Scroll to Recipes with Spinach / पालक as ingredient
Spinach is a leafy vegetable of a flowering plant. It is a native of central and western Asia. You can use the leafy part of the vegetable either by consuming it fresh or after freezing, canning it, or dehydrated.
There are numerous benefits to eating green vegetables like Spinach. Everyone should include it as one of the regular diets for many benefits like better eyes, reduction in stress as well as may help in preventing cancer and blood pressure.
Moreover, who can forget the famous cartoon character Popeye eating spinach?
Commonly Known as
| Language | Name | Written as |
|---|---|---|
| Arabic | al-sabanakh | السبانخ |
| Bengali | palak shak | palak shak |
| Hindi | palak | पालक |
| Gujarati | palak | પાલક |
| Kannada | palak | ಪಾಲಕ್ |
| Malayalam | spiesious | സ്പീഷീസ് |
| Marathi | palak | पालक |
| Punjabi | palak | ਪਾਲਕ |
| Tamil | geerai | கீரை |
| Telugu | palakura | పాలకూర |
| Urdu | palak | پالک |
Nutritional Profile of Spinach
Nutritional profile per 100 gms
- Calories: 23
- Protein: 2.9g
- Carbohydrate: 3.6g
- Fiber: 2.2g
- Fat: 400mg
- Sodium: 79mg
- Potassium: 558mg
Source: USDA & Google
Benefits
Antioxidants
Spinach possesses antioxidant properties. These antioxidants protect our body from free radicals that can cause some of the chronic diseases like cancer. Hence, it helps in protecting our bodies from it.
Source: PubmedCentral
EyeSight
The human eye contains pigments named zeaxanthin and lutein. This helps protect eyes from the damage caused by sunlight. Spinach is rich with these pigments and thus protects your eyesight.
Source: PubmedCentral
Prevents Cancer
Spinach is packed with antioxidants that help prevent cancer in our bodies. Moreover, it also has two compounds MGDG and SQDG that slow down the growth of cancer cells in the prostate and cervix.
Source: Bioactive Foods in Promoting Health
Controls Blood Pressure
Spinach is rich in nitrates. Nitrates have been shown to reduce blood pressure in moderate amounts. Also helping in preventing heart problems indirectly.
Source: Redox Biology
Side Effects
Kidney Stones
Kidney stones are caused due to the build-up of mineral salt and acid. The most common of the kidney stone is calcium stone consisting of calcium oxalate. Spinach is high in both calcium and oxalates that can cause the risk of kidney stones.
Source: PubmedCentral
Blood Clotting
Spinach is rich with Vitamin K1 that is known best for the ability of blood clotting. This can interfere with your blood-thinning medication if you are on one.
Source: PubmedCentral
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is spinach good for you?
Spinach is a powerhouse of nutrients. It has Vitamin C and Vitamin K in great amounts. Besides, it has iron, calcium, potassium, protein, and more nutrients in significant amounts.
What are the benefits of eating spinach?
It is highly nutritious and improves eyesight. Moreover, there are many other benefits like prevents cancer, lowers blood pressure, provides protection against free radicals that causes chronic diseases.
What is the best way to eat spinach?
You can have it stir-fried, in a salad, with pasta, in pesto sauce, or blended in the soup. However, children don’t prefer eating it in lunch or dinner. So making it a tea-time snack like Bhajiya is a better choice.
