Nutritional value of spinach and precautions for eating spinach

Spinach is known as the king of vegetables and has high nutritional value. So what are the nutritional values ​​of spinach ?

Introduction to Spinach

[Source] From "Lu Canyan Materia Medica"

Original form

Annual herb. The whole plant is smooth, tender and watery. The young roots are reddish. The stem is erect, hollow and usually unbranched. Leaves are alternate; with long petioles; the leaves at the base and the lower part of the stem are larger, and the leaves at the upper part of the stem gradually become smaller, halberd-shaped or triangular-ovate, with entire or notched margins, and the leaves on the inflorescence become lanceolate. Flowers are unisexual and dioecious; male flowers are arranged in interrupted spike-like panicles, terminal or axillary, with 4 tepals, yellow-green, 4 stamens, protruding, and anthers without appendages; female flowers are clustered in leaf sap, without tepals, bracts folded longitudinally, fused to each other to form a flat tube, with 2 teeth at the tip of the bracteoles, and usually 1 thorn-like appendage on the back; flowers are 4, linear, slender, and fused at the bottom. The fruit is hard, usually with 2 horns, and the pericarp is attached to the seed coat. Seeds are erect. Flowering period is April to June, and the fruit ripening period is June.

Dietary effects

1. Clear the intestines and promote bowel movements, prevent and treat hemorrhoids Spinach contains a large amount of plant crude fiber, which can promote intestinal peristalsis, facilitate defecation, promote pancreatic secretion, and help digestion. It has a therapeutic effect on hemorrhoids, chronic pancreatitis, constipation, anal fissures and other diseases.

2. Promote growth and development, enhance disease resistance. The carotene contained in spinach is converted into vitamin A in the human body, which can maintain normal vision and the health of epithelial cells, increase the ability to prevent infectious diseases, and promote the growth and development of children.

3. Ensure nutrition and promote health Spinach is rich in carotene, vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus, and a certain amount of iron, vitamin E, rutin II, coenzyme Q10 and other beneficial ingredients, which can provide the human body with a variety of nutrients; the iron it contains has a good auxiliary therapeutic effect on iron deficiency anemia.

4. Promote human metabolism and delay aging. The fluorinated phenol, 6-hydroxymethylpterostilbene and trace elements in spinach can promote human metabolism and improve health. Eating a lot of spinach can reduce the risk of stroke.

5. Cleans the skin and resists aging. Spinach extract has the effect of promoting the proliferation of cultured cells, which is both anti-aging and enhances youthful vitality. In my country, people mash spinach to extract juice and wash their faces several times a week. Continuous use for a period of time can clean skin pores, reduce wrinkles and pigment spots, and keep the skin smooth. [Pharmacological action] Spinach saponins A and B contained in the root have antibacterial activity.

Nutritional value of spinach

Spinach has a high water content (90%-93%) and low calories. It is an excellent source of magnesium, iron, potassium and vitamin A. It is also an excellent source of calcium and vitamin C. It is also rich in phosphorus, zinc, pantothenic acid and vitamin B6.

The ratio of protein to calories in spinach is almost the same as that in cream cheese, and 500 grams of spinach contains as much protein as two eggs. Therefore, eating more spinach can provide the human body with a certain amount of protein.

Spinach contains more than twice as much calcium as it does phosphorus. Therefore, eating spinach can make up for the shortcomings of some foods that contain more phosphorus than calcium, such as eggs, fish, beans, meat, nuts and seafood (to ensure proper utilization of these two essential elements, the daily intake of calcium and phosphorus should be balanced).

Nutrition Q&A: Eating spinach can easily form stones. Spinach contains a lot of oxalate. Eating too much oxalate may be harmful to the body because oxalate interferes with the utilization of calcium and iron. Under certain circumstances, oxalate stones can form in the urethra, but this effect is not only caused by eating spinach, but may also be caused by consuming a large amount of oxalate-rich foods at the same time, such as almonds, nuts, cocoa, rhubarb and tea. Therefore, when eating spinach, you should eat less of the above foods, and eat as much alkaline food as possible, such as kelp, vegetables, fruits, etc., to promote the dissolution and excretion of oxalate and prevent the formation of stones.

For some people with sensitive constitutions, they can boil the spinach before eating it, so as to remove the oxalate; for normal people, there is no need to worry even if they eat raw spinach as long as they do not eat more than 3 kilograms a day continuously.

Target Group

After cooking, the vegetable is soft and easy to digest, especially suitable for the elderly, children, sick and weak. Computer workers and beauty lovers should also eat spinach regularly; diabetics (especially type 2 diabetics) eating spinach regularly is beneficial to maintaining stable blood sugar; spinach is also suitable for patients with high blood pressure, constipation, anemia, scurvy, rough skin and allergies; it is not suitable for patients with nephritis and kidney stones. Spinach has a high oxalic acid content, so it is not suitable to eat too much at one time; in addition, people with spleen deficiency and loose stools should not eat too much.

Spinach Usage and Dosage

1. Spinach can be stir-fried, mixed, roasted, made into soup and used as an ingredient, such as "ginger spinach", "sesame spinach", "dried shrimp spinach", etc.

2. Many people like to eat spinach. Spinach contains oxalic acid, especially the round-leaf variety. After eating, it affects the body's absorption of calcium. Therefore, when eating this kind of spinach, it is advisable to cook it first to remove the vegetable water to reduce the oxalic acid content.

3. Raw spinach should not be cooked with tofu, as it will hinder digestion and affect the efficacy. It can be cooked with tofu after blanching it in boiling water. Edible effects Spinach is sweet and cool in nature. It enters the large intestine and stomach meridians. It has the effects of nourishing blood and stopping bleeding, benefiting the five internal organs, clearing the stomach and intestines, regulating the middle qi, activating blood vessels, quenching thirst and moistening the intestines, astringing yin and moistening dryness, nourishing yin and calming the liver, and aiding digestion. It is mainly used to treat high blood pressure, headache, dizziness, wind-fire red eyes, diabetes, constipation, indigestion, traumatic injury, epistaxis, blood in the stool, scurvy, and constipation.

Spinach Notes

The oxalic acid and calcium salt contained in spinach can combine to form calcium oxalate crystals, which will make the urine of patients with nephritis turbid, and increase the number of casts and salt crystals. Therefore, people with nephritis and kidney stones should not eat spinach.

Although spinach is nutritious and delicious, it has many taboos. For example, it cannot be eaten with milk because it easily forms calcium oxalate.