The most devoted spinach lover is, of course, the cartoon sailor Popeye.
Eating a bunch of spinach, it gains titanic power. Until 1981, everyone believed this.
Parents fed their children spinach, from a very young age.
High-ranking people ate spinach greens with every meal.
The fact was that American researchers made a mistake in the records of their study, according to the results of which, in 100 grams of spinach, allegedly contained 35 mg of iron. The decimal was omitted in the number, which became known back in 1937. But they were in no hurry to announce it, because spinach was so popular for its benefits.
Spinach: composition and calorie content
In fact, the iron content in the leaves is even more modest, but in general the composition is very useful:
• Vitamin A;
• Vitamins B1, B2, B5, B6;
• Vitamin C;
• Vitamin E;
• Vitamin K;
• Iron - 2.7 mg;
• Manganese - 897 mcg;
• Copper - 130 mcg;
• Zinc - 0.53 mg;
• Selenium - 1 mcg;
• Potassium - 303 mg;
• Calcium - 558 mg;
• Magnesium - 79 mg;
• Phosphorus - 49 mg;
• Sodium - 79 mg.
In this case, the total calorie content of spinach 23 kcal per 100 g vegetable.
How is healthy spinach used?
The optimum temperature for spinach growth is 15 degrees. Vegetable loves plentiful watering and sunny terrain. It is very easy to grow these healthy green leaves in a pot on the windowsill. Then spinach will bring health benefits all year round.
Green-leafed vegetables can be bought in any supermarket in fresh, frozen and canned form.
Diet Nutrition Specialists I advise you to eat only a young vegetable. Too ripe spinach has no great beneficial properties, but the content of oxalic acid in it is more concentrated.
Frozen spinach is used to make soups, stewed dishes, casseroles. Repeated freezing is not allowed.
Fresh spinach should be stored only in the refrigerator and not more than 2 days. Further it is better to freeze it.
Before use, spinach leaves must be thoroughly washed under running water, because sand usually remains on the stems. If you plan to add a green vegetable to the dish during cooking, then first you need to pour boiling water over it for a minute. Then drain the water and squeeze the leaves.
It is good to eat and fresh spinach. It is washed well, allowed to drain water, and then added to vegetable salads or put on sandwiches. In terms of taste, spinach is best combined with fish, meat and eggs (boiled or air omelet).
In order to preserve all the benefits for the body in spinach, it is frozen fresh (stored for about a year) or canned in a chopped scalded form (stored for up to 2 years).
Useful properties of spinach can be obtained from any dish in which it is added: soups, casseroles, stews, side dishes and salads.
Spinach: what are the benefits for the body?
For people whose lives mostly take place in megacities, in large crowds, with hours of sitting work and monotonous routine, spinach with its beneficial properties is a protection against stress. It helps to restore and maintain inner peace. Strengthens the nervous system. This has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the cardiovascular system. In addition, spinach is beneficial for health by strengthening the walls of blood vessels and maintaining an optimal level of hemoglobin in the blood. This allows oxygen to nourish the tissue cells of all organs of the body, entering them through the blood.
For people whose job is to work with a computer and a lot of documents, a green vegetable is a panacea for eyes. It prevents retinal atrophy, reduces eye muscle fatigue and increases visual acuity.
Spinach has beneficial properties. to normalize the work of the intestines and pancreas. It contributes to improved metabolism and the removal of toxins from the body, while protecting the mucous tissues of the entire gastrointestinal tract. In the process of losing weight, healthy spinach is a valuable component of diet food.
Green vegetable prevents the development of oncology. In the process of treating cancer, spinach with its health benefits is prescribed as an essential component of the patient’s diet.
Useful spinach fills the body with energy and is a powerful immunostimulant.
A decoction of the leaves of a green vegetable is able to relieve constipation and flatulence. If the spinach broth is insisted for several days, it will become an effective medicine in the process of treating intestinal diseases, for the treatment of anemia. Vegetable tincture can be a good supplement in the diet for drug treatment of tuberculosis and various neoplasms.
