Spinach, also known as Persian greens, red root vegetable, or parrot's leaf, is an annual herbaceous plant belonging to the Amaranthaceae family and the Spinacia genus. Many people love to eat spinach, but how can you remove its bitter taste and make it nutritious?
Spinach with Scrambled Eggs
Nutritional Value of Spinach
Spinach is rich in beta-carotene and iron, and is an excellent source of vitamin B6, folic acid, iron, and potassium. The abundant iron content helps improve iron-deficiency anemia, giving the skin a healthy, radiant glow, which is why it is celebrated as a great beauty food.
Spinach leaves contain chromium and an insulin-like substance that works similarly to insulin, helping to stabilize blood sugar levels. Its rich content of B vitamins helps prevent vitamin deficiency conditions such as angular cheilitis and night blindness.
Spinach contains a large amount of antioxidants such as vitamin E and selenium, which have anti-aging and cell proliferation effects. It can not only activate brain function but also enhance youthful vitality, helping to prevent brain aging and Alzheimer's disease.
Specific Health Benefits of Spinach
1. Promotes bowel regularity and prevents hemorrhoids: Spinach is high in plant-based dietary fiber, which promotes intestinal peristalsis and aids in bowel movements. It also stimulates pancreatic secretion to help digestion. It is beneficial for treating conditions like hemorrhoids, chronic pancreatitis, constipation, and anal fissures.
2. Promotes growth and development, and enhances disease resistance: The carotene in spinach is converted into vitamin A in the human body, which helps maintain normal vision and the health of epithelial cells, increases the ability to prevent infectious diseases, and promotes the growth and development of children.
3. Ensures nutrition and improves health: Spinach is rich in beneficial components such as carotene, vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus, and a certain amount of iron and vitamin E, providing the body with a variety of nutrients. The iron it contains has a good auxiliary therapeutic effect on iron-deficiency anemia.
4. Promotes human metabolism: The trace elements in spinach can promote human metabolism and improve health. Eating a large amount of spinach can reduce the risk of stroke.
5. Cleanses the skin and fights aging: Spinach extract has the effect of promoting the proliferation of cultured cells, both anti-aging and enhancing youthful vitality. In traditional Chinese folk medicine, mashed spinach juice is used to wash the face several times a week. Continuous use can cleanse skin pores, reduce wrinkles and pigmentation, and keep the skin smooth and clear.
The Most Nutritious Way to Eat Spinach
"One Do": Blanch spinach before eating. Among all foods, spinach has the highest oxalic acid content. Oxalic acid easily forms insoluble calcium oxalate with the calcium consumed in the diet. Calcium oxalate cannot be absorbed or utilized by the body and also hinders the absorption of calcium. After blanching, most of the oxalic acid in spinach is released. If cooked without blanching first, it affects the taste and reduces its nutritional value. Blanched spinach can be eaten in salads, stir-fries, or soups. Blanched spinach has a slightly sweet taste and is nutritious and healthy!
"One Don't": Don't remove the roots when eating spinach. Spinach roots belong to the category of red foods and are rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals but contain no fat, making them very therapeutic. Therefore, they should not be easily discarded.
Don't Eat Spinach with These Two Foods
Spinach should not be stir-fried with pork liver. Pork liver is rich in metal elements like copper and iron. When combined with spinach, which is high in vitamin C, these metal ions can easily oxidize vitamin C, causing it to lose its nutritional value. Animal liver, egg yolks, and soybeans are all rich in iron and should not be eaten with spinach and amaranth, which are high in oxalic acid, because both fiber and oxalic acid affect the absorption of iron from these foods.
Spinach cannot be eaten with soybeans. Eating them together can inhibit the release of copper, leading to poor copper metabolism.
Spinach is not suitable to be eaten with foods high in calcium, such as milk.
The chicken soup knife