Health Benefits of Spinach and Its Nutrition

Spinach, known as Spinacia oleracea in the scientific language, is a dark green leafy vegetable which originated in Persian. Spinach belongs to the Amaranth group of plants with its relation to quinoa and beets. It is considered one of the healthiest foods to consume for a lot of reasons.

Consuming spinach comes with many benefits, including an improvement of eye health, cancer prevention, oxidative stress, and a reduction in blood pressure.

There are different ways to make spinach. For example, you can get it frozen and cook it, or even eat it raw. It can even be a part of smoothies to improve the health and fitness of an individual. This article will hint to you about the nutritional profile and health benefits of spinach.

Nutritional Constituents of Spinach

For 100 grams of raw spinach, there is the following nutrition profile of spinach:

Calories

There are only about seven calories in one cup of spinach. That means consuming three cups of raw spinach will only give you around 21 calories. That is why people on a weight loss regime can easily consume this vegetable with no worries about weight gain.

Carbohydrates

The total carbohydrate content mainly comprises the fiber content in fiber, which makes it ideal for improving gut microbiota and satiety levels in a person. It is considered one of the top choices in a low-carb diet as it is mainly filled with fiber and is low in calories. It has a low glycemic index as well, which makes it safe for diabetic people.

Fats

Spinach does not contain cholesterol and fat. However, spinach aids in the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins in the body, such as vitamin A (beta-carotene). This is especially true if the spinach you are consuming is either steamed or in raw form.

Protein

Three cups of spinach contain only 2 grams of protein. Therefore, spinach contains around the same amount of proteins and carbs in one serving. If you want to include a balanced source of protein and carb in your diet, then spinach is a good option.

Fiber

Spinach is loaded with insoluble fiber that helps in improving your health in different ways. It adds to the bulk in your stool as the digested material passes through your GIT. It aids in the prevention of constipation.

Vitamins

Spinach is loaded with micronutrients (minerals and vitamins)

It is filled with carotenoids which get converted into vitamin A and are a great antioxidant due to vitamin C that helps in improving skin and immunity in the individual consuming it. What’s more, it is great for blood clotting due to more than 50% of the daily value of vitamin K in it. It also contains folate, which is vital in pregnancy and aids in proper physiological function as well as tissue growth. What’s more, it is high in vitamin B complex that helps in driving certain metabolic pathways in the body.

Minerals

Spinach is known to contain about 250 mg of calcium in one cup that making ¼ of the daily value of calcium in your body. Therefore, it aids in improving your bone and teeth health. What’s more, it is recommended you combine foods high in antioxidants (vitamin C) with spinach to help with the absorption of calcium in your body. What’s more, it has magnesium that helps to improve your heart rhythm, metabolism and balance your blood pressure. What’s more, it is loaded with iron that helps your body to utilize energy more effectively. To get the best out of iron, it is recommended to take foods high in vitamin C like citrus fruits that help in the absorption of iron in the gut.

Plant Compounds

Spinach is loaded with different phytochemicals that include the following:

• Lutein – Lutein is helpful in improving eye health
• Kaempferol – This phytochemical is helpful in decreasing your overall risk of chronic diseases such as cancer
• Nitrates – Nitrates are known to improve your heart health
• Zeaxanthin – Zeaxanthin is helpful in improving the overall eye health of an individual
• Quercetin – The antioxidant helps in preventing and alleviating inflammation and infection, and spinach is identified as among the best dietary sources for this compound

Health Benefits of Spinach

Because of the many important vitamins and minerals, spinach is highly beneficial for many preventative and therapeutic mechanisms in the body. Spinach reduces blood pressure, oxidative stress, and metabolic waste, for example. Other health benefits of spinach include, but are not limited to the following:

1. Acts as Functional Food

Spinach acts as a functional food; scientists explain the protective factors of spinach because of the high amount of bioactive compounds and phytochemicals in it. They suggest that the bioactive compounds and phytochemicals found in spinach help to decrease oxidative stress in the body, DNA damage, and eventually disease. What’s more, they help in positively influencing the gene expression getting involved in inflammation and metabolism. What’s more, they help in triggering the release of different satiety hormones that help to make you feel more satisfied and full.

2. Improve Brain Health

Spinach comes with a lot of anti-inflammatory effects in the body, which makes it ideal for protecting the brain, especially the aging process. In a study, scientists identified the different eating patterns as well as the cognitive abilities of around 950 geriatric people for around five years. The people who consumed large quantities of green and leafy vegetables like spinach had a significant alleviation in their cognitive decline as compared to the people who didn’t consume these vegetables. Data indicated that individuals who consumed at least two servings of such vegetables had the similar cognitive function of a person a decade younger as compared to the other group who didn’t consume them.

3. Helps Improve Eye Health

Lutein is an important phytochemical in spinach that has antioxidant properties. It helps in reducing the overall risk related to Age-related Macular Degeneration, which is the disorder of the eye that may help in blurring sharp and central vision needed for different activities, including driving and reading. What’s more, the disease is a leading cause of vision loss for individuals aged 50 and plus. The condition has no current cure or treatment. However, prevention is the best answer.

4) Decreases Oxidative Stress

Free radicals are regarded as the byproducts of body metabolism, which may cause oxidative stress in the body that may trigger premature aging. It may also increase the overall risk of diabetes and cancer in your body. However, spinach may contain antioxidants in your body that may help fight oxidative stress and reduce the overall damage it may cause. A pilot study also indicated that spinach helped in the prevention of oxidative damage in the body. Although the study was actually small, human and animal research backs this research.

5) Improves Eye Health

Spinach is loaded with lutein and zeaxanthin, which are carotenoids that give pigment to vegetables. Our eyes also have these pigments that aid in protecting them from the UV rays of the sun. This helps to prevent causes that lead to blindness, including cataracts and macular degeneration. The compounds might even be helpful to reverse the already present damage in the body.

6) Prevention of Cancer

Spinach comes with two compounds such as SQDG and MGDG, that may help to slow down the growth of cancer cells. A study shows that these components help in slowing the tumor growth in the cervix of a person. The tumor size also gets decreased. Some research on humans also associates the consumption of spinach with an alleviated risk of prostate cancer in the body. Consuming vegetables might also be preventative against breast cancer. Similarly, a study indicates that spinach may help in the suppression of cancer cell formation. What’s more, the leafy green is loaded with antioxidants that may help in fighting cancer.

7) Maintain Blood Pressure

Spinach is loaded with a high amount of nitrates that help in moderating the blood pressure in the body. It also helps in decreasing the overall risk of cardiac disease. Studies also indicate spinach to be effective in lowering the body blood pressure levels. Spinach may also help in boosting cardiac health as well.

The Takeaway Message

Spinach is considered a superfood for fiber, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and bioactive compounds. It is filled with different nutrients with minimum calories per serving. Spinach is helpful for eye health, brain health, skin health, and bone health. What’s more, it is filled with iron, magnesium, and folate that helps pregnant women and iron-deficient people to function well. It is also helpful in the healthy growth of the fetus in pregnant women.

Some of the health benefits of this dark, leafy green vegetable include management of diabetes, management of blood pressure, management and prevention of cancer, prevention of blindness, prevention of dry skin and hair, and reduction in oxidative stress and genetic mutation in cells of the individual consuming it. It is always better to consume the vegetable in the raw or steamed form to save the antioxidant part, such as vitamin C in the vegetable.