Spinach: what are the health risks?
Given the high content of oxalic acid and the diuretic effect, spinach can harm the body of a person who has a history of:
• Rheumatism;
• Urolithiasis;
• Jade;
• Gout;
• Diseases of the duodenum;
• liver disease;
• Disturbances in the functioning of the biliary tract.
In the presence of such diseases, on the advice of a doctor, it is worthwhile either to use vegetable leaflets in the minimum acceptable amount, or refuse it altogether.
Spinach for children: healthy or bad
Starting from 6 months of age, complementary foods in the form of juice from spinach leaves can be introduced into the baby’s diet. This will help relieve the child from bloating, constipation and generally normalize the intestines. The benefits of spinach for children up to a year are to saturate a small growing body with calcium, vitamins C and E and prevent the development of sluggish anemia.
When a small organism gets used to a new product, the juice can be replaced with spinach puree. Oxalic acid, which is part of the vegetable, is easily neutralized by milk. In order to avoid harm from spinach, in case of any existing diseases in a child, it is first necessary to consult with your doctor about the appropriateness of a green vegetable in the baby’s diet.
For older children, in the absence of contraindications, spinach with its beneficial properties for health and development should occupy an important component of daily nutrition. It fills the body with vitamins with useful microelements, helps to form a stable nervous system, maintains good vision during exercise, provides energy and excites the immune system to protect against viruses and bacteria.
Benefits and harms of spinach during pregnancy and lactation
Spinach hides a huge benefit for the body of the future mother. Its use will help maintain a good level of hemoglobin and prevent the leaching of calcium. Folic acid, which is part of leafy vegetables, is very important both for the pregnant body and for the developing fetus. In addition, it is absorbed from vegetable leaves with higher rates than from tablets. Iodine obtained from healthy spinach helps to form a stable nervous system of the unborn baby.
A common problem in many pregnant women is constipation. Useful properties of spinach are good because they melt in themselves slight laxative effect, which helps to gently cleanse the intestines with optimal regularity.
Of course, you can not eat spinach with any contraindications.
Spinach is not an allergenic product, so it can also be consumed by those who breastfeed their baby. Of course, it is worth monitoring the condition of the child and, at the slightest undesirable manifestations, remove the vegetable from your diet, and then consult with a pediatrician. All the same, each organism is individual.
The benefits of spinach in cosmetology
Masks for face skin from spinach, will allow you to get all the beneficial properties from it for your own beauty. Shredded fresh green leaves are usually mixed with a small amount of any vegetable oil or milk, which allows you to reveal and activate all the beneficial properties of spinach. From such a pulp rich in vitamins, an application is made on the face. Such a mask can withstand no more than 30 minutes in a calm horizontal position. It is better to lie down and relax in the process of getting a cosmetic procedure. Remove the mask with warm water.
The green-leafed vegetable restores skin elasticity, nourishes it, smoothes wrinkles and restores the water balance in the cells. Therefore, spinach masks are useful for aging or dry skin.
If there is inflammation on the face, then the frayed leaves should be mixed with egg white. Apply a mask on the face for 15 minutes, then rinse with warm water and gently pat it with a clean towel.
Spinach masks can be done several times a week or every other day. Everyone individually chooses for themselves the frequency of procedures, taking into account the need for their own skin.
Spinach - the king of vegetables
Spinach has various varieties: Victoria, Virofle, Stoik, Godri, Gigantic, Fat-leaved, Blumsdelsky, Korenta, Krepysh, Matador, Spokane, New Zealand. But in any of them, the composition of vitamins, micro and macro elements is at the highest level. No wonder the French nicknamed spinach "king of vegetables." A remarkable feature of spinach is that all its healthful properties, all its rich composition, are absorbed by the human body better than when the same substances enter it from other products or even medicines.
Second nickname stomach broom also fair. After all, this green-leafed vegetable is able to cleanse the digestive system of all excesses and toxins, while taking care of the healthy state of the walls and mucous membranes of the entire gastrointestinal tract.
