Do you remember Popeye, that sailor who got big and strong to defeat the villain and all he needed were spinach?Perhaps thanks to that cartoon, we grew up thinking that spinach was super powerful and we believed the myth that they have more iron than any other food, but like many other things from our childhood, it's not true. In reality, spinach is not the great source of iron that we think it is, as revealed by José Miguel Mulet, a doctor in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, in his book What is Eating Healthy?, and he assures that no vegetable is a great source of iron, although that does not take away from the fact that spinach is a very healthy food with many properties. Need breakfast ideas? Try these
Creamed Spinach with EggHow did the myth of spinach begin? This whole belief is due to such a simple mistake that it's hard to believe. At the end of the 19th century, Erich von Wolf, a German chemist, began analyzing the nutritional benefits of vegetables and it all points to the fact that he misplaced a comma when noting the iron content of spinach, and where it should have said 3.5 milligrams, it said 35. And of course, that's a lot of iron.Besides not having as much iron, spinach leaves contain high levels of certain salts, known as oxalates, that hinder the absorption of this and other nutrients, such as calcium, in the intestine. But there is no reason to demonize spinach because, although they are not what we thought, they are very healthy and do provide several nutrients: they have a lot of potassium and magnesium, two essential electrolytes for our health. On the other hand, spinach is an extremely important source of vitamin K and precursors of vitamin A, essential for our sense of sight. They are also rich in folic acid salts.Without a doubt, we learn something new every day, and now you know that if Popeye got strong, it was probably because he ate something other than canned spinach.3 options to include spinach in your meals:
Cream of Spinach with PoblanoChicken Breasts Stuffed with Cream Cheese and SpinachSpinach Crepes Stuffed with Mushrooms