9 Health Benefits of Spinach (and Full Nutrition Facts)

Spinach is one of the most nutritious vegetables in the world.

When it comes to nutrient-densitythis leafy green vegetable is difficult to beat.

Although spinach is very low in caloriesit is loaded with beneficial nutrients.

This article will provide a science-backed guide to spinach and its health benefits.

What Is Spinach?

Known by the botanical name of ‘Spinacia oleracea,’ spinach is a leafy green vegetable that originated in South-West Asia (1).

There are many different species of spinachbut the vegetable generally has roundeddark green leaves.

In the present timespinach grows all around the worldand it is a popular part of the cuisine in many countries.

Spinach is also very adaptableand people consume it in a variety of different waysfrom soups and curries to raw salad leaves.

This leafy green vegetable has a strongflavorful tasteand a slightly bitter aftertasteand it can sometimes overpower milder flavors.

On this notesome people prefer sweet potato leaves for their spinach-like flavor but slightly milder taste.

It is nutritionally similar to other leafy greens and shares some common characteristics with green amaranth leaves.

Nutrition Facts

Here you will find the complete nutritional values for spinach per 100-gram serving (2).

Calories and Macros

As shown in the tablespinach is a very low-energy food and contains a minimal amount of calories.

The calories in spinach are primarily from small amounts of carbohydrates and proteinwith minimal fat content.

Vitamins

Spinach is a rich source of mineralsand it is particularly high in vitamin K1 and carotenoid vitamin A precursors.

Minerals

Spinach is a rich source of manganese and magnesiumand it contains a range of other minerals in small to moderate amounts.

Spinach Health Benefits

Most of the health benefits that spinach can confer relate to the nutrients it provides.

Additionallyspinach contains some interesting compoundssuch as kaempferol and nitrateand these compounds may have a beneficial impact on our bodies.

1) Rich In Carotenoids (Vitamin A)

Vitamin A is an essential fat-soluble vitamin that can boost immunity and has antioxidant activity (3).

Spinach is one of the biggest food sources of provitamin A carotenoids. Howeverit is worth noting that carotenoids are not precisely the same as vitamin A.

In contrast to bio-available vitamin A (retinol) found in oily fisheggsand organ meatscarotenoids are not in a form the body can readily use (4).

To use carotenoidsour body must first convert these compounds into retinol. For this reasoncarotenoids are often called vitamin A precursors.

Unfortunatelythe rate at which humans can convert carotenoids to retinol is relatively low. Researchers believe that it takes around 12 parts of carotenoids to have an equivalent effect to 1 part of retinol (5).

Howeverbecause spinach still contains such a large amount of carotenoidsthis would still provide benefits. Additionallysome carotenoid compounds have further interesting effects rather than just vitamin A activity. We will look at this in greater detail later.

2) Large Source of Vitamin K1

Spinach provides over 604% of the RDA for vitamin K. This essential fat-soluble vitamin plays an important role in several biological processes.

Most notablyvitamin K is associated with cardiovascular and skeletal system benefits (6);

• Vitamin K helps to inhibit calcification of the arteriesa causal factor in the development of cardiovascular disease.
• Alongside other vitamins and mineralsvitamin K plays a role in the skeletal system. Higher intake appears to reduce the risk of bone mass problems and bone fracture.

Vitamin K1 vs. Vitamin K2?

There are two types of vitamin K; vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) and vitamin K2 (menaquinone).

We can find vitamin K1 mainly in green vegetables and sea vegetation such as seaweed.

In contrastvitamin K2 occurs in animal foods like cheesemeatand organ meatsand also in fermented foods such as natto.

Similar to the vitamin A issueplant sources of vitamin K have poor absorption rates in humans.

Researchers suggest that the efficiency at which humans absorb the vitamin K in spinach could be as low as 10% (7).

That saidsince spinach is a significant source of vitamin Keven a worst-case scenario of only being able to absorb 10% would still account for more than 60% of the recommended daily allowance for vitamin K per 100 grams.

We can also increase the absorption rate of all fat-soluble vitamins (ADEK) by consuming them alongside a source of fat.

A bit of butter on top of spinach is not only tastier but healthier too.

3) Contains a Good Amount of Vitamin C

Among vegetable sources of vitamin Cspinach is one of the bestand it provides almost 50% of the RDA per 100 grams.

Vitamin C is an important vitamin that has several vital functions in our body (89);

• Vitamin C assists with the growth and repair of all tissues.
• Boosts the immune system and may help to protect against illnesses and infections.
• Helps to maintain healthy cartilagebonesskinand teeth.
• Vitamin C assists with the wound healing process.
• The vitamin increases the bioavailability of foods rich in iron.

An easy way to meet 100% of vitamin C’s RDA would be a 200-gram portion of spinach alongside some steak. For extra flavor and better absorption of the fat-soluble vitaminstry sauteing the spinach in the remaining beef fat.

