SPINACH

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SPINACH

• WHAT LIES BENEATH

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• Tasks
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• For each of the sources ask yourself three
  questions
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• What is the source telling you about spinach?
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• Is the source reliable, legitimate and relevant?
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• Based on the information in the sourceIs spinach
  good for you?

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• WHICH 3 SOURCES ARE MOST RELIABLE?
• WHY?

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SOURCE 1

• WWW.BOTANICS.COM

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Spinach Botanical Spinacia oleracea (LINN.)
Family N.O. Chenopodiaceae ---Part
Used---Leaves. ---Habitat---The Spinach is an
annual plant, long cultivated for the sake of its
succulent leaves, a native of Asia, probably of
Persian origin, being introduced into Europe
about the fifteenth century.
---Constituents---Spinach is relatively rich in
nitrogenous substances, in hydrocarbons, and in
iron sesqui-oxide, which last amounts to 3.3 per
cent of the total ash. It is thus more nourishing
than other green vegetables. It is a valuable
part of the diet in anaemia, not only on account
of its iron, but also for its chlorophyll.
Chlorophyll is known to have a chemical formula
remarkably similar to that of haemoglobin, and it
is stated that the ingestion of chlorophyll will
raise the haemoglobin of the blood without
increasing the formed elements. The plant
contains from 10 to 20 parts per 1,000 by weight
of chlorophyll. During the war, wine fortified
with Spinach juice 1 in 50) was given to French
soldiers weakened by haemorrhage.
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SOURCE 2

• WWW.VRG.ORG

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SOURCE 3

• WWW.EDIET.CO.UK

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Iron the not-so-Wimpy Nutrient! By Aileen
McGloin Anyone who grew up watching Popeye
eating mounds of spinach knows that iron is one
of the essential nutrients. Most people also
think that spinach is a pretty good source of
this nutrient as a result of this popular
cartoon. The truth is that early in this century,
when scientists were testing for the iron content
of spinach, long before automated printers, they
wrote down the wrong results. Someone put the
decimal point in the wrong place and for a long
time people believed that spinach contained 10
times more iron than it really did. Spinach does
contain some iron, but it isnt the best source.
Red meat is the best source, so maybe Wimpy, with
his love of hamburgers, should have been the one
fighting Bluto for the love of Olive Oyle! Iron
is also found in oily fish, the dark meat of
chicken and turkey and in some nuts, seeds, dried
fruits, dark green vegetables and fortified
breakfast cereals. Due to Popeyes antics, most
people also believe that iron can actually make
you stronger. Thats not strictly true, but it is
half right. Iron deficiency or anaemia makes you
feel weak and lethargic but increasing your iron
intake only makes you stronger if you have had a
deficiency in the first place. It gets you back
to normal, so to speak. Iron is needed for
haemoglobin (the red pigment in blood) to work
properly and carry oxygen to all the body's
cells. One of the first signs of low iron intake
is tiredness and fatigue.
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Women and young girls who eat little meat,
poultry and fish or who are completely vegetarian
are particularly at risk of running down the
body's iron reserves, and experiencing symptoms
of deficiency. Low iron levels can have a serious
effect on many aspects of normal daily functions,
including an ability to concentrate. Other
groups are also particularly at risk. These
include pregnant women and older people, who may
need to take extra care. During pregnancy, if
iron stores are already low, the increased
demands made by the rapidly growing baby in the
last six months of pregnancy may tip the balance
and throw the expectant mother into a deficient
state, adversely affecting the growth of the
infant's brain. Older people can suffer through
poor diets combined with an ageing digestive
tract that finds it harder to absorb the iron
that is present in foods.
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SOURCE 4

• WWW.FLYNN-PRODUCE.COM

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Spinach What lies beneath?How many of you
remember as a child, sitting at the dinner table
staring miserably at a glob of mushy, overcooked
spinach on your dinner plate? The pile looked
vaguely like something your Dad cleaned out of
his lawnmower. There you sat. Tight lips and a
frown. Green pile of mush now cold because it had
been 45 minutes since you finished the rest of
your dinner. And how many remember your Mom
saying these exact words "Youre not getting up
from that table until you finish your spinach."
That was always a pretty weak threat, and Mom
knew it. But Mom was smart. She would then say
"Popeye eats it, and its got lots of iron to
make you strong like him". That usually got you.
Begrudgingly, you ate the spinach. After choking
back the last forkful, you eagerly awaited the
rippling biceps, fists shaped like anvils, and
locomotive strength that cartoons and Mom assured
you would occur. And wait you did. And wait some
more. And youre still waiting.Ive got some
bad news for you. Our mothers have misinformed us
good readers. On one hand, they tricked us to eat
our spinach because it really is good for us. But
they unwittingly contributed to propagating one
of the biggest myths in all of the produce world.
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What Popeye and Mom didnt know is that spinach
does not supply us with an excellent source of
iron. It in fact robs our body of iron.
Nutritionally, spinach is an excellent source of
both Vitamin A and folacin, and a source of
fibre, potassium and Vitamin C. However, the long
held belief that it is an excellent source of
iron is a myth. Technically speaking spinach
does contain a lot of iron, but its not much use
to humans. The iron is bound up with oxalic acid
and it cant be used by the body. Spinach is in
fact an iron-blocker. It contains phytate, a
chemical that prevents iron from entering the
bloodstream. So if your iron count needs a boost,
try eating liver, which is high in available
iron. Or garnish your spinach salad with slices
of orange, as citrus fruits contain vitamins and
acids that counteract the effects of phytate and
promote iron absorption.
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SOURCE 5

