Spinach – ingredients, effects and application

Spinach is considered healthy, and rightly so. The leafy vegetables provide numerous vitamins and minerals, are low in calories and rich in nutrients. Spinach is one of the vegetables with special health benefits.

Characteristics

• Scientific name: Spinacia oleracea
• Common names: True spinach, vegetable spinach, garden spinach
• Familie: Fuchsschwanzgewächse (Amaranthaceae)
• Distribution: Probably origins in southwest Asia. Spinach as a crop is now grown worldwide, except in the tropics
• Plant parts used: The leaves and the leaf stems
• Ingredients: Folic acid, B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin K, beta-carotene, potassium, manganese, magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, fiber, oxalic acid, thylakoids, chlorophyll, ecdysterone
• Areas of application: For vitamin and mineral deficiencies, strengthening heart health, flatulence, constipation, diet, muscle building, historically against rickets and anemia

Spinach – An Overview

• A wild form of spinach is unknown. An early cultural form was the Persian ispanag, which the Muslims brought to Al Andalus in what is now Spain as isbanah. From there he reached Central Europe.
• Oxalic acid binds minerals. While spinach is rich in minerals, its high oxalic acid content inhibits the body’s absorption of calcium.
• Contrary to previous assumptions, spinach is not a particularly suitable source of iron. Although it contains a fair amount of this, the oxalic acid also reduces the absorption of iron.
• Creamed spinach, spinach casserole or spinach with sheep’s cheese offer an advantage: the calcium contained in the milk binds with the oxalic acid, making it no longer available. This makes the spinach not only tasty but also healthier.
• Spinach can be safely reheated if it is quickly cooled after cooking and stored in the refrigerator. As a precaution, only babies and small children should not eat warmed spinach.
• The chlorophyll present in spinach is used as a dye to color foods such as pasta or odor-binding products.
• There are many different varieties of spinach: Summer spinach has more egg-shaped and delicate leaves than winter spinach, whose leaves are more robust, darker and more spiky.
• There are a variety of delicious, healthy dishes made with spinach. You can find some recipes in this article.

Nutritional values, calories and ingredients

Spinach provides folic acid, B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin K and beta-carotene. The main minerals and trace elements found are potassium, manganese, magnesium, calcium, iron and zinc.

The leafy vegetables contain plenty of oxalic acid and a lot of nitrate. Spinach only contains around 20 calories per 100 grams.

Substances of potential interest in nutrition and medicine are thylakoids and the steroid ecdysterone. The chlorophyll in spinach serves as a food coloring agent.

How much iron does spinach contain?

Fresh spinach does not contain as much iron as previously thought. At around 3.5 to 4.1 milligrams per 100 grams, the iron content is definitely worth mentioning compared to other green leafy vegetables.

However, the absorption of iron from spinach is reduced by the oxalic acid it also contains, which is why spinach cannot generally be described as a good source of iron.

How healthy is spinach? Medical effects

While raw spinach is difficult to digest, cooked spinach leaves have a digestive effect thanks to their ingredients. Traditionally (Traditional Chinese Medicine) spinach was used to combat flatulence. Spinach seeds are said to have a laxative effect.

Spinach contains many antioxidants that protect the body from free radicals and oxidative stress. This allows the process of skin aging and other cell changes, which can also lead to the development of cancer, to be counteracted to a certain extent.

Spinach is also considered a natural blood pressure reducer. This can primarily be attributed to the nitrate it contains, which can help dilate the blood vessels in the human body. A study (2015) supports this and also cites the positive effects on heart health.

Spinach is also great for losing weight. The leafy vegetables are considered filling and contain very few calories. The effects as an appetite suppressant and the reduction of food cravings are particularly attributed to the thylakoids it contains. These are found in the membranes of spinach leaves but also in many other green leaves.

Although various studies indicate, as a review (2020) summarizes, that the intake of thylakoids can reduce appetite and probably also food intake in the short term, it is not enough to eat spinach as usual. In order to have an effect in the body, the thylakoids must first be released from the membranes and crushed and taken in as an extract with food.

A review from 2016 summarizes the variety of health-promoting effects of regular spinach consumption. The leafy vegetables contain a wealth of minerals, vitamins and phytochemicals with proven effects against inflammation and the release of the body’s own hormones, which trigger a feeling of satiety. Spinach is also suitable for preventing cancer, balancing blood sugar and cholesterol levels, reducing or preventing obesity and preventing cell damage caused by oxidation.

An Iranian study from 2021 also saw a positive effect of regular spinach consumption in adults on the likelihood of fatty liver disease that is not caused by alcohol.

Ecdysterone extract from spinach has shown in a study by the Free University of Berlin that it can increase performance in athletes and thus has an anabolic effect on muscle mass. However, in order to achieve such an effect by simply consuming spinach, several kilos would have to be eaten every day.

Spinach has always been considered a particularly healthy vegetable. A variety of ingredients are behind the applications. (Image: nathan dumlao/unsplash/own editing heilpraxis.de)

Side effects and interactions, contraindications

Oxalic acid promotes the formation of urinary and kidney stones. This is usually not a problem for healthy people. However, anyone who already suffers from kidney disease or has a tendency to suffer from it should avoid consuming foods containing oxalic acid.

Even if you have osteoporosis, you should not eat spinach or other foods containing oxalic acid, as oxalic acid hinders calcium absorption. Alternatively, foods rich in oxalic acid and calcium can be consumed in combination.

Oxalic acid in spinach can be easily reduced: When soaking in water or cooking, the liquid absorbs a large part of the acid. When you throw this away, you also remove the acid. Preparing spinach with dairy products also reduces the availability of oxalic acid.

Anyone who suffers from iodine deficiency or has problems absorbing iodine should avoid foods containing nitrate if possible, because nitrate inhibits iodine absorption and impairs the transport of the mineral to the thyroid.

To reheat spinach or not?

Be careful with warmed spinach? The concern is not entirely unfounded, but these days you can safely reheat spinach. Reheating does not produce any additional toxins.

However, it is important to cool the spinach quickly after cooking and store it in the refrigerator for no longer than one or two days. This prevents bacteria from converting nitrate into nitrite. Nitrite can cause a lack of oxygen and nitrosamines can form in the stomach, which can be carcinogenic. Therefore, as a precaution, babies and small children should not eat warmed spinach.

Preparation: boil and blanch

When cooking spinach, first remove any stems that are large or woody. Then wash the spinach thoroughly in cold water. You need to clean the leaves well, but at the same time do not leave them in the water for a long time, otherwise the vitamins will dissolve.

Boil the cleaned spinach in a pot of salted water. The best way to cook spinach is to add it in portions one at a time. If you want to blanch the spinach, place it briefly in ice water after cooking.

Eating raw is a risk?

Raw spinach is not recommended for everyone, as it not only contains all the health-promoting substances, but also oxalic acid. If you suffer from calcium deficiency or are prone to urinary stones, kidney stones or other kidney diseases, you should avoid raw spinach.

If you don’t have these problems, it’s a good idea to eat spinach raw, as some vital substances are lost through cooking. It is best to prefer baby spinach as a raw food; winter or root spinach is less suitable.

Well suited for freezing

Spinach freezes well. To do this, remove the hard stems from the raw spinach and wash it thoroughly before storing it in portions in freezer bags and placing it in the freezer.

Harvest spinach

Spinach can be grown well on the balcony, terrace or in the garden. You can sow it in spring and harvest it for the first time just ten weeks after sowing.

Harvesting is recommended when the leaves are around five centimeters long. This young spinach is particularly digestible. The longer the growth progresses, the more woody the stems become. At…