Putting a Spin on Spinach

 by Kristine Paulus

Loved by some, loathed by others, spinach is a leafy green known for its high iron content and magical ability to give superhuman strength to cartoon characters when drunk from a can. People who eat a plant-based diet sometimes develop anemia, or iron deficiency. Eating lots of spinach has long been equated as a miracle cure-all for this ailment. 

Raw spinach has traditionally been my number one choice for salad greens. Its mild taste makes it a versatile staple that goes great with tomatoes, beets, onions, apples, figs, strawberries, dried cranberries, walnuts and more. I eat so much spinach salad that I assumed I was the healthiest human on earth so I was shocked to learn that it’s not the iron powerhouse I’d always been told it was. That undeserved reputation may or may not be due to a 19th century typo. 

Not only is spinach less high in iron that popularly claimed, it actually might inhibit iron absorption because it is high in oxalate. Have we been duped? Although cooked spinach is higher in iron than uncooked, it generally has less iron than some other leafy vegetables. However, what it lacks in iron, spinach makes up for in other nutrients such as folate, vitamin C, niacin, riboflavin and potassium. So while I won’t be relying on it as a vegetarian’s iron supplement, I will still enjoy it in my salads, paired with any number of other CSA goodies.