Spinach

Spinach is probably one of the more famous of leafy greens.

It was Popeye’s favourite food.  He’d chow down on a can of spinach, causing an instant muscle-explosion in his arms.

Among many other nutrients, spinach is considered a very rich source of iron!

With every 180g serving of boiled spinach there are 6.43 mg of iron.  Compare that to a 170g hamburger patty that has 4.42mg at the most.

But eating doesn`t mean absorbing…

The absorption of iron into our bodies will vary based on the presence of other things – like for example fiber and Vitamin C.  Without Vitamin C, iron absorption can be difficult. 

On top of that, spinach also contains substances like oxalate.  Oxalate not only prevents iron absorption, but it will also remove existing iron from the body.  The addition of oxalic acid to the diet is said to counteract this.

So, sometimes it isn`t what we eat that matters – it`s what we eat with what we eat that is important.

I bet you didn`t know this…

In 1870 a scientist misplaced a decimal point while measuring the iron content of spinach.  It led to an iron content 10 times higher than reality and a popular acceptance of spinach`s powers.  The mistake wasn`t noticed until the 1930`s.