The benefits and harms of spinach

This composition makes spinach a valuable component of a balanced diet aimed at weight reduction and health promotion.

Properties of spinach:

• Absorbs free radicals that affect aging and development of diseasesthanks to vitamins A, C, and polyphenolic antioxidants, lutein ?-carotene in its composition.
• Helps protect against age-related degeneration of the retina due to dietary carotinoid zeaxanthin.
• Helps to maintain visual acuity and healthy skin and mucous membranes, prevent lung cancer and oral cavity thanks vitamina and flavonoids.
• Strengthens bones, stimulates the action of osteotropic (bone tissue cells), helps to stabilize neurons in the brain due to the high content of vitamin K.

• Prevents neural tube defects of the fetus in pregnant women with vitamins B_1, B_6, Riboflavin, folate and nicotinic acid.

• Helps to control blood pressure and heart rate due to potassium in its composition.

• Normalizes fat metabolism due to the polyunsaturated fatty acid omega-3.

• Helps prevent cancer of the colon and prostate.
• Stimulates the production of red blood cells due to copper in the composition of spinach.

Juice spinach

Juice of spinach contains manganese, which is necessary for proper metabolism. intake of juice assigned to the normalization of the thyroid gland, the full functioning of the brain and improve the composition of your bones. A unique complex of components contained in the juice helps to strengthen vision, immune system and teeth.

Modern doctors recommend to drink this juice daily, as it is a natural protection against deficiency diseases and benign tumors. He is appointed in case of serious pathology of the blood, the excitations of the digestive glands and various enterocolitis.

Calorie spinach

This dietary vegetable such as spinach has a mild laxative and diuretic. In addition, it boasts for its anti-inflammatory tonic properties. Its calorie content does not exceed 22 calories per 100 grams of leaves.

The harm of spinach

Sufficient drinking water will be able to somewhat reduce negative effects on the urinary tract. Plant estrogens available in spinach, during its regular use leads to deficiency of thyroxine in those who suffer from dysfunction of the thyroid gland.

Taking anticoagulants on a regular basis can be a contraindication to the use of spinach because the vitamin K contained in it in large quantity, will prevent the action of the drug. Dietary fibre comes from the leaves of this green culture limits the bioavailability of magnesium, calcium, iron, for human body.

If the cultivation of spinach applied nitrogen fertilizer, in its structure there is a certain amount of nitrates. Dishes with spinach for this reason, it is not recommended to re-heat, as the nitrates can be converted into harmful nitrites and nitrosamines.

Recipes based on spinach

• Anemia is recommended to make an infusion from 1 tablespoon of well chopped leaves and one full glass of water. After one hour of infusion, this means you must carefully drain and ingest 50 ml before each meal. This infusion can relieve sore throats and also to treat constipation and pneumonia.

• In convulsions it is recommended to eat fresh leaves of the plant, which previously should be boiled in almond oil and mix with very fresh butter.

• For abscesses, burns and eczema it is shown applied to the affected skin is softened spinach leaves, which are boiled in olive oil.

• Hemorrhoids experts recommend to manufacture a special tool. On the glass of juice plants take 100 grams almond oil. The resulting drink should be consumed in small doses throughout the day.

• In various neoplasms and tuberculosis take 10 grams of crushed leaves, pour a full glass of boiled water. Leave this mixture to infuse for 2 hours. Then this healing, the infusion is filtered. It can be taken 3 times a day 50-60 ml.

• After serious illnesses and complicated operations it's easy to relax with the help of unique tools based on 1 Cup of dry red wine and 50ml of fresh spinach juice. This unusual spicy wine is recommended to drink within 7 days for a single drink.

Varieties of spinach

There are about twenty different varieties of this cultivated plant, which has an excellent dietary properties. Varieties differ in size, shape and succulence of leaves. The most common can be called a strawberry, "Viroflay", "Victoria", "Gigantic"and"Bloomsdale".

Spinach strawberry. He deserves attention for its unusual appearance. Such vegetable greens with a kind of red berries resembling raspberries, can boast a large number of vitamins and indispensable to human body trace elements. This early maturing annual plant is cold-resistant and unpretentious culture. It grows well in variety of soils, both in the shade and in the sun. The plant is not afraid of heat and drought, and almost not susceptible to various diseases and immune to the usual garden pests. The homeland of this variety is considered to be the Mediterranean coast of Asia. Are edible and the leaves and fruits of strawberry spinach.

