Spinach is an ornament of many traditional dishes in the national cuisine of different peoples. In the USA it is considered a vegetable of champions, in France it is called "royal", in India it is the main ingredient of the national dish of the panak paneer - spinach sauce with homemade cheese. Spinach came to us relatively recently - in the 18th century, and for a long time was considered food for the gentlemen.
Useful properties and contraindications to spinach
The use of spinach for the human body is due to: the leaves of this plant contain almost all known vitamins (except vitamins B 12, and D), as well as many minerals. In addition, this vegetable is valued as a good source of vegetable protein, by the amount of which it is inferior only to legumes.
Particular attention should be paid to spinach:
- First, eating spinach is a good prevention of osteoporosis, a disease that is statistically affected by every 2 women after 50 years. The preventive effect of this vegetable is associated with a record vitamin K content, necessary for the synthesis of bone proteins, in 100 grams of spinach leaves it is contained 4 times more than it is necessary to consume a person a day.
- Secondly, in spinach a lot of folic acid, which helps to ensure the normal course of pregnancy and the health of the baby's future, in spinach it contains about 80 mcg per 100 g of leaves (slightly more than 1/3 of the daily intake rate).
- Thirdly, 100 g of this vegetable contains half the required amount of vitamin E , which slows down aging, and also ensures the normal work of the reproductive organs.
However, despite the undoubted benefit of spinach, this vegetable has a number of contraindications:
- cholelithiasis, gout - contraindications to spinach in these diseases are due to a high content in the last oxalic acid, which provokes the deposition of stones in the kidneys and salts in the joints;
- kidney disease;
- pancreatic disease.