Extraordinary Facts of Plants: Spinach for Your Body

Spinach: ©Copyright www.tempo.com

Tearing down buildings with bare hands, lifting cars, and moving up houses are trouble-free for him, the sailor man of goodness and strength, Popeye. He absolutely has what it takes to do them all. But here, we will not discuss about the cartoons. However, all of Popeye movie goers surely know where his strength came from; spinach, yes, spinach. This article will discuss about that incredible plant, one of the simplest plants of rich advantages. This high-energy plant is a source of food that has a wide range of benefits for our bodies. Not only energy, spinach also contains a variety of nutrients needed by the body. It does not make you able to lift cars, houses, or planes on the spot as Popeye does, but anyhow, the dramatization in the movie is adapted from the fact that eating spinach makes a lifeless body in shape once more and makes lackluster stamina bounce back. Spinach is very suitable as a supplement for those who work hard often, or those who have high mobility and other activities that drain a lot of calories. Above and beyond those amazing facts, spinach can also be used as pharmaceuticals, an ornamental plant, and even as animal feed. Here are the contents of every 100 g of served spinach:

No	Content	Weight
1	Water	91,58 g
2	Energy	22 kcal
3	Protein	2,86 g
4	Total fats	0,35g
5	Carbohydrates	3,5 g
6	Fiber	2,7 g
7	Waste	1,72 g
8	Calcium	99 mg
9	Iron	2,71 mg
10	Magnesium	79 mg
11	Phosphorus	49 mg
12	Potassium	558 mg
13	Sodium	79 mg
14	Zinc	0.53 mg
15	Copper	0.13 mg
16	Manganese	0.897 mg
17	Vitamin C, Ascorbic Acid	28.1 mg
18	Thiamin	0.078 mg
19	Riboflavin	0.189 mg
20	Niacin	0.724 mg
21	Pantothenic acid	0.065 mg
22	Vitamin B-6	0.195 mg
23	Folate	194.4 mcg
24	Vitamin B-12	0 mcg
25	Vitamin A	672 mcg_RE
26	Vitamin E	1.89 mg_ATE

The plant is thought to originate from the tropics in America, but there is also alleged that the origin is from India. The plant is composed of stems, flowers, leaves, seeds, and roots. The colors vary and it grow in tropical and subtropical region. Some species are able to grow in the lowlands and highlands with diverse structures and various kind of land. Spinach life cycle is relatively short and the plant has a very high adaptability to various ecosystems and habitats, there is one which inhabits the water and one that lives in drier habitats.

The classifications of the plant are as follows:

Kingdom	Plantae
Division	Magnoliophyta
Class	Magnoliopsida
Order	Caryophyllales
Family	Amaranthaceae
Upfamily	Amaranthoidoae
Genus	Amaranthus L

There are spinach that wildly grows and the one which is deliberately cultivated for consumption and for commercial purpose. The wild spinach can be found in places that are damp or as a weed in farmlands. The wild plant grows fast and grows increasingly fertile in the rainy season. Cultivating the spinach is very simple, which is by evenly spreading the seeds on the productive ground. However, to avoid being carried away by the rain or irrigation water, the disseminated seeds should be covered with a layer of soil.

Wild Spinach : ©Copyright faktaherbal.com

Cultivated Spinach : ©Copyright jirifarm.com

The idea of spinach cultivation is commonly triggered by commercial or consumption purpose. This is because the benefits come from consuming the plant are undeniable. Some of the benefits of consuming a daily serving of spinach are as follows:

Boosting brain power
Improving the efficiency of muscle
Maintaining bone health
Maintaining eye health
Maintaining a healthy heart
Preventing gum disease
Preventing premature aging
Preventing cancer (ovarian, lung, and colon cancer)
Serving to aid digestion
Good for anemia

There are many ways of how to consume spinach. It can be made soup or processed into other types of cuisine. The examples of the cuisines made from spinach are as follows: