SPINACIA OLERACEA
EAT SPINACH on a regular basis—if it’s organic, that is. Spinach is what growers call a heavy feeder—it pulls a lot of nutrients from the soil to stoke its quick growth, and when that soil is organic and full of all necessary minerals, spinach can be one of the most nutritious foods on earth.
Spinach is a member of the goosefoot family, so named for the shape of the leaves, which resembles the imprint of a goose’s foot.
Spinach is native to Iran, where the species still grows wild. It made its way east to China in the first millennium, probably along the Silk Road, and west to Arabia and then to Spain with the Moorish invasions and on to the rest of Europe. The name comes from the Old Persian aspanakh, and the root span has entered Greek in the names of spinach-based dishes such as spanakopita.
THE ORGANIC FACTOR
Because spinach is a heavy feeder, it will absorb an excessive amount of whatever is present in the soil—pesticides, fungicides, and chemical fertilizers as well as nutrients. In the conventional farming of spinach, using chemicals to solve one problem usually creates another, which demands yet another chemical. For example, using chemical fertilizers can force abnormally quick growth of spinach leaves, but without a rich, nutritive soil to grow from, the leaves tend to have weak tissues and be especially prone to mildew and mold. On top of this, the sterilized soil used to grow the spinach lacks the natural organisms that would have suppressed mold growth. And so farmers must apply additional fungicides to prevent mold. And in the case of spinach, boy, do they pour the chemicals on.
Although the effects of agricultural chemicals on consumers of spinach needs further documentation, they’re not likely to be good. The sheer number of chemicals that go into cultivated spinach reminds us once again why one might want to choose organic produce.
NUTRITION
Spinach is a nutritional powerhouse. Just 1⁄2 cup of boiled spinach gives us 2 grams of dietary fiber, 80 to 100 percent of our daily requirement of vitamin A, 32 percent of our folic acid, 40 percent of iron if you’re male and 20 percent if you’re female, 20 percent of magnesium, 20 percent of potassium, 18 percent of riboflavin, 16 percent of vitamin B6, and 10 percent of calcium.
The leaves’ dark green color—meaning there’s plenty of chlorophyll—and rich stores of caro-tenoids contribute to spinach’s cancer-blocking abilities. Studies show spinach lowers blood cholesterol in lab animals. According to Dr. Frank Dainello at the Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center at Texas A&M: “Spinach has a high antioxidant activity. It contains high amounts of xanthophylls, lutein, and zeaxanthin that are strongly associated with reduced risk of age-related macular degeneration. … Spinach is one of the best sources of folic acid, a compound that’s been shown to reduce the risk of birth defects, heart disease, and stroke.”
The raw leaves of the crinkly kind of spinach contain the most oxalic acid, which binds with some of the calcium and iron to render them unusable. Cooking, however, reduces much of the oxalic acid. The sweeter Asian leaf spinaches have less oxalic acid—another reason beside their tender, sweet taste to use them in salads. Or buy a variety called Monnopa that is low in oxalic acid and so is good even for baby food.
TYPES
There are two types of spinach found in today’s organic markets. The old-fashioned savoy types have large crinkled leaves; they are usually sold in bunches (one bunch serves three people, as a rule of thumb). They’re best when cooked. Asian types are smaller-leaved, oval in shape, thinner, more tender, and sweeter. ....read more
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