Chapter 2783: 2580 Eating 3 Jin of Chinese Cabbage a Day

"Diet? Quite normal." the patient said, "I did lose weight a while back, but wasn't that after being hospitalized twice? I think a person's lifespan is fate; there's no need to be too hard on oneself, so I've returned to normal eating."

Su Yun seemed to recall something, but the patient's account didn't match, and his brow tightened further.

"Are you saying that cruciferous plants contain glucosinolates, and large oral intake leads to iodine deficiency, causing goiter?" Zheng Ren asked.

Su Yun looked at the patient doubtfully and said, "That can only be this one explanation."

"Generally speaking, that wouldn't happen. A study of five participants with normal thyroid function showed that after drinking 430 g of kale juice twice daily for seven consecutive days, the subjects' average 6‑hour radioactive iodine uptake decreased by 2.52 % from baseline, but their serum thyroid function tests were normal." Zheng Ren said.

"That's for normal people; abnormal hypothyroid patients might not be the same." Su Yun insisted.

"Doctor, doctor, I like eating meat, I really do. During that weight‑loss period, I almost suffered to death. I had no energy for anything, life lost its direction and meaning. You say humans struggled for millions of years, finally reached the top of the food chain—why go back to eating vegetables?"

The patient was quick to get familiar; having just met Zheng Ren and Su Yun, he already spoke without restraint.

Zheng Renye also thought Su Yun made sense, thought it over, and then said: "You're referring to that 2015 survey in the journal Thyroid, right?"

Su Yun nodded, feeling something was off, and didn't sit down to chat with the patient. If it were another patient, given Su Yun's temperament, he would have already been shooting the breeze with them.

Today this "old" patient just seems strange no matter how you look at him.

"I've seen an extreme case—a 2010 report in the Xin Ying Ge Lan Journal described an 88‑year‑old woman who, to control her blood sugar, ate 1.0–1.5 kg of raw cabbage daily for several months and eventually developed mucous edema coma." Zheng Ren said: "If it weren't for the serious Xin Ying Ge Lan report, I wouldn't believe it—that amount of cabbage is just too huge."

"Eating three jin of Chinese cabbage a day— that's not rabbit feed, is it?" Although the patient didn't really understand what the two were saying, he could still grasp the simple basics, like eating three jin of Chinese cabbage a day.

"That's pretty extreme—do you eat normally?" Su Yun asked: "Have you been restricting your diet because of diabetes or something?"

"No, as I said, I like eating meat. Vegetable leaves and such are nonsense—they don't fill me up, and I get hungry again soon. I don't have gout, I don't have diabetes, I have high blood pressure but it's not serious. While I can still eat, I should seize the time to eat, before I get old and can't eat anymore."

The patient said, forcing down a mouthful of saliva, "I'm like this now—intermittently ill, and I estimate I won't be able to eat before I get old."

"No, it's just hypothyroidism complicated by goiter…" Zheng Ren hesitated; linking these two conditions together has nothing to do with thyroid storm or sudden massive goiter causing breathing difficulty.

Chronic thyroid enlargement from different causes is called goiter. Goiter can be divided into simple goiter and hyperthyroidism. The former can further be divided into diffuse goiter and nodular goiter.

The patient's diagnosis is hypothyroidism, and both Big Pig Trotter and 912 agree on that, so it can only be considered simple goiter.

The more Zheng Ren thought about it, the more something felt off.

"What did the doctors say during your previous hospitalizations?" Zheng Ren asked.

"They said my condition was strange and told me to get it checked out. The specifics are really complex—I'm not a medical student, so I can't recite all those professional terms." The patient said, "But I don't want to do a needle biopsy or any radioactive iodine tests; just hearing about them sounds deadly, so I ended up discharging myself and going home."

There's a certain degree of difference in medical compliance; the patient himself has his own opinions, even somewhat extreme. Zheng Ren formed his own judgment of the patient and continued to ponder the information he had just heard.

Long‑term, large intake of cruciferous vegetables might reduce thyroid hormone production, but the patient explicitly said he doesn't have that issue.

Moreover, achieving long‑term and large‑scale intake is truly difficult.

Especially eating three jin of Chinese cabbage a day—wanting to persist for a long period isn't something an ordinary person can do; it's already akin to ascetic practice. Just thinking about having to chew three jin of Chinese cabbage every day makes Zheng Ren's brow furrow.

"What else do you usually eat?" Su Yun asked.

"Meat! Nothing but meat!" the patient said, his eyes lighting up when he uttered the word "meat." "People say carbs are the true love, but I don't think so. Even the best Northeastern rice can't compare to a big chunk of fatty meat—it's pure bliss to eat."

Does eating meat, fatty meat, have anything to do with it? Zheng Ren searched a lot of information, but in the end he was still clueless.

"I still think it's related to the cruciferous family." Su Yun insisted: "Only long‑term, large‑scale consumption of cruciferous plants could produce this extreme situation. Do you eat carrots, various radishes?"

"No, they're just water when you bite into them—nothing compares to meat."

"How do you eat meat? Pickled mustard greens with shredded pork?" Su Yun continued to ask.

"No, I just eat big cooked chunks. Dip them in garlic paste, eat big pieces of meat, gulp down liquor—that's life's greatest pleasure." The patient said, feeling a bit down, "This time I have to be hospitalized; I don't know how many days I'll go without meat."

"Just order a meal and there'll be meat. The hospital side is convenient in that regard—not tasty, but you can eat." Zheng Ren said.

"No, it's different—homemade is still the tastiest. Speaking of which, pork prices have gone up this year, and I end up spending a lot more each day…"

As they talked, the patient steered the conversation off topic again.

Zheng Ren was also quite helpless—this is the classic "chatterbox grandpa"; if you don't shut him up, he could keep talking until tomorrow morning.

"Wait a minute… what health supplements do you usually take?" Zheng Ren suddenly recalled something and asked.

"No… wait." The patient glanced sideways at Zheng Ren, then whispered: "Doctor Zheng, let me recommend something to you."

Zheng Ren instantly became alert.

"I'm not trying to sell you anything—I'm not a businessman or a micro‑vendor, so don't be so wary of me." Seeing Zheng Ren's wariness, the patient immediately explained: "When it comes to health supplements, I started drinking goji‑berry water after turning 40, but that stuff works slowly. Guess what I'm taking?"

"How would I even guess that?" Zheng Ren had no intention of responding.

"Holy cow! Are you taking maca?" Su Yun suddenly exclaimed, "I knew it!"