Spruce up Your Salad With Spinach

Next time you're making salad, instead of chopping up the usual lettuce, reach or a bunch of fresh spinach. Not only is it a refreshingly tasty vegetable, it has a host of health benefits.

Anti-Cancer Compounds in Spinach

Scientific studies have identified at least 13 different flavonoid compounds in spinach that function as antioxidants and as anti-cancer agents. The anticancer properties of these spinach flavonoids have been sufficiently impressive to prompt researchers to create specialized spinach extracts that could be used in controlled studies. These spinach extracts have been shown to slow down cell division in stomach cancer cells, and in studies on mice, to reduce skin cancers.

Cardiovascular Protection from Spinach

For atherosclerosis and diabetic heart disease, few foods compare to spinach in their number of helpful nutrients. Spinach is an excellent source of vitamin C. It is also a great source of vitamin A through its concentration of beta-carotene. These two nutrients are important antioxidants that work to reduce the amounts of free radicals in the body; vitamin C works as a water-soluble antioxidant and beta-carotene as a fat-soluble one. This water-and-fat-soluble antioxidant team helps to prevent cholesterol from becoming oxidized. Oxidized cholesterol is able to stick to and build up in blood vessel walls, where it can cause blocked arteries, a heart attack or a stroke. Getting plenty of vitamin C and beta-carotene can help prevent these complications, and a cup of boiled spinach can provide you with 294.8% of the daily value for vitamin A along with 29.4% of the daily value for vitamin C. Spinach is also an excellent source of folate. Folate is needed by the body to help convert a potentially dangerous chemical called homocysteine that can lead to heart attack or stroke if levels get too high, into other benign molecules. In addition, spinach is a very good source of magnesium, a mineral that can help to lower high blood pressure and protect against heart disease as well. A cup of boiled spinach contains 65.6% of the daily value for folate and 39.1% of the daily value for magnesium.

Anti-Inflammatory Nutrients

The nutrients in spinach can also help with conditions in which inflammation plays a role, such as asthma, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis are all conditions that involve inflammation. Since beta-carotene and vitamin C have anti-inflammatory properties, they can be helpful for reducing symptoms in some patients. In addition, the magnesium and riboflavin in spinach, two nutrients of which it is an excellent source, may help to reduce the frequency of migraine attacks in people who suffer from them.

Better Eyesight from Spinach

Lutein, a carotenoid protective against eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and cataract, is found in green vegetables, especially spinach.

Iron for Energy

Cooked spinach is an excellent source of iron. It's important for menstruating women, who are more at risk for iron deficiency. Boosting iron stores with spinach is a good idea, especially because, in comparison to red meat, spinach provides iron for a lot less calories and is totally fat-free. Iron is an integral component of haemoglobin, which transports oxygen from the lungs to all body cells, and is also part of key enzyme systems for energy production and metabolism. And, if you're pregnant or lactating, your needs for iron increase. Growing children and adolescents also have increased needs for iron. In one cup of boiled spinach, you'll be provided with 35.7% of the daily value for iron.