Herbs Hub
Spinach, Spinacia oleracea. Botanical plate: Illustration Spinacia oleracea0
Plate: Illustration Spinacia oleracea0. Otto Wilhelm Thomé. Public domain.

Spinach

Spinacia oleracea

Vegetables. Modern nutrition.

Also called Palak, Garden spinach, Baby spinach

Pinyin: Bō Cài

Spanish: Espinaca

A dark leafy green eaten raw or cooked, rich in folate, vitamin K and some iron.

Did you know? A long-repeated story says a misplaced decimal point made spinach look ten times richer in iron than it is. Food historians think this story is a myth.

What it may help, and how strong the proof is

  • Heart health. Diets rich in leafy greens are linked to lower heart disease in large studies. No trials test spinach alone.
    Early proof
  • Anemia & blood building. Spinach has iron, but the body absorbs plant iron poorly. Spinach is not a treatment for anemia.
    Early proof

Parts of the body

Heart & vessels, Blood

Traditional use

Spinach is thought to come from ancient Persia and spread across Asia and Europe as a common food. It has little formal use as a medicine.

How it is classified

Herbal actions
Nutritive, Antioxidant. Energy: neutral.

How people take it

Eat 1 to 2 cups a day, raw in salads or lightly cooked. Cooking lowers some of the oxalate. No dose is proven for any health goal.

Food.

Where to get it

Grown in cool seasons worldwide. Sold fresh, as baby spinach and frozen. Wash well before eating, since raw leaves can carry germs.

Be careful

Safe as food for most people. Spinach is high in oxalate, which can add to kidney stone risk. It is also high in vitamin K, so people on warfarin should keep their intake steady.

Avoid if: kidney stones.

Mixing with other things

  • Works well together

    Sauteed spinach with garlic is a common home dish.

  • Works well together

    Lemon adds vitamin C, which helps the body absorb iron from greens.

  • Worth knowing
    Blood thinners (warfarin, Eliquis, Xarelto, Plavix, daily aspirin)

    Vitamin K in spinach can lower warfarin's effect.

  • Worth knowing

    Oxalates in spinach bind calcium and block some of its absorption.

The honest take

Spinach is good food, but the iron story was overstated. Plant iron is absorbed less well than iron from meat. Its health claims come from vegetable diet studies, not from spinach trials.