The other day, I posted on my Facebook page that spinach is not a good source of calcium. Even though it has a high calcium content, we can’t absorb the calcium because the calcium is bound with oxalates. We actually only absorb about 5% of the calcium in spinach!

Then I received this response:

Brandon: Good iron content, though, right?

Me: Unfortunately, the high oxalates in spinach also inhibit iron absorption – so even though it has a decent iron content, we can’t use it.

Brandon: Um… does spinach have any benefits then??

Great question. The answer is a resounding YES. Yes, spinach is a fantastic powerhouse of nutrients. It just isn’t what you should eat for calcium or iron purposes.

Spinach is great for…

• Eye health, thanks to vitamin A.
• Cell formation and growth, thanks to vitamin B2 (riboflavin).
• Maintaining brain function and sodium/potassium balance, thanks to vitamin B6 (pyridoxine).
• Protecting against sunburn and sun cancer, thanks to para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA).
• Tissue growth and healthy gums, thanks to vitamin C (ascorbic acid).
• Circulation and treatment of cardiovascular disease, thanks to Coenzyme Q10.

Spinach contains all of those nutrients and more, and they’re absorbed by our bodies, too! So it is a good food choice if you are looking to increase your intake of any of those nutrients.

So there you have it! Spinach is a very nutritious food and one which we should try to consume a lot of. But it’s definitely important to mix up your dark leafy greens, so as to ensure that you’re getting a variety of nutrients from them. Eat spinach for the health benefits mentioned above, but don’t use it as a source of calcium or iron in your diet.

Were you aware that spinach isn’t a good source for your calcium and iron needs? What other foods have you heard about which don’t give us the bounty of nutrients that we think they do? Share in the comments section below!

Sources: Prescription for Nutritional Healing by Phyllis A. Balch, The Dietician’s Guide to Vegetarian Diets by Virginia Messina, Reed Mangels and Mark Messina, and Becoming Vegetarian by Vesanto Melina and Brenda Davis.