Spinach is a dark leafy green vegetable that provides a range of nutrients and essential vitamins. It can be eaten cooked or raw, or blended into smoothies to add a nutritious kick to health shakes. Spinach is low in calories and high in nutritional value, making it a great addition to diets. Spinach is inexpensive and readily available both at local farmers markets and in grocery stores. It can also be grown relatively easily in a household garden.
Nutritional Value
Spinach is rich in a number of essential vitamins and minerals, including magnesium, folate, iron, calcium, manganese, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, copper and vitamins K, C, E, B2 and B6. Spinach is also a good source of protein, dietary fiber and omega-3 fatty acids, Naturally-Healthy-Eating.com reports. Spinach is very low in calories, making it a logical addition to a calorie-controlled diet. Spinach also offers a high number of flavonoids, which act as antioxidants to control the number of free radicals that can cause health complications in the body.
Health Benefits
The flavonoids in spinach provide protection against free radicals in the body, protecting against cholesterol buildup and even helping build your body's defenses against cancer. The folate in spinach keeps your cardiovascular system healthy, while the magnesium keeps your blood pressure low. Some of the nutrients in spinach have anti-inflammatory properties, offering protection against inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, asthma, osteoporosis and migraine headaches. The high iron content in spinach is of particular value to menstruating women and growing children, who need the extra iron in their diet to help carry oxygen to their red blood cells.
Cooking
Spinach can be easily incorporated into many dishes. It can be steamed lightly as a side dish, added into stir-fry or curry or simply boiled. Boiling spinach removes the acid from the leaves, so always boil with the lid off the pot and discard the remaining water when finished. Add spinach to dishes at the very end of the cooking process, as the leaves are delicate and will wilt quickly once they begin to cook.
Raw
Raw spinach retains more of its nutritional value, as the cooking process can leach some of the essential nutrients from the delicate leaves. Make a spinach salad by tossing spinach leaves with raw chopped vegetables and nuts. Raw spinach is a great ingredient to add to health shakes to quickly and easily increase the nutritional value. Add raw spinach leaves to sandwiches in place of lettuce, which contains far fewer nutrients, or simply munch on spinach leaves as a snack throughout your day.
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