Sugar Cane- GOITROGENIC ?

[Forumer1]

Hello all,

Came across a post here saying that sugar cane juice is goitrogenic & not good for the thyroid... well, wouldn’t that make Raw Cane Sugar and even any sugar derived from Sugar cane, including white sugar, goitrogenic?

This may explain why some people react to added sugar, but of course just a postulation!

 

[Dave Clark]

Welcome to the forum. You will find that many things can be said on 'posts' that have no merit. It will be more engaging if you have a study that makes these claims. Others will comment, but I have never seen any science claiming sugar juice was goitrogenic. We would want to see the science of 'why' sugar juice would cause a suppression of the thyroid. A food or substance being goitregenic, in my opinion, may be relative to the amount of that food/substance consumed. Many feel cruciferous vegetables are, but studies show in reasonable moderate amounts there is no suppression of thyroid production, plus there are many other health benefits to having some cruciferous vegetables in the diet.

 

[not_James_Bond]

Yep, it's the dose that makes the poison.

 

[Dr. B]

Hello all,

Came across a post here saying that sugar cane juice is goitrogenic & not good for the thyroid... well, wouldn’t that make Raw Cane Sugar and even any sugar derived from Sugar cane, including white sugar, goitrogenic?

This may explain why some people react to added sugar, but of course just a postulation!

Welcome to the forum. You will find that many things can be said on 'posts' that have no merit. It will be more engaging if you have a study that makes these claims. Others will comment, but I have never seen any science claiming sugar juice was goitrogenic. We would want to see the science of 'why' sugar juice would cause a suppression of the thyroid. A food or substance being goitregenic, in my opinion, may be relative to the amount of that food/substance consumed. Many feel cruciferous vegetables are, but studies show in reasonable moderate amounts there is no suppression of thyroid production, plus there are many other health benefits to having some cruciferous vegetables in the diet.

Yep, it's the dose that makes the poison.

i dont know but ive heard the same with orange juice. the bioflavonoids in it like quercetin supposedly are anti thyroid. the thing is it has many different things. sugar itself is supposed to be pro thyroid. its possible the cane is goitrogenic but balanced out by the sugar content, similar to the orange juice flavonoids anti thyroid effect being nullified by the sugar. also the flavonoids in OJ are much smaller in amount than the supplement extracts of those flavonoids.

 

[Dave Clark]

Every food has 'some' level of anti-thyroid substance in it, meats, dairy, eggs, etc. have some PUFA, fruits and vegetables have flavanoids, phytoestrogens, etc. The amount you consume, plus your metabolic condition will determine the risk/reward. Plus, especially here, there is a tendency to throw the baby out with the bathwater. If a compound, like quercetin, i.e. has been studied to have anti-aging effects and various therapeutic effects, it is discounted if it even has a modicum of estrogen or PUfA, etc. The Peat ideal, in my opinion, has to be looked at through the lens of risk/reward. Nothing is perfect in diets or supplementation.

 

[Dr. B]

Every food has 'some' level of anti-thyroid substance in it, meats, dairy, eggs, etc. have some PUFA, fruits and vegetables have flavanoids, phytoestrogens, etc. The amount you consume, plus your metabolic condition will determine the risk/reward. Plus, especially here, there is a tendency to throw the baby out with the bathwater. If a compound, like quercetin, i.e. has been studied to have anti-aging effects and various therapeutic effects, it is discounted if it even has a modicum of estrogen or PUfA, etc. The Peat ideal, in my opinion, has to be looked at through the lens of risk/reward. Nothing is perfect in diets or supplementation.

quercetin in food sources is likely small and counteracted by other things like in OJ. however, supplements have it both as an isolated nutrient and in amounts so high youd need to drink insane amounts of orange juice. it could be the same with PUFA

 

[Dave Clark]

quercetin in food sources is likely small and counteracted by other things like in OJ. however, supplements have it both as an isolated nutrient and in amounts so high youd need to drink insane amounts of orange juice. it could be the same with PUFA

Well, that depends on if you are head set on the idea that every nutrient has to come from food or else it is harmful or has no merit. Many people on this forum use many supplements in levels not found in a typical diet, plus compounds that are man made as sold by some companies that are on the forum. I myself feel most nutrients can be had in food, but there are some isolated nutrients that work therapeutically in higher levels with safety. Vitamin E is a good example of that, along with some B vitamins, etc.,etc. Not to mention the hormones that many use, that are certainly not found in food. Context and scientific studies are important.

 

[Dr. B]

Well, that depends on if you are head set on the idea that every nutrient has to come from food or else it is harmful or has no merit. Many people on this forum use many supplements in levels not found in a typical diet, plus compounds that are man made as sold by some companies that are on the forum. I myself feel most nutrients can be had in food, but there are some isolated nutrients that work therapeutically in higher levels with safety. Vitamin E is a good example of that, along with some B vitamins, etc.,etc. Not to mention the hormones that many use, that are certainly not found in food. Context and scientific studies are important.

quercetin is considered part of the negative aspects of food, maybe comparable to iron or phosphorus
vitamin E is considered positive, its extracted often from PUFA oils like soy
b vitamins, certain ones are considered pro meta bolic
its just rutin, quercetin being listed as thiamine antagonists makes them seem risky to use as a supplement

 

[Dave Clark]

quercetin is considered part of the negative aspects of food, maybe comparable to iron or phosphorus
vitamin E is considered positive, its extracted often from PUFA oils like soy
b vitamins, certain ones are considered pro meta bolic
its just rutin, quercetin being listed as thiamine antagonists makes them seem risky to use as a supplement

Not sure I would characterize quercetin in the same context as iron, or being a negative aspect of food, since there is much positive scientific evidence for its use as a flavanoid in health. I found this interesting, since i remembered that quercetin is actually an iron chelator, and we all know the down sides to iron:

Google Scholar

scholar.google.com

But, I understand your point. Perhaps someone who lacks a proper thiamine status should avoid quercetin, but I haven't seen anything that quercetin supplementation pushes one toward thiamine deficiency. I view quercetin supplementation as more therapeutic, rather than health maintenance, so its use is most likely going to be individualized, for use as histamine blocker for allergy control, etc. All flavanoids should be used with caution , and conservatively if possible. Other than for special treatment, proper foods should supply enough for health maintenance.