Spinach is one of the foods that is hard to think of as unhealthy. It is a dark leafy green, which is full of fiber, folate, carotenoids, saponins and flavonoids. Carotenoids act as protection against chronic disease, saponins lower cholesterol and reduce your risk of heart disease, and flavonoids get rid of harmful free radicals and inflammation. Sounds like a fantastic vegetable, and it is.
Yet, spinach is still not a “perfect” superfood after all, for a couple different reasons.
Although it gained fame in the 1960s thanks to the cartoon Popeye, the sailor with superhuman strength who ate a lot of spinach, this vegetable was purposefully promoted by the U.S. government – not because of its health benefits (although there are many), but because the Great Depression took away a lot of iron-rich foods.
As it was later discovered, there is not as much iron in spinach as originally thought (it’s actually lentils that are the best vegetarian source of iron). What it is instead good for are its Vitamins K, A and C; as well as folate, manganese, and magnesium. Its strong antioxidants like neoxanthin and violaxanthin protect the body against DNA damage and oxidative stress that leads to cancer, and heart disease.
Its vitamins boost immunity, and protect health of the eyes, bones, and skin. Let’s further examine the heath benefits of spinach, and the surprisingly negative effects it may have on kids (and adults for that matter).
Raw Spinach nutrition , 1 cup contains (USDA):
-1 gram protein
-1 gram fiber
-1 gram carbohydrates
-145 mg Vitamin K (223% DV)
-141 mg Vitamin A (28% DV)
-58 mg Folate (18% DV)
-.27 mg Manganese (15% DV)
-.4 mg Vitamin C (14% DV)
-0.8 mg Iron (10% DV)
-24 mg Magnesium (7.5% DV)
-30 mg Calcium (3.75% DV)
-167 g Potassium (3.6% DV)
However, just like with most things in life, even good things are better in moderation. Spinach has one major innate drawback – it contains a compound called oxalate. This compound binds to mineral compounds in the body, such as calcium and magnesium, and by doing so may interfere with mineral absorption and lead to formation of kidney stones.
Some people also may have a condition called oxalate sensitivity, which can lead to brain fog in those who have it, or in people who over-consume spinach and other greens that are high in this compound.
Besides oxalate, there is one more factor to take into account when eating spinach – conventional, non-organic to be exact.
And that is – its place on a well known list from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) called the Dirty Dozen, which it “earned” for having high amounts of pesticide residues.
One of the pesticides is most dangerous for children. It highly increases the risk of ADHD, which is one of the reasons why it is banned in Europe. In the U.S., most of non-organic spinach comes with this risky pesticide.
Spinach is #2 on the Dirty Dozen for a Big Reason
The EWG placed spinach second on the Dirty Dozen list, right after strawberries. This is because by weight, it had the most pesticide residues of any type of produce tested by the USDA. It also contained a neurotoxic insecticide banned on food crops in Europe.
When the USDA tested 683 conventional spinach samples, 70% of these samples contained permethrin. At high doses, permethrin causes seizures, tremors, and other symptoms and disorders of the nervous system.
However, studies have found that even at low-dose exposure, it can lead to neurological damage, especially in children.
Children who have detectable levels of permethrin in their bodies are twice as likely to be diagnosed with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) than children with non-detectable levels of this insecticide.
Permethrin is also a possible carcinogen, and an endocrine disruptor. It can lead to liver damage, and reproductive issues. It is also toxic to bees.
Besides being found on spinach, permethrin is also hiding in head lice treatments and mosquito-repellent fabrics.
To avoid permethrin, there are a few consumer tips to follow:
- Buy organic spinach
- Wash spinach (and other produce) thoroughly. Unwashed produce has much higher concentration of pesticides.
- Use an organic pesticide remover when washing vegetables and fruits.
- Cooking spinach may reduce pesticide levels, but that will also reduce its nutritional content.
- Avoid bug sprays containing permethrin. Instead, rely on organic bug sprays and natural pest control products.
Other issues concerning non-organic spinach include:
-The presence of three fungicides: mandipropam, fluopicolide and ametoctradin. These three are fairly uncommon on other food crops.
-206 conventional spinach samples (about 30% of all samples) contained a pesticide that is not allowed on spinach but is used on other food crops.
-A few samples tested positive for dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), a pesticide that has been banned in the U.S. for about 40 years now. The pesticide residues are picked up by the plant from the soil.
Most if not all of these pesticides can be removed by either buying organic or using an organic pesticide-removing washing liquid.
For the full extended Dirty Dozen list of produce and its dirty details, check out the EWG website.
A quick note from our founder-
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I bet you can’t guess which muscle in your body is the #1 muscle that eliminates joint and back pain, anxiety and looking fat.
