Superfood of the Month: Spinach

March is National Nutrition Month, a nutrition education campaign which focuses on the importance of making good food choices. Food science studies continue to show that eating spinach helps improve health and reduce the risk of many health issues, from cancer to memory loss to strokes.

Here’s just a short list of what makes Spinach a Superfood!

• Reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and strokes
• Protects against the occurrence of cancer, including colon, lung, skin, oral, stomach, ovarian, prostate, and breast cancer
• Helps regulate blood pressure
• Builds muscle and strong bones
• Helps prevent memory loss and cognitive decline
• Protects against skin problems such as eczema and psoriasis
• Acts as a natural diuretic and laxative
• Performs as an anti-inflammatory
• Reduces migraines
• Prevents cataracts and macular degeneration

What’s in Spinach?

One of the more exciting recent discoveries about what’s in spinach is the presence of glycoglycerolipids. You may not have heard glycoglycerolipids before because people are just starting to talk about them. Glycoglycerolipids are the key players in plant photosynthesis, and new research shows that they can prevent inflammation and damage in the digestive tract. What else are you getting in a cup of spinach? Here’s how it stacks up by percentage of Daily Values:

Nutrient DRI/DV

Vitamin K 987.2%

Vitamin A 628.8%

Manganese 84%

Folate 65.7%

Magnesium 39.1%

Iron 35.7%

Copper 34.4%

Vitamin B 232.3%

Vitamin B 625.8%

Calcium 24.4%

Potassium 23.9%

Vitamin C 23.5%

Fiber 17.2%

Vitamin B 114.1%

Vitamin B 35.5%

Source: wholefoods.com