Spinach is one of the leafy green vegetables that may be used in a variety of ways. It can be blended into baked goods like brownies, added to smoothies, eaten in a chilled salad, steamed and sautéed as a side dish, and even cooked in a stir fry.
Several health advantages apply to spinach as well. It has vitamins and antioxidants that prevent chronic illnesses and support the health of the eyes, heart, and brain. To optimize these advantages, spinach is a simple addition to your meals.
Here are six health advantages of increasing your consumption of this potently protective plant, as well as quick and easy ways to add spinach to meals and snacks.According to the Department of Agriculture, three cups of raw spinach have less than one gram of fat and about 20 calories.
Spinach is nutrient-rich yet having few calories. Over 300% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin K is present in a three-cup serving. Additionally, the leafy green vegetable offers more than 160% and 40% of the recommended daily amounts of vitamins A and C, respectively. Vitamins K and A support healthy bones, and vitamin C aids in wound healing, according to the National Library of Medicine.2
Additionally, spinach has 45% of the recommended daily intake of folate, a B vitamin essential for the formation of DNA and red blood cells. Additionally, it provides tiny amounts of other B vitamins, iron, magnesium, potassium, and calciumIn addition to its wealth of vitamins and minerals, spinach offers antioxidants linked to illness prevention and anti-inflammation.
Kaempferol, quercetin, myricetin, and isorhamnetin—all flavonoids—are a few antioxidants found in spinach. According to the Department of Agriculture, flavonoids are substances that could aid in preventing cancer, as well as heart and inflammatory illnesses.Researchers outlined the preventive properties of spinach in a study that was published in the journal Food & Function in 2016.4 They claimed that spinach’s chemical composition could lessen oxidative stress.
Additionally, they have a favorable effect on gene expression, or the “turning on” of particular genes, in metabolism and inflammation. Those substances also cause the production of satiety hormones, which make you feel satisfied and full after eating spinach.
The researchers came to the conclusion that consuming more spinach may help curb chronic diseases—including heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.
