National Spinach Day: Eat spinach for heart health, good vision, amazing hair: Expert

Spinach, a leafy green vegetable is full of nutritional value. It is rich in potassium and iron. With its scientific name being ‘Spinacia Oleracea’, this vegetable is also known for improving bone health. This flowering plant is native to central and western Asia. Its leaves can even be consumed raw because of health benefits.   

Medical News Today, an England-based web outlet for medical information and news stated, “A 100-gram serving of spinach contains approximately 34% of a person’s daily recommended amount of vitamin C.” However, different cooking methods can also influence the nutritional content of Spinach. 

 According to an article by the website ‘The Fact Site’, the green pigment of the leaves was extracted from spinach and used as a paint or ink in the ancient medieval days. 

It is not only nutritious but also tastes well. but it is so renowned that Palak Paneer, made of spinach and cottage cheese, is ranked 39th position among the top cheese dishes in the world in a list by Taste Atlas.

On National Spinach Day, Patriot spoke to Delhi-based nutritionist Nikita Oswal on ways to incorporate spinach into daily lives.

She says, “Spinach has a lot of benefits as we all know. Spinach-special dishes are a great way to incorporate spinach into our daily routine. The most common dish being dal palak; spinach roti, spinach rice, palak chole, and spinach tikki would also make spinach intake easier.” 

Nikita says that consuming a medium-sized bowl full of spinach is enough for a day. 

“At the same time, its consumption should also be limited to two to three bowls a week. High amounts of spinach consumption can lead to adverse effects on health; the prime being the formation of kidney stones due to the presence of oxylic acid in the spinach and it may also lead to inflammation which may further contribute to arthritis.”

On talking about the controversy of consuming spinach raw or cooked, she says, “As per a lot of studies, it is advised to be eaten raw, while others state that it is better when cooked. However, as per Ayurveda, it is always better to take it cooked as more calcium and iron absorption happens when you eat it in the cooked form.”

She advised, “If you seek great heart health, good vision, amazing hair and anything that you can think of when it comes to health; the one green leafy vegetable that you have to consume would be spinach.

“Grow it in your gardens. It can even be grown in small spaces like the balcony. This would ensure that it is free from any kind of pesticide and can even be included in the diet for most of the seasons,” she added.