4) High In Folate

Spinach is rich in dietary folateand it contains 49% of the RDA per 100 grams.

Folate is a member of the B vitamin familyand it has the crucial tasks of producing energymaking new DNAand creating new red blood cells (1011).

Additionallyfolate can help to protect against neural tube defects and other pregnancy-related complications.

As a resultit is especially important for pregnant women to consume enough of this vitamin (12).

5) High In Fiber

A further advantage of spinach is that it has high fiber levels.

100 grams of this leafy green provides 3.6 grams of carbohydratebut most of this—2.2 grams—is fibrous carbohydrate.

In other wordsover 60% of the carbs in spinach are from fiber.

On this notefiber has some proven and also some theoretical benefits.

For one thinghigher fiber intake can;

• Slow down digestion and reduce spikes in blood sugar levels following a carbohydrate-containing meal (13).
• A range of research suggests thatafter proteinfiber is the next most important nutrient for satiety. Fibrous carbohydrate is a lot more filling than refined carbsand it can help to reduce food cravings (14).
• Fiber may potentially improve the health of our gut microbiota; the beneficial “bacteria” living in our digestive system. Howeverfurther research is necessary on this topic (15).

6) May Help To Reduce Cancer Risk

Take this one with a pinch of saltbut research suggests that certain compounds in spinach may help to reduce the risk of cancer.

Here are some studies on this topic;

• Phytonutrients in spinach have demonstrated they can reduce oxidative damage. This may reduce the risk of inflammation-related conditions (16).
• In tests on 12,000 animalsanimals with diets containing at least 10% chlorophyll-enriched spinach had a “substantially suppressed tumor development” compared to control. Howeverwe cannot assume the same result in a human studyand there is no way to prove that the spinach extracts were the cause of the lower risk (17).

There is no causal proof that spinach—or any vegetable—can help to prevent disease.

Howeversince these foods are often a rich source of nutrients and phytonutrientsit is likely that they can help to boost various measures of our health.

7) Contains NitrateWhich May Improve Vascular Health

Spinach is one of the most concentrated sources of dietary nitrate (18).

This natural compound can accumulate in plants growing in nitrate-rich soiland it can have some beneficial effects when we consume it.

For exampleour gut bacteria can convert nitrate into something called nitric oxide (19).

Markedlynitric oxide can have significant impacts on vascular health such as lowering blood pressure.

Here is a summary of some recent research;

• Nitric oxide may improve physical performance and overall health by enhancing blood flow and reducing blood pressure (20).
• Food rich in nitrate appears to improve endothelial function in elderly cardiovascular patients (21).
• A randomizedcontrolled trial demonstrated that a week of meals high in spinach improved blood pressure and arterial stiffnesslikely due to spinach’s nitrate content (22).

8) Source of Kaempferol

Kaempferol is a flavonoid polyphenol that we can find in certain plant foodsand spinach is a particularly high source (23).

Numerous studies suggest that this compound may have various anti-diabeticcardioprotectiveand anti-inflammatory effects (24).

Additionallylab studies have shown that kaempferol can induce cancer cell apoptosisotherwise known as cell destruction (25).

Howeverthere is no proof of these effects in human clinical trials at this timeso the jury is still out.

9) Good For Eyesight

As mentioned earlierspinach is a significant source of carotenoid compounds.

Howevertwo of these compounds—zeaxanthin and lutein—are associated with specific health benefits for our eyes.

For instancerecent studies suggest that diets rich in these two compounds may protect against macular degeneration and other age-related diseases of the eye (2627).

Concerns: Is Oxalate a Problem?

Most things in nutrition are neither black nor white. Just as spinach has many benefitsthere are some potential drawbacks to consider too.

The main one of these is oxalate (otherwise known as oxalic acid)an organic acid that spinach contains in high amounts.

Spinach is one of the most concentrated sources of oxalate out of all food (28).

Unfortunatelysome people are sensitive to this oxalateand these individuals may develop kidney stones from a high-oxalate diet. Around 60% of kidney stones are found to contain oxalate (2930).

For individuals trying to limit food sources of oxalatespinach is not a good fit.

Howeverrealistic servings of spinach are not a problem for the majority of peopleand many different foods also contain oxalic acid.

Although it is easy to find scare stories about “anti-nutrients” in vegetablesthey are not a concern for most people.

Final Thoughts

Overallspinach is a very healthy food that has a range of health benefits.

It is rich in vitamins and mineralsand it contains some other bioactive compounds that may further benefit our health.

Due to this leafy green’s impressive nutrient densityit can play an excellent role in a healthy diet.

For more on leafy greenssee this guide to the potential benefits of kale.

More Vegetable Articles

9 Delicious Types of Edible Mushrooms