The Vegetable With The Most Iron Can Prevent Cancer And Lower Blood Pressure At The Same Time – Health Digest

Your body needs iron every day to produce proteins in your red blood cells and muscles that help transport oxygen throughout your body. Iron also plays a key role in supporting your immune system, brain function, and thyroid health. Adult men and women over 50 need at least 8 milligrams of iron per day, while women aged 19 to 50 require 18 milligrams daily due to blood loss from menstruation. (Here are some foods to avoid if you have an iron deficiency.) Some of the richest dietary sources of iron include red meat, shellfish, poultry, beans, lentils, nuts, and seeds. Many breakfast cereals are also fortified with iron.

But don’t count vegetables out. One leafy green stands out for its iron content: spinach. A half-cup of cooked spinach gives you 3.2 milligrams of iron, which is 40% of the recommended iron for men and postmenopausal women and 18% for women under 50. Spinach is also impressively low in calories (about 21 per serving), with nearly 3 grams of protein and 2 grams of fiber. While Popeye was right to credit spinach for strength, its nutrients may help reduce the risk of health conditions like cancer and high blood pressure.

Spinach is packed with helpful electrolytes like potassium, magnesium, and calcium, all of which can support healthy blood pressure. But one of its secret weapons might be its natural nitrates. Nitrates help relax your blood vessels and improve blood flow, and spinach happens to be full of them. A 2015 study in Clinical Nutrition Research had people eat either spinach soup or asparagus soup every day for a week. When the people ate the spinach soup, their arteries became less stiff just a few hours after eating. They also saw significant drops in blood pressure compared to eating asparagus soup. You might want to try spinach juice to help lower your blood pressure — and protect against cancer, too.

Other nutrients in spinach may help fight cancer. According to a 2020 article in the Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Biology, the vitamin C and vitamin E in spinach act as antioxidants, protecting your cells from damage caused by free radicals. Spinach also provides 131 micrograms of folate (about 33% of your daily value), which supports healthy cell division. People who eat folate-rich foods have a lower risk of colorectal cancer. Additionally, the magnesium and vitamins A and B6 in spinach help strengthen your immune system and reduce inflammation, both of which play a role in cancer prevention.

Spinach is rich in many phytochemicals, but some of them aren’t great for you. Spinach has some of the highest amounts of oxalate, which is an antinutrient that binds to minerals like calcium and magnesium. Oxalates can prevent your body from absorbing these key minerals. If your diet is low in calcium, eating foods high in oxalate can increase your risk of calcium oxalate kidney stones. You can mitigate the effects of oxalate by drinking plenty of water and limiting sodium and sugar in your diet. You can also boil spinach to cut back on the oxalates. (Find out about the risks and benefits of raw vs. cooked spinach — and which one is better for you.)

Spinach is also very high in vitamin K, with almost four times the recommended daily amount. Vitamin K is essential for blood clotting, and the National Institutes of Health says most people get enough through food. However, if you take the blood thinner warfarin, it’s important to keep your vitamin K intake consistent. Large changes in vitamin K from day to day, such as eating a big serving of spinach all at once, can interfere with the medication and raise the risk of blood clots.

People with gout may also wonder about spinach because it’s high in purines, which break down into uric acid. High uric acid levels can lead to gout flare-ups. However, the American Heart Association says that spinach is unlikely to significantly increase the risk of a gout attack.