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d) Hip Flexors
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P.S. Make sure you check out the next page to get to know the 10 simple moves that will bring vitality back into your life!
To begin, I apologize for the dark nature of today's email.
However I promise what you'll discover today will be completely worth it.
Imagine a rotting corpse draped over your body from head to toe...
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Is Bread Really the Staff of Life… or the Stuff of Disease?
For most us, there are few foods more comforting than bread.
Fluffy biscuits, crusty baguettes, flaky croissants… even a simple slice of toast topped with melted butter can taste like heaven.
And that smell… few scents are quite as pleasant as fresh bread baking in the oven.
But there is a lot of confusion as to where bread fits into a healthy diet.
The Bible practically commands followers to eat it: “Give us this day our daily bread…” The government put it at the base of the food pyramid. And for centuries, it has been called “the staff of life.”
Of course, there are some who disagree…
Well-known cardiologist, Dr. William Davis, calls wheat “the perfect chronic poison.”
And for a poison, we sure eat lots of it…
The average American consumes 55 pounds of wheat flour every year, making refined flour the #1 source of calories in the American Diet – a situation that nutrition expert Chris Kresser describes as, “a public health catastrophe.”
So, what is the truth about bread and wheat?
- Is it the perfect poison… or an essential daily food?
- Is “gluten-free” bread better for you than regular bread?
- And can you still eat bread… while maintaining a lean body and optimal health?
The answers to these questions may surprise you!
Be sure to read #5 – the biggest surprise of all!
Recently, Doctor of Naturopathy, weight-loss expert and best-selling Amazon author Liz Swann Miller, creator of the Red Smoothie Detox Factor, revealed 2 of the secrets to easy, steady weight loss. Secrets the big food corporations do their best to hide from us.
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Now prepare yourself for one of the biggest weight loss secrets there is. A secret that, when you use it properly, can transform your body and your health.
You probably know most of us eat too much processed food. What you may not know is that it’s full of toxic chemicals and substandard, dirt-cheap ingredients designed to make you eat more…and force you to gain weight.
Here’s how it works.
“That stuff is just a lot of calories your body can’t use,” Liz told me, “Some are poison. And all these foods are stripped of the anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatories that help your body detox. The result? Your body expends huge amounts of calories to eliminate some toxins—the rest, it stores in your fat to protect you. This is why most people are hungry all the time. They’re not getting energy they need.”
“So… what’s going on with me? Why am I losing weight but not going hungry?”
Liz paused, then dropped the bombshell.
Your body is designed to burn fat. You just have to let it.
“What? I thought we were designed to store fat?!?” We were Skyping and I was practically shouting. Then I heard Liz say…
What good is a fat reserve if you can’t burn it?
Liz continued: “You’re drinking smoothies packed with phytonutrients, anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatories that pull toxins out of you like a tractor beam. Allowing your body to burn those toxin-filled fat stores… and releasing tremendous amounts of stored energy.”
So that’s why I’m losing weight without going hungry.
Watch Liz’ free presentation. It’s packed with revolutionary weight loss information—information that works. Because it’s based on how nature.
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- Which calories help you lose weight…and which ones help you gain it…
- The “diet” foods…some of them vegetables…that lead to weight gain and diabetes…
- The “low-fat” foods that can dramatically increase your risk of cancer.
- And the superfoods that rescue your body from this assault by detoxing you…
Revitalizing your metabolism so you can Shed pounds as well as toxins, renew your body and reset your internal clock by up to 7 years.
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Sponsored Health Resources
In the years that I've been working on this website project I've come across some amazing resources by some very special people. I'd like to share them with you here.
NOTE: I update these links often so please check back to see what's new!
1) Everyone knows green smoothies are healthy right? Have you heard of a “red” smoothie? If not, check out this story…
2) Forget what you've read about 10-day lemonade cleanses, 7-day detoxes with green juices and Gwyneth's gruel. All you need to do, and this is perfect for Saturday or or anytime really, is a simple 1-day cleanse.
3) This “hidden survival muscle” in your body will boost your energy levels, immune system, sexual function, strength and athletic performance when unlocked.
4) I thought it was virtually impossible for a website to be able to tell me anything even a little bit insightful after only submitting my name and date of birth... I was wrong!
5) Turmeric is amazing. The problem is - It's hard to absorb!
6) Wonder why your stomach still sticks out even though you're hammering the core exercises every day? It's a common myth that bulging belly is due to weak abdominal muscles.
7) Even if you're the most active of athletes, you may still suffer from tight hip flexors due to the amount of time you spend each day planted to a chair.
Enjoy! Let me know how these work out for you. And if you run across anything I've missed please let me know.