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Health Benefits of Spinach
Calorie for calorie, leafy green vegetables like
spinach with its delicate texture and jade green color provide more nutrients
than any other food. Although spinach is available throughout the year, its
season runs from March through May and from September through October when it is
the freshest, has the best flavor and is most readily available.
There are three main types of the vegetable: Savoy, smooth leaf and semi-savoy.
Savoy has dark green, crinkly and curly leaves and is the most common type
available in supermarkets. Smooth leaf has smooth, broad leaves that make it
easier to clean than the savoy variety. This type is usually grown for use in
canned and frozen spinech and soups. Semi-savoy is a hybrid with slightly
crinkled leaves and the same texture as savoy, but it is not so tricky to clean.
The health benefits of spinach are numerous and its ability to help prevent
disease is well known. Spinach is at the top of many super food lists.
Spinach Nutrition
Spinach and other dark leafy greens like kale, collards, Swiss chard, turnip
greens and bok choy are loaded with calcium, folic acid, vitamin K and iron.
Spinach is also rich in vitamin C, fiber and carotenoids. Add its lutein and
bioflavanoids and spinach is a nutritional powerhouse.
Why Eat Spinach?
Spinach nutrition is amazing. The calcium content in spinach and the other dark
leafy greens mentioned above strengthens bones.
The A and C vitamins in spinach plus the fiber, folic acid, magnesium and other
nutrients help control cancer, especially colon, lung and breast cancers. Folate
also lowers the blood levels of something called homocysteine, a protein that
damages arteries. So spinach also helps protect against heart disease.
The flavonoids in spinach help protect against age related memory loss.
Spinach's secret weapon, lutein, makes it one of the best foods in the world to
prevent cataracts, as well as age related macular degeneration, the leading
cause of preventable blindness in the elderly. Foods rich in lutein are also
thought to help prevent cancer.
As you can see, the health benefits of spinach are numerous. The vitamins and
calcium in spinach, combined with the overall nutritional value of spinach, make
this vegetable and its dark leafy green cousins top picks for healthy food
choices.
Fresh or frozen, add these greens to your food menu as often as you can.
Spinach was made famous by Popeye the Sailor, a comic strip and cartoon
character who became much stronger after eating the vegetable. The origin of
this is largely as result of the iron content being mistakenly reported ten
times the actual amount in the 1930's.
How to Get More Spinach in your Diet:
* Add chopped fresh or frozen spinach to lasagna to up the nutrient content of
this tasty comfort food.
* Add chopped or frozen spinach to your favorite vegetable soup recipe.
* Sauté spinach with a bit of garlic for a tasty super food combination. Try it
on top of a baked potato.
* Make quick and easy spinach dips to eat with crunchy raw vegetables and whole
grain breads like pumpernickel, and enjoy the health benefits of spinach while
you nibble on your favorite veggies.
* Use fresh spinach instead of lettuce to add a twist to your favorite
sandwiches.
* Add chopped fresh or frozen spinach to omelets and frittatas. Make sure frozen
spinach is thawed and well drained.
Related Links:
Paths to better health
Super Foods: The Top 10 Healthiest Foods
10 Tips to Healthy Eating
Food Pyramid -
Healthy
Eating for Lifetime
Complete Guide to HEALTH ==>>
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