You will no doubt remember the famous character, Popeye the sailor, whose strength increased dramatically when he ate a can of spinach. This animation, besides being entertaining, had the aim of increasing the consumption of this vegetable. Well, although we will not acquire the supernatural powers of the sailor, the consumption of spinach gives us a wide range of benefits for our body, thanks to its minerals and vitamins.
Thus, for example, it contains magnesium and vitamin K, which are essential for the normal functioning of muscles and nerves, and the blood clotting process respectively. In addition to these properties, there are two other important minerals in this vegetable that are little mentioned, iron and potassium, which have great benefits for our health, and here we will tell you what they are.
Iron in spinach
Usually when we talk about high iron content, the first thing we weigh is meats. However, spinach contains up to 4 mg of this mineral per 100g. This may not seem like much, but if you compare it to the 2.1 mg per 100 g of beef, our whole outlook changes, doesn’t it?
Despite this, there is a drawback with spinach, and that is that our body is only able to absorb 2 to 4% of the iron it contains. This is because its iron is of the non-heme type. This means that this mineral is not part of the hemoglobin molecule, causing it to be unprotected and can be altered at a structural level by other substances in the digestive system, thus hindering its absorption.
Despite this, we can better absorb the iron provided by spinach if we combine it with foods rich in vitamin C, such as orange juice, as it reduces the non-heme iron to heme, which facilitates its absorption. As you can see, there are many
benefits of eating spinach as a superfood.
Spinach is also rich in potassium.
It is imperative that this mineral is in our body at levels that are in accordance with certain parameters. Well, it is an electrolyte that contributes to the proper functioning of our heart, as it works in maintaining the heart rate.
The banana is the icon par excellence as a source of potassium, containing around 350 mg of this mineral per 100 g of fruit. However, spinach hides a secret inside that will surely surprise you: it contains nothing more and nothing less than 423 mg of potassium per 100 g of spinach. That is why this vegetable is an excellent alternative, and is easy to integrate into our daily diet through delicious salads.
