What!? How!? Why!? It's a super food! love raw spinach!
That was my reaction too, but it's true. Too much raw spinach isn't good for you.
Here's why: spinach contains oxalates, a compound that can build up in the body and cause kidney stones and can block calcium absorption. With everyone worried about whether they're getting enough calcium via their diet and supplements, this one food can counteract all of our best calcium intake efforts.
But, if you cook spinach it reduces the amount of oxalate! So throw some spinach in with your scrambled eggs or when you're sauteing other veggies!
Fun fact: 1 c. of raw spinach has 145 mcg of Vitamin K, but 1/2 c. cooked spinach has 444 mcg! The vitamin K content more than triples when you cook it!
So, if you're prone to kidney stones but want to continue eating spinach, try combining spinach with a calcium-based food like raw milk or organic cottage cheese or organic mozzarella. This strategy has shown to reduce the likelihood of kidney stones, plus the calcium in good quality dairy is much more absorbable anyway.
Cool Story: 6 years ago, I met a lady at a networking event that had high blood calcium levels, and her doctors thought her parathyroid gland (the gland responsible for calcium utilization) wasn't working and she was scheduled to have it removed! She didn't necessarily think that I could help her avoid the surgery, but had other major health issues that she wanted to work on, so we set up an appointment, and amongst other things, I had her start drinking 1/2 cup raw milk every day. Within 3 weeks her blood calcium levels were back to normal. She didn't have to have the surgery. :)
Too much of even good things can be bad, and the affect can be cumulative over many, many years, so if you don't have calcium/kidney stone issues right now, don't think you're immune, but don't grab your spinach and go swearing your way to the trash can either. Just adjust. Try something new. :)
Everyone is different, so if you're prone to kidney stones, osteoporosis, low or high blood calcium levels, etc. please, please, please seek a health practitioners advice on what and how much of anything you should be eating.
Carrie Wojo
Comments