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Spinach is the absolute culinary hate object of all children - says the cliché. However, given the large number of possible preparation methods, it is doubtful whether this is actually the case. Cooked, baked, blanched or raw - the variety of dishes knows no bounds. But stop! Again and again one reads that one should not eat leaf spinach raw. But why? Or is it not true? We clarify!
Eat spinach raw?
Include numerous plants from the vegetable garden oxalic acid. The best known is probably because of the high content of rhubarb. But the acid can also be found in spinach. First of all, it is not a real toxin. However, oxalic acid binds calcium during digestion. Since calcium is essential for many processes in the human body, excessive consumption of oxalic acid in conjunction with a relatively low-calcium diet can lead to calcium deficiency. In addition to deficiency symptoms, kidney stones can be the result, which can form in particular from an imbalance of oxalic acid and calcium. The classic remedy for oxalic acid in food is heating. It decomposes from around 60 degrees and is harmless to humans.
oxalic acid
But before you start thinking about living without raw spinach, let's take a closer look at the oxalic acid content of this plant:
- Average oxalic acid content per 100 grams fresh weight: approx. 970 milligrams
- Comparison: rhubarb approx. 805 milligrams, tea approx. 1,150 milligrams, amaranth approx. 1,580 milligrams, potatoes approx. 80 milligrams, beetroot approx. 72 milligrams
- Higher acidity in older, fully ripe leaves
- Signs of full maturity: leaf size, elongated leaf shape, mostly wavy
Now the question arises whether this oxalic acid content actually causes a problem when eating raw. This question can be answered quite easily:
For healthy people, eating raw is safe no problem. People who are already in poor health should prefer to use a cooked preparation variant to be on the safe side. However, if you keep in mind that the large, old leaves are to be viewed particularly critically, the “problem” with oxalic acid is put into perspective. Because the particularly tender and fine baby spinach is usually offered and recommended for eating raw. This is harvested young and unripe from a biological point of view, so that the oxalic acid content is hardly significant here. Due to its tougher leaves, the mature leaf spinach is often used in creamed spinach and other dishes to be cooked.
Nitrate - Does it make spinach leaves carcinogenic?
The second big bugbear about eating spinach leaves raw is nitrate. Again and again one reads about the danger emanating from nitrate:
- Can be converted to nitrite or nitrosamines in the body
- Poorer oxygen transport in the blood of small children and babies due to nitrite
- Carcinogenic effect of nitrosamines, i.e. carcinogenic
The focus is on spinach leaves because they generally have a very high nitrate content. However, the following also applies here:
- Nitrate accumulation in plants with increasing growth and age
- Accumulation mainly in stems and pronounced leaf veins
- Load particularly high in leaves with signs of aging such as spots or yellow discolouration
danger: In addition to the age of the plants, fertilization also contributes to the nitrate content! The more nitrate-containing artificial fertilizer is used, the more it is stored in the plants. Recourse to organically produced products eliminates this factor, so that the nitrate load can then be determined fairly well based on age.
From this, one can derive the following for the consumption of spinach, similar to oxalic acid: Since the nitrate content increases with age, fully grown leaf spinach in particular should be viewed critically. baby spinach against it can without hesitation be eaten raw.
tip: If your spinach has already grown and you still want to eat it raw, remove the stalks and thick leaf veins. In this way, the largest reservoirs for nitrate disappear and the burden on your organism is significantly reduced.
Eat spinach raw - a consumption recommendation
Now that you know about the biggest pain points in uncooked spinach leaves, you can easily use this knowledge to come up with a kind of consumption recommendation:
- The younger spinach leaves are harvested, the safer they are in the choice of preparation.
- The older the spinach is, the less suitable it is for raw consumption in large quantities.
- If small children and sick or weak people are affected, raw consumption should only be done in moderation and preferably with young spinach leaves.
- Adults and healthy people can eat raw spinach dishes without any problems. Only excessive consumption can lead to problems in the long term or promote other clinical pictures.
tip: Use the interactions of different substances when planning your meals. The addition of acid, such as lemon or orange juice, significantly reduces the likelihood of nitrates being converted into nitrosamines.