Spinach has a high nutritional value and is extremely rich in antioxidants, especially when fresh, steamed, or quickly boiled. It is a good source of the following:
Vitamins: A (especially high in lutein), B2, B3 (niacin), B6, B9 (folic acid), C, E and K
Minerals: magnesium, manganese, iron, calcium, potassium, copper, phosphorous, zinc, and selenium.
Storage of Spinach:
Fresh spinach loses much of its nutritional value with storage of more than a few days – refrigeration slows this effect to about eight days, so for longer storage it is best frozen, cooked and frozen, or canned.
Popeye and iron
We all know about Popeye and his fondness of spinach and his physical prowess after eating it – the commonly accepted version of events states that this portrayal was based on faulty calculations of the iron content. Apparently German scientist Emil von Wolff misplaced a decimal point in an 1870 measurement of spinach’s iron content, leading to an iron value 10 times higher than it should have been, and this faulty measurement was not noticed until the 1930s – this caused the popular misconception that spinach is high in iron that makes the body stronger.
Production of Spinach:
According to Wikipedia, the Environmental Working group reported that spinach is one of the dozen most heavily pesticide contaminated produce products. The most common pesticides found on spinach are permethrin, dimethoate and DDT; I would imagine that organic spinach doesn’t have the pesticide contamination so it would be preferable to buy organic, which is probably the case with most fruit and vegetables.
Nutrition Information for spinach:
| Nutrition | per 100g | per portion | RDA women | RDA men | RDA child |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 25 kcal | 25 kcal | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| Protein | 2.8 g | 2.8 g | 6% | 5% | 12% |
| Carbohydrate | 1.6 g | 1.6 g | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| Total Sugars | 1.5 g | 1.5 g | 2% | 1% | 2% |
| Total Fat | 0.8 g | 0.8 g | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| Polyunsaturates | 0.5 g | 0.5 g | |||
| Mono Unsaturates | 0.1 g | 0.1 g | |||
| Saturated Fat | 0.1 g | 0.1 g | 1% | 0% | 1% |
| Fibre | 2.1 g | 2.1 g | 9% | 9% | 14% |
| Salt | 0.3 g | 0.3 g | 6% | 6% | 9% |