Are mustard greens healthy?

[Jlashley0723]

I was online and read that Thier kinda high in goitrogens which are bad for beardies but yet it's a good staple so someone please clearify and in info came from beautiful dragons

 

[ynevar]

I give them occasionally. I have also read that they can give runny pooh. So I don't offer them that often.

I stick to collards and dandelion greens. Our nice weather is just about over and for a while I was also using carrot top greens. My garden is withering away at this point, we have had too much rain and not enough sun. I did buy some alfalfa seeds so I am going to try some alfalfa plants inside and see how that goes. Because my indoor plants are going like wildfire. I'd love to be able to feed them greens other than collard and mustard, which are pretty much all we have here. Endive is like 5.00 here.

SO... Too much for an answer? I guess in moderation it's okay. I use it sometimes.

 

[RainMaiden]

They are very healthy and safe to use as a staple. Here is the best info I could find regarding their high level of goitrogens. I believe it it relevant even though it is aimed at humans instead of beardies. If there truly was a high danger to the thyroid then it wouldn't be so widely recommended as a stable green.

Mustard Greens as a "Goitrogenic" Food - http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?pfriendly=1&tname=foodspice&dbid=93

Mustard greens are are sometimes referred to as a "goitrogenic" food. Yet, contrary to popular belief, according to the latest studies, foods themselves—mustard greens included—are not "goitrogenic" in the sense of causing goiter whenever they are consumed, or even when they are consumed in excess. In fact, most foods that are commonly called "goitrogenic"—such as the cruciferous vegetables (including mustard greens, broccoli, kale, and cauliflower) and soyfoods—do not interfere with thyroid function in healthy persons even when they are consumed on a daily basis. Nor is it scientifically correct to say that foods "contain goitrogens," at least not if you are thinking about goitrogens as a category of substances like proteins, carbohydrates, or vitamins. With respect to the health of our thyroid gland, all that can be contained in a food are nutrients that provide us with a variety of health benefits but which, under certain circumstances, can also interfere with thyroid function. The term "goitrogenic food" makes it sound as if something is wrong with the food, but that is simply not the case. What causes problems for certain individuals is not the food itself but the mismatched nature of certain substances within the food to their unique health circumstances. For more, see: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=250

 

[ynevar]

Thank you for clarification... I will use it more often...

I love using grated squashes too.

 

[RainMaiden]

No problem. I use it as a staple among other greens so I was curious myself. My boy loves mustard greens.

 

[ynevar]

I mix it up all the time and they seem to love greens no matter what I give them, so it's all good Just good to know that it is not so bad for them.

 

[Ranger87]

I know you've already had your answer, but mustard greens and acorn squash are about all my beardie likes. :roll: She prefers her food the same everytime. Mustards on the bottom, grated squash on the top.

If I try to feed her something different, or even prepare her squash differently, she'll more often than naught turn her nose up to it. :roll:

I even once offered her just the squash (since that seemed to be all she was eating) and she wouldn't eat it because there were no greens in it.

 

[carlisv]

Isn't that a hoot that their preferences are so specific? My Richard is the same way - squash has to be grated a certain way, turnip/mustard/collard greens have to be a certain size, (and they can't touch each other in the dish!), and he won't eat anything if he drops it or it falls out of his mouth. Jeez.

Anyway, mustard greens are a staple for Richard and Dubs as well. I like the fact that they last so long in the fridge - a big bunch (98 cents at our WalMart) lasts my two boys a couple of weeks. I also feed it to the superworms, and crickets when I have them.

 

[ynevar]

Hahahah... I have to push all the greens to whichever side of the dish that Stumpy chooses to eat from (because of his lil stump he has a harder time eating all in the dish. Gimpy I have to occasionally move the greens around when he stops eating and then he will start eating again. And he looks at me like "Well, are you going to stir them for me?" LOL