The benefits and harms of spinach
Spinach is usually an annual plant with a height of 25 to 55 cm. Persia is considered its homeland. Such a plant chooses countries with a temperate climate in Central Asia, the Caucasus and southern regions of Europe. A huge number of various nutrients are found in spinach leaves. This unusual plant has found its wide application not only in cooking and medicine, but also in cosmetology and perfumery.
Regular consumption of the leaves of this wonderful plant prevents the development of such a serious disease as hypertension. The herb perfectly strengthens blood vessels, quickly relieves inflammation and swelling due to its powerful diuretic effect. Spinach is indicated for the full restoration of the thyroid gland and the central nervous system. It is able to cleanse the body of toxins, replenish the supply of essential minerals and vitamins, normalize the digestive process, and also boasts of strengthening the immune system.
The homeland of spinach is Persia, from where it came to Spain along with the participants in the Crusades. After some time, spinach spread throughout Europe and became one of the favorite vegetable crops due to its early maturity and versatility.
Content:
- Composition and calorie content
- The benefits of spinach
- Spinach harm
- Spinach based recipes
- Spinach varieties
- Harvesting spinach for the winter
Answers to popular questions
- Can spinach be breastfed?
- If spinach has bloomed, can you eat it?
- Can you eat raw spinach?
- Contraindications to the use of spinach
Composition and calorie content
The calorie content of spinach does not exceed 23 kilocalories per 100 g of leaves.
- Fats: 0.4 g
- Proteins: 2.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 3.6 g
- Water: 91.4 g
- Ash: 1.7 g
- Cellulose: 2.2 g
Vitamins (per 100 g): |
amount |
% RDA |
| Vitamin K | 482.9-640 mcg | 467.9% |
| Lutein + Zeaxanthin | 12198 μg | 203.3% |
| Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) | 18.1-86 mg | 74.4% |
| Beta carotene | 1610-5756 mcg | 73.7% |
| Vitamin A (retinol) | 469 μg | 58% |
| Vitamin B9 (folic acid) | 150-300 mcg | 56.3% |
| Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) | 1.57-4.75 mg | 21.1% |
| Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) | 0.18-0.31 mg | 12.5% |
| Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) | 0.19-0.31 mg | 12.3% |
Minerals (in 100 g): |
amount |
% RDA |
| Silicon | 51.2 mg | 170.7% |
| Manganese | 350-3400 mcg | 93.8% |
| Boron | 37.1 μg | 53% |
|
Iron |
3.7-6 mg | 32.3% |
| * Thallium | 0.5 μg | 25% |
| Cobalt | 1.6-2.8 mcg | 22% |
| Chromium | 2.8-18.1 mcg | 20.9% |
| Vanadium | 7.9 mcg | 19.8% |
| Rubidium | 18.7 mcg | 18.7% |
| Potassium | 307-590 mg | 17.9% |
| Calcium | 53.9-218 mg | 12.4% |
| Iodine | 15.9-20.8 mcg | 12.2% |
| Molybdenum | 5.2-9.3 μg | 10.4% |
| Zinc | 440-2000 mcg | 10.2% |
Other important connections:
- Phytosterols - 9 mg (16.4% of the RDI)
- Purines - 23 mg (18.3% of the RDI)
- Oxalic acid - 570 mg (142.5% of the RDI)
The neutral taste of this vegetable is more than offset by its composition, a set of vitamins and trace elements. Spinach is especially prized for its iron content, which makes it an excellent remedy for the prevention of anemia.
This makes spinach a valuable ingredient in balanced diets for weight loss and health promotion.
Complete chemical composition ➤
The benefits of spinach
Spinach properties:
- Absorbs free radicals that affect aging and the development of diseases thanks to vitamins A, C and polyphenolic antioxidants, lutein + zeaxanthin (strong antioxidants) and β-carotene in its composition.
- Protects against age-related retinal degeneration thanks to the dietary carotenoid zeaxanthin.
- Helps maintain visual acuity and healthy skin and mucous membranes, prevent cancer of the lungs and oral cavity thanks to vitamin A and flavonoids.
- Strengthens bones, stimulates the action of osteotropes (bone cells), helps stabilize the state of brain neurons due to the high content of vitamin K.
- Prevents the appearance of fetal neural tube defects in pregnant women, thanks to vitamins B 1, B 6, riboflavin, folates and niacin.
