Spinach is a very healthy vegetable. Due to its rich composition, it is recommended as a product for proper nutrition. After all, it contains such a set of vitamins, which is included in the list of vital ones.
Good nutrition is based on the use of fresh food. And, of course, healthy greens. Spinach ranks first among plants in terms of manganese content, as well as vitamin K.
Spinach contains ascorbic acid, iodine and iron, boron and silicon. Spinach is good thanks to the presence of beta-carotene and lutein.
Linolenic acid is also present in green leaves. Rare foods contain Omega-3s. Spinach is an exception. Omega-3 is abundant in it.
Surprisingly, these greens will retain their beneficial properties both frozen and dried. And even in the process of prolonged heat exposure during cooking, vitamins and trace elements for the most part remain in a green vegetable.
What are the benefits of spinach
The plant contains a minimum of calories. Its caloric content is 23 kcal per 100 g. But it is recommended to use it as a protein supplier. These nutritional properties make spinach an ideal vegetable for dieters.
If you eat spinach regularly, then after a while you can notice a positive effect on the body.
- Due to the presence of pectin in the composition, the product has a good effect on the functioning of the digestive system. It is recommended for cleansing the intestines from harmful substances, and dietary fiber improves peristalsis.
- Vitamin A and beta-carotene, which are part of spinach, are beneficial for eyes. Lutein protects against cataracts and glaucoma. Vegetable culture has a positive effect on visual acuity and restores the mucous membrane of the eye.
- For men, vegetable culture is recommended as a synthesizer of natural testosterone and to eliminate difficulties with potency.
- For adolescents, the product is indicated as a source of zinc for the normal formation of the reproductive system of a young body.
- For women, spinach is recommended for beauty of hair, improvement of skin and strengthening of bones. And expectant mothers are prescribed folic acid, which is abundant in spinach. It contributes to the correct course of pregnancy.
- The product is beneficial for the circulatory system. The iron contained in it reduces the risk of anemia. And magnesium in general is good for the heart. Vitamin C contained in spinach cleanses blood vessels from cholesterol.
- Recent studies prove that the plant is a good cancer prevention agent. It contains active substances that reduce the risk of malignant tumors.
Doctors recommend including spinach in your diet, but only if there are no contraindications.
What is the harm of spinach
In some situations, spinach is not recommended for food, because he is able to harm the body. Spinach is categorically contraindicated for patients with diagnoses:
- stomach ulcer
- kidney stone disease
- duodenal ulcer
- gout
- arthritis
- rheumatism
The fact is that oxalic acid is present in spinach (mainly in the leaves), and it can provoke an exacerbation of the attacks of the existing disease.
But if you really want spinach, then it is better to give preference to a young plant. It practically did not accumulate acid. In the stems it is even less. Despite this, people with these diseases can use the product in a very limited amount.
Spinach is not recommended for people with individual intolerance to the components. And also for allergy sufferers, tk. it contains histamine that can provoke an allergic reaction.
Spinach is contraindicated in patients taking medications to reduce blood clotting. Indeed, it contains vitamin K, and it, in turn, has the opposite effect, so the drug will not have the desired effect.
How to eat spinach
In order for the vegetable to bring maximum benefit, it is not recommended to wait until the leaves are fully ripe. It is best to cut the young plant and eat it raw.
If you boil spinach (including after freezing), drain the first water at the time of boiling, and pour the vegetable with second water, on which you can cook further (harmful nitrates may be present in spinach). Boiled spinach has medicinal properties.
It is not recommended to keep fresh spinach leaves for a long time, even in the refrigerator. The fact is that nitrogenous salts, which are not recommended for use, begin to form very quickly on a fresh leaf. The same applies to dishes made with spinach.
Include a healthy and tasty vitamin vegetable in your menu and feel its positive effects on the body.
