Green leaves have some benefits and they can cause some harm for you. If earlier spinach came across in stores exclusively in frozen form, now its fresh young leaves of rich green color are often sold. If you enjoy green salads with spinach, then do not hesitate and make some for yourself before trying to test your might at the live casino Philippines. How to eat spinach and is it really good for your health?
Historical Notes
Spinach or Spinacia oleracea is an annual herbaceous plant from the Amaranth family, a relative of beets, amaranth, and quinoa. Spinach leaves are fleshy and tender. They can reach 30-40 cm, but it is better to eat young leaves of small size or mini-spinach.
Persia is considered the birthplace of spinach, and its name is translated from Persian as “green hand”. In the 7th century, along the Great Silk Road, spinach was brought to China, where it was called a “Persian vegetable”. From Persia, spinach came to the Mediterranean and from there spread throughout Europe, becoming especially popular in Italy. By the way, in France, spinach became the “royal vegetable” thanks to the Italian Marie de Medici, who demanded that it be served with every meal.
In the Russian Empire, spinach was also at first an exclusively royal dish. It appeared on the imperial table in the middle of the 18th century. Later, at the end of the 19th century, representatives of the nobility could also afford this green delicacy. Moreover, spinach was not only eaten most often with eggs, pastries, or soups but also treated with it.
An interesting story happened to spinach in the 1930s when scientists were doing research on the iron content of fresh vegetables and fruits. Then spinach was called the champion in iron content. It has 35 mg of the substance per 100 g of vegetable! Thanks to this, spinach gained popularity, and he even got his own ambassador which is the sailor Popeye, who ate a portion of spinach and became super strong. For many years, spinach was considered a top source of iron, until it was discovered that incorrect results had been published at the time! It turned out that iron in spinach is 10 times less! But other substances are in abundance.
Benefits
Spinach contains many vitamins, flavonoids, organic acids, and mineral salts. It contains magnesium, potassium, calcium, etc. It contains spinach and a lot of iodine.
For example, spinach holds the record for carotenoids in the case of vitamin A precursors. 50 grams of spinach contains the daily requirement of vitamin A. It is also rich in vitamin K, which is necessary for high blood quality and clotting, and also helps to retain calcium in the bones and strengthen them. Studies have shown that spinach is able to remove harmful substances and salts from the bones that accumulate in them during a person’s life.
Many recent studies show that spinach is an anti-cancer agent. Contains glycerolipids that prevent the development of new blood vessels in neoplasms. This is what feeds the cancerous tumor, preventing it from growing further. Spinach also contains substances that neutralize the negative effects of carcinogens found in cooked meat and halve the risk of cancer caused by eating meat.
Another great feature of spinach is its low-calorie content. Only 20 kcal per 100 g. Therefore, you can safely prepare voluminous salads from it and not be afraid to get better. Thanks to its high fiber content, spinach cleanses the intestines, which promotes detoxification and weight loss.
Spinach also has calming properties. Thanks to the amino acid contained in it, tryptophan fights reactive hypoglycemia. This human condition is associated with a drop in blood sugar levels to very low levels. Often this happens after he has eaten or drunk something very sweet. Reactive hypoglycemia can cause feelings of anxiety and anxiety attacks. And spinach helps. Spinach is advised to be included in the diet for diabetes, anemia, hypertension, diseases of the nervous system, gastritis, osteoporosis, constipation, and flatulence, with physical and mental stress.
Negative Characteristics
But not everything is as good as it is described above. There are special substances in spinach called oxalates, salts, and esters of oxalic acid. These substances are toxic, reacting with other compounds in the human body. They form crystals that irritate the intestines and kidneys. Therefore, spinach should not be consumed by people with impaired water-salt metabolism, urolithiasis, gout, arthritis, and liver diseases.
Also, with a certain precaution, it is worth giving spinach to infants and young children. When spinach dishes are stored at room temperature for one or two days, under the influence of certain bacteria, poisonous nitrogenous salts are formed in spinach. When consumed, they are absorbed into the bloodstream and “take away” most of the red blood cells, causing breathing problems. The child may develop shortness of breath, diarrhea, and other acute symptoms of poisoning. In such cases, you should definitely consult a doctor.
Cooked Or Raw Spinach??
No wonder the sailor Popeye ate a portion of spinach to get superpowers. As we have seen, it is rich in useful substances. And to get them in full, it is better to eat spinach as fresh as possible. Store-bought spinach is considered fresh for one to two days.
You can cook any salad from fresh spinach with herbs, vegetables, fruits, berries, cheese, fish, poultry, meat, etc. Sometimes spinach is stewed and scalded with boiling water, then it becomes softer and more plastic.
Another thing is if you got frozen spinach. You can safely use it to prepare a mass of cold and hot dishes such as meat, fish, poultry, and vegetables. For any soups and green cabbage soup, stews, vegetable cutlets, omelets, scrambled eggs, or a variety of pasta just add some spinach there. Spinach can be used to make wonderful egg or cheese fillings for pies and pies. You can add it with puff pastry, and from yeast, aspic a la quiche. And the spinach itself is good as a side dish.
