Spinach is a vegetable rich in magnesium, potassium and iron minerals. 100 g of spinach meets 20% of the daily magnesium needs, 16% of the potassium needs and 15% of the iron needs. With its rich content such as vitamins, minerals, carotenoids and phenolic compounds, it can benefit eye health, reduce the risk of cancer by reducing oxidative stress and lower blood pressure levels.
While spinach is a vegetable beneficial for health with these features, some unconscious behaviors can turn spinach into a poison. .
Spinach is rich in nitrate. What makes nitrate toxic is its conversion to nitrite in food or in the gastrointestinal tract of newborn babies. Care should be taken to use spinach in babies under 4 months of age. Since nitrate dissolves easily in water, vegetable cooking water should be used with caution, especially in young babies and sensitive people with low stomach acidity.
Nitrate can turn into nitrite when dark green leafy vegetables are cooked and stored in an environment that allows microorganism growth, such as room temperature. In this case, it is recommended that the cooked foods be consumed within 1-2 days at most, without waiting too long. In fact, this is the reason behind the information that spinach cannot be reheated.
Since the nitrate and nitrite content does not change during frozen storage, vegetables can be frozen for a long time. Frozen vegetables should not be thawed at room temperature because thawing may increase the amount of nitrite through microbial effects.
In 2019, there were cases of poisoning after consuming spinach in Turkey. According to the samples taken and further examination results, a large amount of atropine and scopalamine substances originating from weeds were detected in spinach. Analyzes revealed that the poisoning was caused by weeds containing atropine and scopalamine mixed with spinach. For this reason, when cleaning spinach, weeds should be distinguished and consumed after cleaning very well.
As a result, spinach can be consumed safely by paying attention to storage conditions, hygiene rules and correct sorting.
Read: 0