- Helps control blood pressure and heart rate thanks to its potassium content.
- Normalizes fat metabolism thanks to omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid.
- Helps prevent colon and prostate cancer.
- Stimulates red blood cell production with the copper in spinach.
A dietary vegetable like spinach has a mild laxative and diuretic effect. In addition, it boasts of its anti-inflammatory tonic properties.
Benefits of spinach juice
Spinach juice contains manganese, without which a proper metabolism is impossible. taking such juice is prescribed to normalize the thyroid gland, the full functioning of the brain and improve the composition of bones. The complex of unique components contained in the juice helps to strengthen vision, immunity and teeth.
Modern doctors recommend drinking such a healthy juice every day, since it is a natural defense against vitamin deficiencies and benign neoplasms. It is prescribed for serious blood pathologies, excitations of the digestive glands and various enterocolitis.
Spinach harm
The main limitation imposed by the use of spinach is the high content of oxalic acid in its leaves, as much as 570 mg per 100 g (142.5% of the RDI). For those suffering from urolithiasis, eating spinach can cause increased formation of oxalate stones in the urinary tract. For the same reasons, spinach is contraindicated in patients with gout, a condition caused by the kidneys' inability to excrete uric acid.
Adequate water intake can slightly reduce the negative effects on the urinary tract. The plant estrogens found in spinach, when consumed regularly, lead to thyroxine deficiency in those who suffer from thyroid dysfunction.
Taking anticoagulants on an ongoing basis can be a contraindication for eating spinach, as the high vitamin K content will interfere with the drug's action. Dietary fiber of the leaves of this green culture limits the bioavailability of magnesium, calcium, iron for the human body.
If nitrogen fertilizers were used when growing spinach, it contains a certain amount of nitrates. For this reason, it is not recommended to reheat dishes with spinach, as this can convert nitrates into harmful nitrites and nitrosamines.
In addition, it should be noted that spinach greens can accumulate the toxic ultramicroelement thallium, up to 25% of the daily value per 100 g.
Spinach based recipes
- For anemia, it is recommended to make an infusion of 1 tablespoon of well-crushed leaves and one full glass of water. After one hour of infusion, such a remedy must be thoroughly filtered and taken orally, 50 ml before each meal. This infusion can relieve sore throat, as well as treat constipation and pneumonia.
- In case of cramps, it is recommended to eat fresh leaves of the plant, which should first be boiled in almond oil and mixed with very fresh butter.
- For abscesses, burns and eczema, it is shown to apply softened spinach leaves to the affected skin areas, which are pre-boiled in olive oil.
- For hemorrhoids, experts recommend making a special remedy. Take 100 grams of almond oil for half a glass of plant juice. The resulting drink should be consumed in small doses throughout the day.
- For various neoplasms and tuberculosis, we take 10 grams of crushed leaves, which we fill with a full glass of boiled water. Set aside this mixture for 2 hours. Then we filter this healing infusion. It can be taken orally 3 times a day, 50-60 ml.
- After serious illnesses and complex operations, you can easily restore the body's strength using a unique remedy based on 1 glass of dry red wine and 50 ml of freshly squeezed spinach juice. Such an unusual spicy wine is advised to drink one glass for 7 days.
Spinach varieties
There are about twenty different varieties of this cultivated plant, which are characterized by excellent dietary properties. The varieties differ in the size, shape and juiciness of the leaves. The most common are strawberry, "Virofle", "Victoria", "Gigantic" and "Bloomsdelsky".
Strawberry spinach. It deserves attention for its unusual appearance. Such vegetable greens with peculiar red berries, reminiscent of raspberries, boast a large amount of vitamins and trace elements that are indispensable for the human body. This early maturing annual plant is a cold-resistant and unpretentious crop. It grows well in a wide variety of soils, both in the shade and in the open sun. The plant is not afraid of heat and drought, and is also practically not susceptible to various diseases and is immune to common garden pests. The homeland of this variety is the Mediterranean coast of Asia. Both the leaves and fruits of strawberry spinach are edible.
Spinach Uteusha. Such an early plant appeared as a result of a unique selection of two varieties - Tien Shan sorrel and English spinach - thanks to Professor Yuri Uteush. This variety with delicate leaves is very good for the first spring salads. It contains a set of essential vitamins and essential minerals. Young shoots contain a lot of carotene and iron. The use of such a delicious variety helps to improve the condition of the intestinal microflora due to the cessation of putrefactive processes. In addition, Uteusha spinach has an antitumor effect.
Leaf spinach. Such a very useful vegetable with fleshy leaves has inconspicuous small flowers. Leafy spinach is rich in vitamins and minerals, and also boasts a significant content of biologically active substances that are so necessary for the normal functioning of the human body. The leaves of the plant contain a lot of proteins, carbohydrates and various salts. This variety has diuretic, laxative, anti-inflammatory and tonic properties. It is an excellent remedy against vitamin deficiencies, is indicated in the treatment of lungs and blood diseases, is effective in gastritis and enterocolitis, and also perfectly protects against various neoplasms. A positive effect has been noticed from taking the plant for diabetes and hypertension, for rickets and constipation, and often leaf spinach is prescribed for tuberculosis.
Harvesting spinach for the winter
Spinach lovers would like to have it on hand all year round. Unfortunately, the season for eating fresh vegetables cannot last all year round, and if we consider that spinach is not a long-term storage vegetable, the best way out of this situation is to master the methods of harvesting this green crop.
Long Term Spinach Recipes:
- Freezing with whole leaves - washed spinach leaves are rolled into a tube, several pieces in each, wrapped with cling film and sent to a deep-freezer.
- Freezing in the form of ice cubes - prepared spinach leaves are cut into small pieces, placed in ice molds, filled with boiled water and placed in the freezer. After freezing, ice cubes with spinach are placed in more compact containers, in winter they are used to make stews, sauces, soups.
- Freezing in the form of mashed potatoes, seasoned with oil - with a blender, grind spinach to a puree-like state, put in molds, pour over melted butter, freeze. Add to various dishes 1-2 minutes before the end of the cooking process (pasta, risotto, soups).
- Freezing the base for soup in the form of noodles - cut the greens into noodles, boil in a little water, cool, freeze along with the broth.
- Salted spinach - leaves cut or torn into small pieces are placed in jars, sprinkled with salt and tamped each layer. This blank is stored in the refrigerator, regularly monitored for mold. A variant of the preparation - salting with sorrel spinach and dill, parsley.
- Long-term storage preservation - blanch 1 kg of spinach in hot water for 4-5 minutes, put in a colander, put in sterilized jars, pour boiling brine (2 tablespoons of salt per liter of water), roll up.
- Drying - the washed and dried leaves are cut and laid out on sheets of clean paper away from sunlight. Store such a workpiece in the dark in dried glass jars, sealed with a plastic lid.
Using these simple methods, you can stock up on enough spinach for off-season use.
Answers to popular questions
We offer explanations on topics of most interest to spinach consumers.
- Can spinach be breastfed? The rich composition of this green culture makes spinach an essential component of a nursing woman's diet. It is used for soups, casseroles, sauces, salads and pie fillings. It is advisable to introduce this product into the diet no earlier than 2 months after childbirth in order to minimize the possible consequences for the child. Spinach does not cause allergies, it has a neutral taste, so the consequences of its use, most likely, will not have any effect on the baby's body, but it will enrich milk with vitamins and minerals.
- If spinach has bloomed, can you eat it? Like many green crops, spinach coarsens after flowering, the leaves acquire a sharp bitter aftertaste. To shed the term for the use of delicate leaves, you can use such an agricultural technique as breaking off flower arrows. It is most advisable to sow early-ripening spinach in several periods, avoiding the use of the leaves of a flowering plant.
- Can you eat raw spinach? The vitamins and antioxidants contained in spinach are fully preserved in the fresh leaves of this green culture. They can be used as an ingredient for salads or complex meat and vegetable sandwiches, as well as for juicing. Long-term heat treatment, although it retains most of the beneficial properties of this vegetable, significantly reduces its antioxidant properties.
A healthy vegetable like spinach should be in the diet of everyone who cares about their health and the variety of dishes on the daily menu.
Contraindications to the use of spinach
For some diseases of the kidneys and urinary tract, with pathologies of the biliary tract and liver, with ulcerative conditions, rheumatism and gout, as well as with chronic hypertension, lettuce leaves should be used with great care and preferably under the supervision of a doctor.
The author of the article: Kuzmina Vera Valerievna | Endocrinologist, nutritionist
Education: Diploma of the Russian State Medical University named after NI Pirogov with a degree in General Medicine (2004). Residency at Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry, diploma in Endocrinology (2006).
