Medical Questions » Diet Questions » Question No. 1195
| Question: | Is spinach good for you? |
| Answer: | Popeye knew his stuff. Spinach is very rich in all sorts of nutrients, including iron, sulphur, beta-carotene, magnesium and calcium. There are, however, a couple of drawbacks on that front. First, the iron in spinach is not that easily absorbed, certainlycompared to iron in meat. One way of helping to improve that is to eat it with a squeeze of lemon juicevitamin C helps make the iron more available for absorption. Secondly, spinach is high in oxalic acid, which binds itself to minerals such as calcium, leaving them less available for absorption in the body.
Leaving all that aside, Popeye' s favourite vegetable has qualities that can compensate for these problems. The rich green colour in spinach is from chlorophyllahighly cleansing substance that helps bring life-giving oxygen into cells. It contains high amounts of antioxidants such as beta-carotene, and it is also high in fibre. So, all round, yes, spinach is good for you - as long as you don' t count on it for your iron and calcium. |
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