• SPINACH SPRING BY PAULETTE MILLIS

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Spinach! Spring! by Paulette Millis We know
spring is here when voluntary spinach is popping
up in our garden patch! Popeye swallowed spinach
by the can-full, gave himself amazing strength,
and performed Herculean feats, humorously leading
us all to believe in the necessity of eating
copious amounts of spinach. Thus it was, for
years, forced down the throats of countless
unwilling children. Spinach, Spinacia oleracea,
originating in Persia and Iran, was cultivated
for many centuries before the creation of Popeye.
European immigrants brought it to the US and by
1806 commercial cultivation began. Consumption
of fresh spinach fell between 1957 and 1973 by 1
to 1-1/2 pounds per capita. Growers do their best
to market the greens by washing and bagging them
as many cooks complain about the time needed to
wash the sand out of the fresh green leaves. Dr.
Thurman B. Rice of the Indiana State Board of
Health says, "If God had intended for us to eat
spinach, he would have flavoured it with
something." Check the recipe section for some
mouth-watering spinach dishes!
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As the chart shows, spinach is an excellent
source of vitamins A and C, and iron. Dr. Jensen
states it leaves an alkaline ash in the body
(healthy) and is good for the lymphatic, urinary,
and digestive systems. Spinach also has
significant amounts of potassium and calcium but
it also contains oxalic acid, which combines with
calcium and renders it unusable in the body. This
is not important in the ordinary diet, and only
becomes so if someone ingested a large amount of
spinach juice. This may cause disturbing results
in the joints. Spinach is very low in calories,
having about 23 calories per 3-1/2 ounces of
cooked and drained spinach, and as it is also a
mild laxative, this is excellent diet
food! Spinach contains the following
phytochemicals (plant chemicals) indoles,
carotenoids, and isothiocyanates which neutralize
free radicals, stimulate anticancer enzymes, are
useful in asthma, and help deactivate harmful
estrogens.
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SOURCE 6

• THE ANCIENT WORLD OF SPINACH

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The genus Chenopodium includes a variety of weedy
herbs native to much of Europe, Asia, India,
China and both North and South America. This
genus belongs to the Chenopodiaceae or goosefoot
family includes spinach (Spinacia oleracea). The
name chenopodium means goosefoot in Greek, and
refers to the resemblance many leaves of
Chenopodium have to the webbed feet of
geese.   Chenopods have long been recognized as a
valuable resource for exploitation as food.
Cultivation requires a minimum of energy and
labour investment. Furthermore, the leaves and
fruit (i.e. seeds) of these plants are extremely
nutritious. Although widely cultivated as a
pot-herb in Europe, it was the modern and native
cultures of North and South America that
exploited Chenopodium to its greatest extent. in
the Andes of Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Bolivia
the seeds are regarded as a staple food crop by
many people. These seeds are ground for bread
making, added to soups and gruel, and fermented
with millet seed into alcoholic beverages such as
chicha. They are also highly prized by local
Indians as a pot-herb, both cooked and raw.
Employed as a medicine, seeds are eaten as an
internal medication (anthelmintic) and applied to
sores and bruises. From the stems of this species
an alkaline substance is derived which is chewed
with the leaves of coca as a stimulant.
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SOURCE 7

• TOO MUCH OXALIC ACID

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Too much Oxalic acid!! Plants are our most
desirable food sources. We tend to think of
vegetables and fruit as entirely friendly and
benign however this is not necessarily true.
Vegetables, fruits, herbs, and spices are
chemically complicated, and they contain a
variety of chemical substances that are
drug-like, toxic, and allergenic. Plants are
inherently toxic since they have evolved chemical
defences that discourage predators from eating
them. There are many molecular substances in
foods that offer no nutritional benefit, and must
be processed and excreted. Oxalic acid, for
example, is excreted in the urine, and its
crystals are commonly found in microscopic
urinalysis. Too much oxalic acid in the urine
will result in kidney or bladder stones. Calcium
combines with oxalic acid to form the less
soluble salt, calcium oxalate, which is also
found in kidney stones. Plant leaves, especially
spinach, contain oxalic acid. Vitamin C is
metabolised to oxalic acid it contributes to
over-saturation of the urine with crystals and
possibly to stone formation.  
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SOURCE 8

