10 Spinach Health Benefits and Side Effect

spinach health benefits and side effects

Spinach nutrition facts

“Eat your spinach so you can be strong like Popeye!” While we were still a child, we probably never put our fingers on spinach, but now as an adult, we understand that our parents and the cartoon creator were part of a propaganda conspiracy towards children, to eat more greens.

There is numerous reason for proclaiming spinach as one of the tops superfoods lists. But at that early age, we may have also not realized the spinach health benefits.

Start from vitamin A, vitamin C, Vitamin K, folate, magnesium, manganese, iron, vitamin B2 (riboflavin), potassium, calcium, vitamin E, dietary fiber, folic acid, carotenoids, lutein, omega 3 fatty acids, protein, vitamin Bl (thiamin), vitamin B3 (niacin), phosphorus, zinc and the list goes on! These are the vitamins and nutrients available in spinach

The following vitamins and nutrients have been recognized long back that they have the power to fight against cancer, especially lung, breast, and colon cancers. We shall start with vitamins A, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, folic acid, dietary fiber, and magnesium and see why these are important to health.

The following points are very important to know as half of the pregnancies around the world are unplanned. Before most women even realize that they are pregnant that is in the first two weeks of pregnancy some birth deficiencies do happen. These deficiencies are promptly prevented by folic acid.

Vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E are also better antioxidants. They work to prevent fats from sticking to the walls of the arteries and this allows a good flow of blood and oxygen to needed organs like the heart and brain. When the brain and heart get free flow of blood and oxygen you will not be affected by heart attack and stroke.

Cataracts can be prevented by a substance called Lutein and this can be found in spinach. Migraine attacks can also be avoided by a component called riboflavin in Spinach Health Benefits. There is abundant calcium in spinach and this helps to prevent osteoporosis by increasing bone strength.

A recent study has shown that ingesting 3 servings of dark leafy greens like Spinach Health Benefits (kale, bok choy, collards, Swiss chard, and turnip greens are also nutrient-rich like spinach) per day helped ward off age-related memory loss and mental decline by up to 40%!

At only 40 calories per cup (uncooked), and with more than twice the fiber as regular lettuce, this is a salad that will fill you up. Weight loss and toned muscles can be achieved by the iron content in Spinach Health Benefits. This will give more energy and lead to more physical activities.

Unlike the Popeye cartoon, the best way to retrieve the nutrients in Spinach Health Benefits is to consume it uncooked as with a spinach salad. Cooked spinach, however, is full of flavor and is quite versatile – it can easily be added to foods for extra taste and nutritional content.

10 Health benefits of spinach

1. Spinach preventing Oxidative Stress

Based on a study journal published by Food and Function,  the phytochemical activity and bioactive compounds found in spinach work to prevent DNA damage, oxidative stress, and disease.

2. Spinach help to lose weight

Eating spinach regularly will help to reduce your weight. It's because spinach will make you full longer. This is all due to the spinach's ability to stimulate the release of satiety-causing hormones, which once you eat spinach, you will feel full and satisfied. Spinach also affects metabolism and inflammation due to the ability to influence the genes of expression involved. 

3. Spinach helps prevent cancer 

The benefit of spinach to the publication of Penn State University is spinach help to prevent cancer. This is all due to the high nutrient contained in spinach, especially the vitamin C and beta carotene which act as antioxidants and fight free radicals that can cause oxidative stress that leads to the development of cancer cells. Another study held by Texas A&M University,  in their journal "Gut Microbes" found out that spinach could prevent the growth of polyps in some people who has nongenetic or genetic colon cancer.

4. Spinach improves eyesight

Based on a study held by the Archives of Ophthalmology, the high compound of lutein and zeaxanthin inside spinach are beneficial to improving vision or eyesight. Both nutrients also work wonders to detect the contras much better. Therefore, daily consumption of spinach will not only improve your eyesight but also protect and maintain your eyesight in the long term.

