Spinach Healthy Veggie helps prevent Heart Disease, Hypertension

Spinach helps prevent heart disease, osteoporosis, colon cancer, arthritis, and other diseases at the same time. The potassium and magnesium in spinach lowers blood pressure and the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. Folate or folic acid, abundant in spinach, is also known to reduce high blood pressure or hypertension. The more spinach consumed, the lower the risk of almost every type of cancer. There are a number of different flavonoid compounds in spinach working to prevent different stages of cancer development.

About Spinach
Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) is an edible flowering plant in the family of Amaranthaceae. It is native to central and southwestern Asia. Spinach grows well in temperate climates. Today, the United States and the Netherlands are among the largest commercial producers of spinach.

Spinach has a high nutritional value and is extremely rich in antioxidants, especially when fresh, steamed, or quickly boiled. Spinach is an excellent source of vitamins C and A, and iron, rich in magnesium, and contains about 40 percent potassium. It also contains folate which protects the body from homocysteine, an excessive amount of which can cause heart attacks and strokes.

Spinach is also a rich source of vitamin E, vitamin K, magnesium, manganese, vitamin B2, calcium, vitamin B6, folic acid, copper, protein, phosphorus, zinc, niacin, selenium and omega-3 fatty acids. Recently, opioid peptides called rubiscolins have also been found in spinach. It is a source of folic acid (Vitamin B9), and this vitamin was first purified from spinach. To benefit from the folate in spinach, it is better to steam it than to boil it. Boiling spinach for four minutes can halve the level of folate.

Iron for Energy

The United States Department of Agriculture states that a 180 g serving of boiled spinach contains 6.43 mg of iron, whereas one 170 g ground hamburger patty contains at most 4.42 mg.

Spinach Health Benefits
+ Cardiovascular Protection
+ Protect the brain from oxidative stress
+ Reduce the effects of age-related related declines in brain function
+ Anti-Inflammatory Nutrients
+ Iron for Energy
+ Spinach Carotenoid Combats Prostate Cancer
+ Phytonutrient Flavonoids for Optimal Health
+ Spinach Flavonoid Combats Ovarian Cancer
+ and more

Cons of Spinach
- Purine is in spinach. It is one of the Moderate-purine foods.
Excessive consumption of spinach can lead to excessive accumulation of uric acid in the body from the purine. Gout and kidney stones from uric acid are two examples of problems related to excessive consumption of foods containing purine.

Spinach Recipes
How to enjoy eating Spinach? Cook for as little time as possible. Spinach is one of the few vegetables suggested quick boiling (for one minute). That's because boiling will help to reduce the amount of oxalic acids found in spinach, resulting in a sweeter taste. You can also eat raw in salads.

In addition to Spinach, there are several ways to prevent high blood pressure (Hypertension), Read more: How To Lower High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) Naturally