Is cauliflower white because it has no minerals? No, that's not true: A registered dietician told Lead Stories that cauliflower is a nutrient-rich vegetable that comes in different colors, not just white. The source of this claim was a self-proclaimed doctor with no official medical licensing.
The claim appeared in a TikTok post on July 21, 2022, with the caption "Health Is Wealth my people 🌿⚠️ #health#cauliflower#diet#food" The video opened:
THE UNTOLD TRUTH ABOUT CAULIFLOWER
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Cauliflower has no minerals. That's why it has no color. It is the most pointless vegetable. ❌
This is what the post looked like on Tik Tok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Fri Oct 14 18:20:22 2022 UTC)
This August 10, 2016 YouTube video, titled "Dr. Sebi says do not consume these 4 foods (R.I.P)," is the original video seen in the TikTok post. The man speaking, Alfredo Bowman, known as "Dr. Sebi," makes several unsubstantiated claims about certain vegetables and nuts being "unnatural." He not only states that cauliflower has no minerals, but that it would also "rob" a person of minerals.
"Dr. Sebi," who died in 2016, did not have a license to practice medicine.
Amy Goodson, a registered dietician, told Lead Stories in an October 14, 2022 email that his claim about cauliflower is false:
Cauliflower is a nutrient-rich non-starchy vegetable that can be eaten alone or made into other foods like cauliflower pizza crust, pasta, and more! One cup of raw cauliflower provides 77% of vitamin C requirements, 3 grams of fiber, and is high in the antioxidants carotenoids and flavonoids. The purple and orange cauliflower are higher in antioxidants like anthocyanins, but all cauliflower contains them.
In a February 27, 2018 Mayo Clinic Health System blog post, titled "Cauliflower: The new nutrition superstar," registered dietician-nutritionist Linda Carruthers wrote that "cauliflower is high in vitamin C and a good source of folate." Available in white, purple, green and orange, cauliflower is a member of the cruciferous vegetable family, which "can offer health benefits that may reduce the risk of various types of cancer," Carruthers noted.
An Iowa State University blog post, titled, "The Many Colors of Cauliflower - Purple, Green, Orange, and White," reported that green cauliflower, known as broccoflower, contains more beta carotene than white cauliflower.
Other Lead Stories fact checks related to "Dr. Sebi" claims can be found here.