5. Spinach for pregnancy

Spinach is high in nutrients, it can help to improve the hemoglobin amount and prevent your body from anemia. Hemoglobin is a red blood protein that has the job to transport oxygen in the blood. Based on the journal of Deli Husada Health Institute, spinach is recommended for pregnant women to increase the level of hemoglobin naturally and against mild anemia.

6. Spinach to lower blood pressure

Spinach is a great source of nitrates. Nitrate is a compound that works to increase blood flow by opening blood vessels and helping to ease the workload of the heart. Another great thing about spinach is spinach is also rich in potassium, which works to relax the walls of blood vessels. As the result, it will be lowering the blood pressure naturally and prevent muscle cramps. According to a study by the Journal of Nutrition, people who consumed more spinach tend to have lower blood pressure.

7. Spinach to prevent asthma

Following the research that has been published in 2016, the journal Annals of the American Thoracic Society found out that the children who don't get enough vitamin D and folate, it is likely to get severe asthma attack 8 times compared to the children who ingested a moderate amount of vitamin D and folate. The great news about this is, Spinach is one of the best sources of folate, and this fact has been published by the United States National Institutes of Health. Based on a study, many leafy greens especially spinach, contain a lot of minerals and folate. Therefore, regular consumption of spinach is important to prevent asthma.

8 Spinach prevents diabetes

Diabetes is a chronic disease with high blood sugar levels. Many people are suffering from this disease. American Diabetes Association are recommend spinach as one of the diabetic diet choices due to the nitrates compound, which works to reverse the pathological features of insulin resistance and also endothelial dysfunction. This claim has been published by the journal of Food and Nutrition Research.

To fulfill the dietary need, spinach can be added to Pasta dishes, lasagna, and soups.

9. Spinach for gastritis

Gastritis is a condition your stomach lining gets inflamed. Many factors can cause the stomach lining to get inflamed, one of the common factors is consuming too much alcohol, eating spicy food, and having unhealthy eating habits. To manage the gastritis symptom, following a diet that contains high antiinflammatory compound are advisable. One healthy diet to cure gastritis is consuming spinach. Spinach has anti-inflammatory that can help to reduce the symptom of gastritis.

10. Spinach to lower cholesterol

These leafy greens, and spinach, are great sources of fiber. Every 1 cup of spinach, it contains at least 6 grams of fiber, which is great to help lower bad cholesterol inside your body. Not only fiber, but the high amount of antioxidants in spinach also help to bind the bile acids made of cholesterol and worked to prevent the high accumulation of cholesterol from performing in your blood.

Side effects of Spinach

Since you already know about the health benefits of spinach, then now it's time to talk about spinach's side effects. Is that true that excessive consumption of spinach can trigger other health problems? is spinach bad for you? the answer is Yes if you consume it excessively! Instead, to maintain your body health, over-consuming spinach will likely trigger some health problems. Here are some side effects of excessive eating of spinach.

1. Spinach disturbs the works of blood-thinning drugs

Due to the high content of vitamin K, people who consumed blood-thinning drugs should be cautious. Blood-thinning drugs are usually given to those who suffer from stroke, and vitamin K has properties to perform blood clots. Therefore, consuming spinach excessively will disturb the effectiveness of the blood thinner.

2. Spinach will worsen gout

For gout sufferers, consuming an excessive amount of spinach will worsen their condition. This is due to one of the active compounds in spinach called purines. This active compound is contributed to worsening the gout condition.

3. Spinach can cause kidney stones

Based on a study, spinach contains high amounts of oxalate. This compound can form kidney stones if you consume an excessive amount of spinach. For your information, every 100 grams of spinach contains at least 970 milligrams of oxalate. To reduce the high amount of oxalate, you can boil the spinach before consumption. The amount of oxalate will reduce to some extent. Another great way to reduce the high amount of oxalate in spinach is by combining calcium-based foods. Eating spinach with cheese or another calcium-based food will reduce the oxalate amount significantly.

4. Spinach will disturb the calcium absorption

Another side effect of too much consuming spinach is it will disturb the mineral absorption. Spinach contains oxalate and calcium, but an excessive amount of spinach will disturb the absorption of calcium inside the body system.

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