Who doesn’t want to be that little bit healthier? Especially if improving your health involves minimal effort. With this in mind we’ve made it our mission to bring you news each week of a product, a foodstuff, an exercise technique or a pill that promises potentially magical health-giving properties.
This week’s magic ingredient: Spinach
Not to be confused with: Worzel Gummidge, Spin City, Greenwich Mean Time.
Finally, you’re talking about something I already know something about. I hadn’t a clue about some of that other stuff you were blabbering on about the last few weeks. All the other ingredients we have mentioned in recent weeks are healthy too and I hope you’re still taking them. So tell me, seeing as you’re the expert, what do you know about spinach?
Are you thick or what? Sure isn’t that the stuff that Popeye used to take to pump up his guns? Ah yes Popeye, the cartoon character once beloved by many. Eating spinach gave Popeye vastly increased strength, which he used to overcome arch nemesis Bluto and come to the rescue of Olive Oyl, a damsel who seemed to be frequently in distress. But you would be surprised about how Popeye first came to be associated with the plant in the first place.
How do you mean? The story goes that the strength Popeye gained on consuming spinach was based on inaccurate calculations about the plant’s iron content. Apparently, a German scientist misplaced a decimal point when evaluating the iron content of spinach in the late nineteenth century, leading to an iron value ten times higher than it should have been.
The error was not noticed until the 1930’s, by which time the Popeye comic was already in existence. Many have said that such claims are somewhat dubious, but it makes for a cracking story nonetheless.
Ha, I once did that on purpose when calculating the size of my…******. What? You can’t be saying things like that, even on a site as liberal as JOE. You’ll have us dragged in front of the courts.
Sorry, sorry. So you’re saying that taking loads of spinach isn’t going to pile on the muscle? Not necessarily. And in any case, Popeye must have been taking some serious steroids to put on that amount of muscle that quickly.
Well what the hell is it good for if it’s not going to buff me up? Despite the crazy German scientist’s supposed miscalculation, spinach still contains large quantities of iron which helps improve concentration, boost energy levels and can help ease pain in the body. It is actually said to be particularly effective in helping women overcome menstrual pain.
You needn’t worry about consuming too much of the stuff either. Spinach is low in calories but high in vitamins such as Vitamin A and Vitamin C and also provides a good source of magnesium, copper and protein. Because it’s loaded with Vitamins A and C, it helps protect against various cancers, heart disease and gastrointestinal problems.
But… But what?
The bad stuff… I’ve become predictable at this stage haven’t I? To sum up the faults of spinach very quickly, the iron content in it isn’t as easily absorbed into the body as it is in other foods high in iron such as red meat. Also, spinach contains high amounts of oxalic acids, which increase the risk of conditions such as gout and kidney stones.
I suppose I can’t not tell you about the e-coli outbreak in the United States in 2006, which resulted in the death of five people. The outbreak was linked to bags of spinach, which had apparently been tainted by water that had been contaminated with wild pig faeces. Don’t let that put you off though, in fairness that could have been any product, not just spinach and it was an isolated case.
I’m just going to put that out of my head then. How do I take the stuff? Well like Popeye, you can eat it in canned form, but you would most likely get it in leaf form in a bag and it goes well with salads, in a sandwich or sprinkled on meals.
How does it taste? I suppose it’s fair to say it’s an acquired taste. Back in the day, it was portrayed along with Brussels sprouts in children’s shows as food that bad girls or boys had to eat as a form of punishment. It definitely wouldn’t be universally popular then, but since when did you care about what’s popular.
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