Spinach - Cooked or Raw?

figrolls

I love spinach and I'm trying to eat it more often at the moment to up my iron levels, but I'm just wondering if there is one way of eating it thats more benficial?

I like it both raw and steamed, so doesnt make much difference to me, but would love to know which way is best!

Thanks!

FTGFOP

To my knowledge spinach contains a lot of oxalate which binds to the iron in spinach, making it impossible for your body to absorb. I'm sure there are other benefits to eating it though.

I think eating it with foods containing vitamin c increases the absorbtion a little bit. So, maybe lemon juice in a dressing on raw leaves or orange pieces in a salad. Peppers have vit c too and would work well in a salad. I don't know if cooking improves the bioavailability of the iron.

Beans, lentils, broccoli, cabbage are good sources of iron and don't have the same high levels of oxalate. There're meat sources too, of course. Liver is very rich in iron, the most potent source I know of.

Mellor

FTGFOP wrote: »

I think eating it with foods containing vitamin c increases the absorbtion a little bit. So, maybe lemon juice in a dressing on raw leaves or orange pieces in a salad. Peppers have vit c too and would work well in a salad. I don't know if cooking improves the bioavailability of the iron.

Spinach actually has the same vitamin c as lime, grapefruit etc, and only 25% less than lemon

Doolee

I looked into this recently when doc told me i needed to take iron supplements. Turns out you have to eat 1 kilo of spinach to reach your iron RDA!

I take spatone liquid iron in a little orange juice first thing in the morning and noticed a difference in my energy and in general as i dont eat meat so give it a try...unless you REALLY like spinach!

Mellor

Doolee wrote: »

I looked into this recently when doc told me i needed to take iron supplements. Turns out you have to eat 1 kilo of spinach to reach your iron RDA!

Look again. 180-200g covers your RDA (6-8mg)

Doolee

Mellor wrote: »

Look again. 180-200g covers your RDA (6-8mg)

Fair nuff. Dunno where I got my figures from but anyway, means you have to eat more than a full bag of spinach every single day (the bag I have in the fridge is 210g) with whatever amount of Vit C with it to ensure decent absorption...and im not 100% on this but I think there is still a chance its not all going to be absorbed properly.

Sapsorrow

Nope oxalate doesn't inhibit it, phytates (breans, legumes and grains), polyphenols (tea tannins etc) and soy proteins inhibit it. Vitamin C and organic acids ehance its abs.
The Irish RDAs range from 10-15mg/day depedning on gender and whether pregnant etc..

El_Dangeroso

khrystyna100 wrote: »

Nope oxalate doesn't inhibit it, phytates (breans, legumes and grains), polyphenols (tea tannins etc) and soy proteins inhibit it. Vitamin C and organic acids ehance its abs.
The Irish RDAs range from 10-15mg/day depedning on gender and whether pregnant etc..

I thought oxalate did bind to iron no? No matter, I love spinach, but tis probably not a good idea to eat any one vegetable every single day. Eating too much broccoli can interfere with the thryroid for example. Seems like every vegetable uses up different resources in their digestion, another point to variety.

Re: Iron deficiency, I remember reading in my leaving cert home economics book (haven't verified the accuracy ) that we only absorb 10% of the iron we ingest, if we need more, we absorb more, so you could say anaemia is more of a disorder of malabsorption than it is of dietary deficiency.

Back to the OP, cooked is slightly better than raw, but not by much. Enjoy whichever way you want.

figrolls

Thanks guys!

Tbh, I dont really eat it for iron purposes, thats just a bit of a bonus, just really like the stuff!Will mix it up between cooked and raw so to keep it interesting!

Sapsorrow

Temple_Grandin wrote: »

I thought oxalate did bind to iron no? No matter, I love spinach, but tis probably not a good idea to eat any one vegetable every single day. Eating too much broccoli can interfere with the thryroid for example. Seems like every vegetable uses up different resources in their digestion, another point to variety.

Re: Iron deficiency, I remember reading in my leaving cert home economics book (haven't verified the accuracy ) that we only absorb 10% of the iron we ingest, if we need more, we absorb more, so you could say anaemia is more of a disorder of malabsorption than it is of dietary deficiency.

Back to the OP, cooked is slightly better than raw, but not by much. Enjoy whichever way you want.

I've never heard mention of oxalate affecting Iron, I have a good textbook on minerals and trace elements that goes into a lot of depth about metabolism and abs that i was only using to do a sample question on Iron the last day so it's fresh in my head. You're bang on about the iron being a ddisorder of absorption, the body unpregulates certain genes to increase absorption when stores are low. Even heme iron is very badly absorbed, it's potentially very toxic so the body tries to be very careful of how much it takes up. I checked the USDA database, cooked spinach of the same variety has less iron (think it was 6 vs 8mg/100g) but bearing in mind that when you cook it you're wiping out the vitamin C that aids absorption so have it with loads of freshly sueezed lemon and lime juice when cooked.

jakeypooh

Temple how can eating too much brocoli affect the thyroid?

In a good or bad day

I eat a good head of Brocoli every day sometimes more depending what Im having with dinner

I usually snack on a largeish head of it each morning

YOu have me worried now

El_Dangeroso

jakeypooh wrote: »

Temple how can eating too much brocoli affect the thyroid?

In a good or bad day

I eat a good head of Brocoli every day sometimes more depending what Im having with dinner

I usually snack on a largeish head of it each morning

YOu have me worried now

Tbh if it's not EVERY day you're probably fine unless you have underlying issues with your thyroid, tis good to switch it up for variety though and to get the most benefit out of it. Your body gets used to anything if you do it consistently enough.

EileenG

Brassica vegetables like cabbage and broccoli can slow thyroid function in vulnerable people but only if they are raw and in large quantities. Once cooked, they are fine.

Mellor

Doolee wrote: »

Fair nuff. Dunno where I got my figures from but anyway, means you have to eat more than a full bag of spinach every single day (the bag I have in the fridge is 210g) with whatever amount of Vit C with it to ensure decent absorption...and im not 100% on this but I think there is still a chance its not all going to be absorbed properly.

You are missing the point, you don't need to eat enough to cover your whole RDA, as you'll pick up lots of other sources else where.

khrystyna100 wrote: »

Nope oxalate doesn't inhibit it, phytates (breans, legumes and grains), polyphenols (tea tannins etc) and soy proteins inhibit it. Vitamin C and organic acids ehance its abs.
The Irish RDAs range from 10-15mg/day depedning on gender and whether pregnant etc..

Would the US have lower RDAs for most vitamins and minerals, or is this a one off

Sapsorrow

Mellor wrote: »

Would the US have lower RDAs for most vitamins and minerals, or is this a one off

It would vary could be higher or lower, we tend to be more close to the british RDAs but often I find myself thinking the american values are more appropriate as they're less conservative than us in setting upper tolerable limits and RDAs in general.

Doolee

Mellor wrote: »

You are missing the point, you don't need to eat enough to cover your whole RDA, as you'll pick up lots of other sources else where.

Sure, red meat being one of the main sources, but I mentioned I dont eat any meat so just thought Id add from a personal pov what my own situation is. I was shocked when the doc told me I wasnt getting enough iron cause all i ever eat are green leafy veg, pulses and fruit etc. etc.
Infact, Hi my name is Doolee and im addicted to Broccilli and Spinach!