The stories about spinach being good for your health from Popeye cartoons have more than a bit of truth to them. In fact spinach has so many valuable nutrients packed into it that parents concerned about the health of their children because they eat too much junk food are advised to encourage their kids to eat more spinach. And as a matter of fact spinach is also good for the health of adults. The George Mateljan Foundation has chosen spinach as the food of the week.
Spinach is an excellent source of antioxidant nutrients including vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, and manganese, as well being a very good source of the antioxidant zinc and a good source of the antioxidant selenium. Spinach therefore helps lower the risk of numerous health problems related to oxidative stress such as atherosclerosis and high blood pressure. And a new category of health-supportive nutrients found in spinach is called "glycoglycerolipids." Recent lab research in laboratory animals has shown that glycoglycerolipids from spinach can assist in protecting the lining of the digestive tract from damage, especially damage which is related to unwanted inflammation.
Another recent study explored the relationship between risk of prostate cancer and vegetable intake, including the vegetables spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, mustard greens, turnip greens, collards, and kaleâ. In this study only spinach showed evidence of significant protection against the occurrence of aggressive prostate cancer. It is known that certain unique anti-cancer carotenoids, which are called epoxyxanthophylls, are plentiful in spinach. And so spinach is clearly a very nutritious vegetable which can be enjoyed by the entire family.
