Super Food: Spinach

I eat a lot of Spinach.  Maybe even more than this guy --->.

I must go through 3 bags of it a week. I have spoken with my mother extensively about creating a sustainable spinach garden, I eat it raw or cooked, I eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is extremely convenient that spinach is so good for you because I’m not sure I would eat less of it if it one day came out that spinach could ruin your life.

Actually, Spinach can ruin your life. Because of the shape of the leaves they tend to hold onto dirt more than other leafy greens. If the dirt they are grown in uses manure infected with Salmonella and you consume even a small amount of that bacteria you can contract said disease you run a serious risk of dying or permanent organ damage. Salmonella is the real deal, and I always clean all my raw food before I eat it, regardless of the pre-wash regiment it has gone through before it gets to my kitchen. So keep that in mind because hopefully after reading the following, you too will be a Spinach Enthusiast.

Spinach is super food for several reasons. For all us dieters out there, spinach is a leafy green, and leafy greens are vital in helping you feel before you overeat. Spinach is loaded with green fiber, and helps you feel full- not only because your stomach is physically full, but, as explained in Dr. Gundry’s Diet Evolution “the faster food moves through your lower bowel [as aided by green fiber], the more anti-hunger hormones in your intestinal cells beam up to your brain, telling you not to eat.” It is for this reason I almost everything I eat on a bed of mixed greens or spinach. It has been noticeably helpful in satiating my hunger in the evenings (when I am prone to eat the most).

For all you athletes out there, Spinach is loaded with protein, and calorie for calorie the protein content of spinach matches steak. I don’t know anyone who can eat 200 calories of spinach, but eating your greens (including broccoli; our next Super Food) is an amazing way to have a low calorie high protein diet. Spinach is also loaded with potassium which aids in performance and is an important electrolyte (more on potassium later).

From The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods “[Spinach] is an excellent source of vitamin K, carotenes, vitamin C and folic acid... [also] magnesium 79, iron, vitamin B2..B6, E, and B1.. [and] has twice as much iron as other greens".

I’m not going to go through the benefits of all of those vitamins now, but vitamin C is helpful for your immune system and the repairing of your cells (vitamin C can even reduce your risk of sunburn). The recommended daily dose is between 500 - 1,000 mg a day. 1 cup of spinach has about 28mg. Folic acid can reduce elements in the body which lead to cardiovascular diseases and Alzheimer’s disease and can reduce the occurrence of certain birth defects if present in large enough numbers in pregnant women.

Enough with the science, Popeye and your mother were right, EAT YOUR GREENS!

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Next time on Popular Excuses, Emotional Eating

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Reading List
Dr. Gundry’s Diet Evolution
Michael Murry The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods