – just other symptoms.

• For me it was uncooked onions/garlic. I’ve rarely ever experienced any bloating after I removed those. I don’t have Problems with cooked/roasted/fried onion at all. With garlic it is unfortunately a different story. Uncooked it causes more bloating and pain, but even cooked garlic causes a little bloating. Similar to your story I don’t mind so much to have some garlicky food every now and then, especially if it isn’t a big amount. A little bit of bloating won’t kill me after all. But I try not to overdo it, 1-2 times a week is enough.

  • I need to pay more attention to onion and garlic Yasmin – I haven’t noticed anything but it just occurred to me there could be something there as well.

    Yes 1-2 times a week is enough!

    HAve you tried making garlic oil – by soaking sliced raw garlic in oil then discarding the solids and using the flavoured oil – it’s a fab way to get the flavour without the carbohydrates that cause bloating.

• Yes, me too. All of the above. Especially garlic cooked or uncooked. I googled a way to make “garlic infused” olive or avocado oil with good results. (Lord sometimes I just need that garlic taste!) Funny all the foods you all are mentioning and some others like celery, mushrooms and avocado are also discouraged when following a SIBO or LOW FODMAP diet. My doctor treated my SIBO with herbs and some botanicals. Much better now and I have been able to tolerate brocolli, cooked cabbage and onion, and occasionally some avocado.

  • Yes for garlic infused oil Dawn!

• I find cabbage much worse than broccoli. Maybe there’s another experiment there!

  • I cut out cabbage too Kate – always love an experiment!

• I am now on Japanese and Korean food.
  Why?
  For months I had chronic diarrhea, bloating, nausea and pain.
  I researched what I shouldn’t eat and the brassica family was one group of foods.
  I then looked to see what is good for my digestive system and fermented foods was suggested.
  So I am now eating beautifully simple, delicious and nutritious food and, guess what, no diarrhea, no bloating, no nausea and no pain.
  So what do I eat and drink now?
  Noodles, rice, fish, tofu, tempah, no brassica, loads of other vegetables, seaweed, kimchi and other fermented fruit and vegetables all flavored with soy, mirrin, dash, mild chillis, ginger, garlic, tahini.
  I drink kefir, kombucha, ginger beer, turmeric shots, water and goat milk.
  For snacks I have gluten free bread/crackers, vegan cheese, bananas, yogurt, honey.
  My digestive system has never been happier and long may it continue.
  I also take a multi-probiotic to help my gut flora.

  • So glad you’ve found an approach that works for you Bee!
    LOVE Japanese and Korean :)

  • Isn’t kim chi generally made from napa cabbage/wombok? Perhaps the fermentation process stops it from being all bloaty.

    • Yes there’s something in the fermentation process that makes kimchi and sauerkraut less bloaty Lisa :)

• I am new to your website and appreciate your great recipes.
  If you know or Dawn Coles is reading this, I would be very interested to know how she was treated with herbs and botanicals to treat her SIBO.

  • I’m not familiar with Dawn Coles but thanks for commenting Deb!

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