• SPINACH A TRUE FRIEND

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Spinach A true friend. Vitamins Minerals -
Spinach is an excellent source of vitamin K,
vitamin A, manganese, folate and vitamin C.
Spinach is a very good source for magnesium and
vitamin B2 (riboflavin). You will find that there
are good quantities of potassium, vitamin B6
(pyridoxine) iron, copper, vitamin E, molybdenum,
tryptophan, calcium and vitamin B1 (thiamin) in
spinach. Researches have identified at least 13
different flavonoid compounds in spinach which
function as antioxidants and as anti-cancer
agents. The vitamin K provided by spinach is
important for maintaining bone health. Benefits
of Spinach - We all know that Popeye made himself
super strong by eating spinach, but you may be
surprised to learn that he was also protecting
himself against osteoporosis, heart disease,
colon cancer, arthritis, and other diseases at
the same time. For atherosclerosis and diabetic
heart disease, few foods compare to spinach in
their number of helpful nutrients. Spinach can
help prevent colon cancer and with conditions in
which inflammation plays a role. For example,
asthma, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis
are all conditions that involve inflammation.
Spinach is a good source of iron for menstruating
women.
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SOURCE 9

• NITRATE IN BABY FOOD

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Nitrate in Baby Food Samples of three national
brands of commercial baby food were analysed for
nitrate content using ion chromatography. Foods
with nitrate levels higher than 45 ppm (the
maximum contaminant level set by the EPA for
drinking water) included garden vegetables and
spinach. Consuming a 113 gram jar of spinach is
comparable to drinking 720 ml high-nitrate
water. The potential risk of methemoglobinemia
from consumption of these foods adds strength to
the recommendation to delay the addition of
solids to infants' diets until 5 to 6 months of
age. Most infants actually receive foods other
than breast milk or formula by 2 months of
age. Source Archives of Pediatrics Adolescent
Medicine, May 1994, as reviewed in The Journal of
the American Dietetic Association, January 1995.
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SOURCE 10

• FRIENDS OF THE EARTH PESTICIDES IN FOOD

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LATEST PESTICIDE RESULTS - ASDA SPINACH OVER
SAFETY LEVELS   The Government's latest
pesticide results issued today reveal that
pesticide levels in Spanish spinach bought at
Asda exceeded the safety level for toddlers.
Levels of pesticides in spinach bought in
Waitrose and Safeway stores also exceeded legal
limits, but not safety limits. The
Pesticide Residue Committee (PRC) concluded that
levels of the pesticide methomyl found in Asda
spinach meant that the "safety margins would be
significantly eroded. Levels were 150 of the
safety level for adults and 240 of the safety
level for toddlers. The PRC said that it was
possible that "symptoms such as increased
salivation, an upset stomach or a mild headache
could occur, but these effects would be
expected to be short-lived (lasting not longer
than 6 hours )". Methomyl is a carbamate
pesticide which affects the nervous system. It
is also suspected of interfering with the
hormone system. Friends of the Earth today
warned that this is a highly risky substance
which should not be in our food.
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Friends of the Earth real food campaigner Sandra
Bell said " Although there is some good news
in the latest pesticide results, we must remain
very concerned that supposedly-healthy food
contains pesticides which exceed the safety
levels for toddlers.   Key findings
include   One sample of spinach (from Asda)
contained residues high enough that the
official safety limit would be exceeded.
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SOURCE 11

• BONUS THOUGHTS

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SOURCE 12

• THE DOORS OF PERCEPTION

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Materials from the website www.Eu.Gull.org  
The Mythic Practice and Power of Spinach in
Ancient Persian Ritual   During the rituals
offered to the God, Zarostra, the following uses
of Spinach were made by priests                 
        Wild spinach was caught and treated, then
disembowelled, with its insides used for the
purposes of augury foretelling important
events                       Incensed spinach
was used as part of the ritual itself to create
an atmosphere the thick, fetid smoke belching
from the ornate golden vases was considered to be
a means by which worshippers might be able to see
the God during the ceremony                      
The Emperor Darius often fasted for weeks on
end, following a strict diet of a few spinach
leaves every evening, a s a means of
self-purification before military campaigns