Health Benefits: Spinach

[mysteriouza]

Spinach is iron rich, as every admirer of Popeye knows.
Orthodox nutritionists, however, point out crushingly that the iron in cooked spinach is poorly absorbed by the body. since spinach has high levels of oxalic acid, which complex with magnesium and calcium to carry it out of the body in the form of insoluble salts.
It's also rich in uric acid, so best avoided by the gouty and rheumatic.


Spinach is very rich in the dark green plant 'blood' chlorophyll, so anemia patients or those suffering from fatigue and mental strain should eat plenty of it, raw, in the form of salads.


Cancer patients or those at risk from cancer as heavy smokers, should include plenty of raw spinach in their diet too.
Cancer research is increasingly focusing on the whole spectrum of carotenoids, not just beta-carotene, in dark green or brightly colored fruits and vegetables, and spinach is more highly endowed with these potential cancer fighters even than carrots.