Explainer | Eating spinach: the health benefits, how to prepare it for maximum effect, and who should be careful of eating it
- Spinach is an excellent source of vitamins A, C, B9 and K, and contains more magnesium, potassium and iron than broccoli, lettuce or cabbage
- High in fibre and low in calories, it also helps protect against heart disease and diabetes; and the phytonutrients it contains fight inflammation and ageing
Stories about spinach often reference Popeye, the sailor who ate it by the can to gain immense strength. But if you need to bring a cartoon character into a conversation about healthy eating, consider the Hulk from the Marvel comic books.
“I think spinach is quite unique,” said Dr Joseph Roberts, an assistant professor of nutrition at Arizona State University in the US.
Dark, leafy greens are recommended as part of a healthy eating pattern. “They are largely considered nutritional powerhouses,” Roberts said, because they are nutrient-dense. In other words, “you can get a lot of nutrition without a lot of calories”.
The goodness in spinach
Roberts, who was the lead author of an academic review about spinach that was published in the journal Food & Function in 2016, noted that spinach is a good source of vitamins A, C and B9, or folate.