Spinach Overview : SuperFoodsRx

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Spinach Overview

Table of Contents

1.	Overview
2.	Spinach in the Eyes
3.	Spinach & Cancer
4.	Spinach & Heart Disease
5.	Spinach in the Kitchen

You can usually recognize SuperFood fans in the grocery store: Their carts are loaded with spinach. Nothing makes me happier than seeing how people have jumped on the spinach bandwagon. In the US we’re now eating five times more fresh spinach than we ate in the 1970’s. This is the highest levels of spinach consumption since the 1950’s when parents were urging their kids to eat spinach so they’d be as strong as Popeye. There are two reasons for this renaissance of spinach in the diet. For one thing, it’s never been easier to get spinach on the table. You can buy pre-washed baby spinach at most markets. Some can be microwaved right in the bag and on the table in three minutes. Baby spinach is great in a salad that can be made in an instant. To my mind, however, the most important reason for the popularity of spinach is its powerful health benefits. Spinach and it’s green, leafy sidekicks, are among the most nutritious foods on earth. Calorie for calorie, spinach provides more nutrients than any other food. Along with two of my favorite SuperFoods, wild salmon and blueberries, spinach is an all-star SuperFood that packs an incredible nutritional wallop. Low in calories and jam-packed with nutrients, spinach should be a regular part of your daily menu.

Spinach seems to be able to lessen our risk for many of the most common diseases of the twenty first century. Overwhelming research has demonstrated an inverse relationship between spinach consumption and the following:

Cardiovascular disease including stroke and coronary artery disease
Cancer including colon, lung, skin, oral, stomach, ovarian, prostate and breast cancer
Age related macular degeneration (AMD)
Cataracts

In addition, preliminary research suggests that spinach may help prevent or delay age-related cognitive decline.

What makes spinach and its sidekicks such powerful health promoters? The list of compounds that have been discovered in spinach is truly impressive. Beyond the iron that Popeye was yearning for, spinach contains carotenoids, antioxidants, vitamin K, coenzyme Q10, B vitamins, minerals, chlorophyll, polyphenols, betaine and, interestingly, plant-derived omega-3 fatty acids. This is a condensed list and it’s hard to convey the powerful impact of these nutrients as they work synergistically to promote health.

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What is a “Super Food”?

Well, the most important thing for everyone to know is that superfoods are easy to find in every local supermarket. They’re worth looking for!

These nutritional powerhouse foods are loaded with nutrients crucial to a healthy, long life.

If you can include a variety of them in your diet, everyday, we promise they will change your life!

These foods were chosen because they contain high concentrations of crucial nutrients, as well as the fact that many of them are low in calories. Foods containing these nutrients have been proven to help prevent and, in some cases, reverse the well-known effects of aging, including cardiovascular disease, Type II Diabetes, hypertension and certain cancers.

When you click on each superfood you’ll find information including a list of the primary nutrients that elevated them to superfood status.

This is not meant to be a complete list of every single nutrient that food contains, but rather, a list of the high-profile nutrients that have shown health benefits and that are present in that food in sufficient quantity to make a difference. Many of the superfoods have “Sidekicks”. These are foods that are generally in the same category as the flagship superfood and offer a similar nutrient profile.

So click around and find recipes and tips on how to incorporate these foods in your daily diet.

SUPERFOODSRX PRINCIPLES:

Principle 1: SuperFoodsRx- the best diet in the world

Principle 2: Super Foods are whole foods

Principle 3: SuperFoods Rx equals synergy

Principle 4: SuperFoods Rx are simple and positive