Spinach Of Uteusha. This early plant was the result of a unique breeding two varieties of Tien – Shan sorrel and English spinach – thanks to Professor Yuri Uteusha. This variety with tender leaves is very good for first spring salads. It contains an array of essential vitamins and essential minerals. In young shoots a lot of carotene and iron. The use of such amazing varieties helps to improve the condition of the intestinal microflora due to cessation of putrefaction. In addition, the spinach of Uteush has an antitumor effect.

Spinach leaf. This is a very healthy vegetable with fleshy leaves have inconspicuous small flowers. Leaf spinach is rich in vitamins and microelements, and also boasts a high content of biologically active substances, which are so necessary for normal functioning of the human body. The leaves of the plant a lot of proteins, carbohydrates and various salts. This variety is diuretic, laxative, anti-inflammatory and firming effects. It is an excellent remedy for vitamin deficiency, is indicated for the treatment of lung and blood diseases, and is effective for gastritis and enterocolitis, as well as protects against various tumors. Observed positive effect of taking plants in diabetes and hypertension, rickets and constipation, and often leaf spinach is assigned whentuberculosis.

Harvesting spinach in the winter

Recipes long-term storage of spinach:

• Freeze whole leaves – washed leaves of spinach rolled in a tube for a few pieces each, wrapped in cling film and put in the freezer deep freeze.
• Freeze as ice cubes – prepared spinach cut into small pieces, placed in ice cube trays, fill with boiled water and place in the freezer. After freezing ice cubes with the spinach placed in a more compact capacity, in winter, used for cooking stews, sauces, soups.
• Freezing mashed, seasoned with butter and shredded spinach blender to puree state, put into molds, pour melted butter, frozen. Added to various dishes for 1-2 minutes before the end of the cooking process (pasta, risotto, soups).
• Freeze the base for soup in the form of noodles – green noodles are cut, boiled in a little water, cooled, frozen with broth.
• Salting the spinach – chopped or torn in small pieces of leaves placed in jars, sprinkling with salt and tamping each layer. This stock and stored in the refrigerator, regular monitoring for the appearance of mold. Option blank – salting together with spinach, sorrel and dill, parsley.
• Preserving long – term storage- to problanshirovat 1 kg of spinach in hot water for 4-5 minutes, drain in a colander, put in sterilized jars, pour boiling brine (per gallon of water 2 tbsp of salt), roll up.
• Drying – the washed and drained leaves are cut and laid out on sheets of clean paper away from sunlight. Store this preparation in the dark in dry glass jars, sealed plastic cover.

Using these simple methods, it is possible to procure a sufficient quantity of spinach to use it in the offseason.

Answers to popular questions

The proposed clarifications on the topics of most interestconsumers of spinach.

• Can the spinach while breastfeeding? The rich composition of this green culture makes spinach a necessary component menu lactating women. It is used for soups, casseroles, sauces, salads and toppings for cakes. To enter into the diet of this product is preferably not earlier than 2 months after birth to minimize the possible consequences for the child. Spinach does not cause allergies, it has a neutral taste, so the consequences of its use, is not likely to have on the kid's body with no effect, but will enrich milk with vitamins and minerals.

• When the spinach has blossomed, can it have? Like many leafy crops, spinach coarsens after flowering, leaves have a sharp bitter taste. To shed use of the term delicate leaves, you can use this farming technique, as the breaking of flower arrows. It is advisable to interplant precocious spinach in several terms, avoiding the use of the leaves of flowering plants.

• Can I eat raw spinach? Vitamins and antioxidants contained in spinach will fully remain in the fresh leaves of this green culture. They can be used as an ingredient for salads or complex masoomeh sandwiches and for juicing. Prolonged heat treatment, though it retains the most useful properties of this vegetable, but significantly reduces its antioksidantnye properties.

Such a useful vegetable like spinach should be in the diet of everyone who cares about their health and the variety of the daily menu.

Contraindications to the use of spinach

In some diseases of the kidney and urinary tract disease biliary tract and the liver, ulcerative conditions, rheumatism and gout, and in chronic hypertension eat lettuce should be very cautious and preferably under the supervision of a doctor.