While you might already know that spinach contains lots of iron, researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden recently proved that there's another strength-enhancing factor in spinach. The inorganic nitrates in a single plate of spinach can actually improve your athletic performance.
Popeye's taste for a can of spinach before a fight has a genuine scientific basis, researchers have found: the leafy green vegetable really can boost your muscle power. It was thought the iron content of spinach accounted for its status as a superfood.
Spinach is fantastic fuel for muscle building because it contains iron and nitrates to promote muscle growth. These nitrates also help regulate blood pressure, immune defenses, and cell metabolism.
Spinach is extremely nutrient dense and one of the best bodybuilding vegetables. Spinach vitamins and minerals like Vitamin A, C, K1, and minerals such as folic acid, iron, and calcium.
When eaten in moderation, spinach helps in reducing the risks of high blood sugar, high blood pressure, and cancer. Although it is safe for most people to eat a bowl of spinach per day, you should be careful to eat it in moderation. Spinach is a dark leafy green crop with an impressive nutrient profile.
Only a not-too-bright sailor named Popeye remained obstinately devoted to its magical strength-giving properties, consuming cans of spinach before vanquishing enemies many times his size.
Spinach has a high antioxidant value. It contains antioxidants like lutein, beta carotene, coumaric acid, and ferulic acid. These antioxidants help prevent chronic illnesses and oxidative damage to the DNA. Lutein and zeaxanthin- two antioxidants loaded in Spinach juice known to protect the health of your eyes.
Spinach is among those green veggies that contain the highest amount of oxalic acid. Eating too much spinach may result in the formation of calcium-oxalate, which can cause kidney stones. It can also lead to hyperoxaluria i.e., excessive urinary excretion of oxalate.
Therefore, consuming foods high in dietary nitrates can also lead to greater NO production, and subsequently increased vasodilation, vascularity, and pumps. Foods highest in dietary nitrates are green leafy vegetables (spinach, kale, collard greens, etc.) and beetroot.
Spinach
Spinach is a good source of iron and is loaded with vitamins and minerals not found in other foods.
If you eat spinach every day in excessive amounts (more than a bowl) there can be adverse health effects. Most commonly these include gas, bloating and cramps due to its high fiber content. Eating too much spinach can also interfere with the body's ability to absorb nutrients.
Spinach has long been regarded as a plant which can restore energy, increase vitality and improve the quality of the blood. There are good reasons for this, such as the fact that spinach is rich in iron.
Raw spinach provides a lot of fiber, but cooked spinach may provide more beta carotene: One study found that three times as much beta carotene — an antioxidant that's a form of vitamin A — was absorbed from cooked spinach compared with raw spinach.
The leafy green is packed with nutrients, but you'll absorb more calcium and iron if you eat it cooked. The reason: Spinach is loaded with oxalic acid, which blocks the absorption of iron and calcium but breaks down under high temperatures.
Spinach Promotes Vitamin C and Collagen Production
Vitamin C is an antioxidant that contributes to the production of collagen. Collagen is a protein that helps your body create new skin cells, giving you a more refreshed look.
Upon swallowing the spinach, Popeye's physical strength immediately becomes superhuman, and he is easily able to save the day, and very often rescue Olive Oyl from a dire situation.
As a medicine, spinach is used to treat stomach and intestinal (gastrointestinal, GI) complaints and fatigue. It is also used as a blood-builder and an appetite stimulant. Some people use it for promoting growth in children and recovery from illness.
Lean Beef. For decades, beef has remained at the top of the list of best muscle-building foods—and for good reason! Beef contains a muscle-building combination of protein like essential amino acids, B-vitamins, and creatine.