Whether you prefer your spinach sauteed with garlic in olive oil, pureed into a dip, cooked into a quiche or raw as part of a salad, it's a nutrient-rich food that provides fiber and a number of essential vitamins and minerals. Since some nutrients, such as vitamin C, are lost when spinach is cooked, raw spinach can be a healthy option as long as you follow the appropriate food safety rules.
A 1-cup serving of raw spinach contains only 29 calories, 0.9 gram of protein, 0.1 grams of fat and 1 gram of carbohydrate, including 0.7 grams of fiber. It is a very low-calorie food, so filling up on a raw spinach salad before meals may help keep you from going over your calorie budget for the day.
Each cup of raw spinach provides you with 145 micrograms of vitamin K, or 181 percent of the daily value; 2,813 international units of vitamin A, or 56 percent of the daily value; 6.9 milligrams of vitamin E, or 35 percent of the DV; 58 micrograms of folate, or 15 percent of the DV; and 8.4 milligrams of vitamin C, or 14 percent of the DV. It also provides smaller amounts of iron, calcium, potassium and phosphorus. Vitamin K is essential for blood clotting, vitamin A is needed for good vision and vitamin E is important for immune function. The folate in raw spinach helps prevent neural tube birth defects, and the vitamin C is necessary for repairing tissue and healing wounds.
Potential Health Benefits
Salad greens like raw spinach contain antioxidants that help prevent cell damage from free radicals, potentially lowering your risk for cancer and heart disease. Each serving of raw spinach also provides 3,659 micrograms of lutein and zeaxanthin, carotenoids that act as antioxidants and help prevent cataracts and macular degeneration.
Raw spinach has been responsible for outbreaks of food-borne illnesses, including E. coli. Keep it refrigerated and wash it before using it to minimize the risk, even if you purchase the spinach in bags that claim it is prewashed and ready to eat. Don't chop spinach on surfaces that have come into contact with raw meat or poultry, and keep these items separated in your refrigerator.
Articles For Your Diet
- Alabama Cooperative Extension System: Don’t Abandon Spinach, Expert Advises
- All About Vision: Lutein and Zeaxanthin: Eye and Vision Benefits
- Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: The Powerful Punch of Spinach
- USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory: Spinach, Raw
- Colorado State University Extension: Health Benefits and Safe Handling of Salad Greens
- spinach image by Ramon Grosso from Fotolia.com