If you grew up in the 1950s, you definitely remember Popeye the Sailor. And, for sure, you will remember his inspiring quote, “I’m good to the finish ’cause I eats me spinach.”
According to my mom, and probably your mom too, eating my spinach was going to make me strong like Popeye.
Well, due to recent research, it turns out that Popeye was about 50 years ahead of his time. Spinach has one of the highest levels of the important nutrient lutein.
Popeye used to eat his spinach right out of the can, which was probably heated. But is that the best way to go about it? Is there a particular way to prepare spinach to get the most lutein out of it?
You will be relieved to know that researchers have now solved this question.
In previous studies, the researchers at Linköping University in Sweden already showed that in patients with coronary artery disease, lutein decreases the inflammation in the immune cells that act to create plaque buildup. They also showed that lutein can be stored in the immune cells, which means it’s possible to build up a reserve of lutein within your body.
This led them to wonder whether it’s possible to influence the overall levels of lutein in the body by increasing lutein dietary intake. So, they decided to compare different ways of preparing fresh spinach in order to find out if there was one way that maximized the levels of lutein. Their findings were published in the journal Food Chemistry.
To do the experiment, they bought some baby spinach at a supermarket. They prepared the spinach in three different ways. They fried it, steamed it, and boiled it. And during the cooking process, they measured the lutein content at different times. It turns out that lutein is just like many other nutrients. Heat affects it.
According to the researchers, “Data indicate that short-term and medium-term heating of spinach, independent of heating method, substantially reduced liberated lutein, and the reduction was most pronounced after long boiling times.” So, the hotter the cooking method is and the longer it goes on, the less lutein you will be getting. The best way to get lutein is, you guessed it, by eating it raw.
The researchers found that the highest yield of lutein came from raw spinach, especially when juicing the spinach. To quote them, “Thus, for optimal liberation of lutein, liquefaction [juicing] of raw spinach appears to be the method of choice.” And, here’s something you may not have guessed.
When the researchers added some dairy to the juiced spinach, the lutein levels were even higher. According to Rosanna Chung, principal author of the article, "Best is not to heat the spinach at all. And even better is to make a smoothie and add fat from dairy products, such as cream, milk, or yoghurt. When the spinach is chopped into small pieces, more lutein is released from the leaves, and the fat increases the solubility of the lutein in the fluid.” So, here’s a question you might have on your mind right now. Why go to all this fuss just for one nutrient? Here’s why.
Three of the most deadly diseases are inhibited by lutein. Recently, Dr. Elizabeth Leermakers and her research team combed the literature for studies involving either lutein intake or blood concentrations of lutein and how that relates to the chance of heart disease. They looked at the results of 71 published papers, which represented more than 387,000 individuals, and were able to show that people with higher levels of lutein have a significantly reduced risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. All that, from one single nutrient.
Compared to people in the group with the lowest one-third of intake in their blood concentration of lutein, those in the top one-third were 12% less likely to have coronary artery disease. Plus, they were 18% less likely to have a stroke, and 25% less likely to get metabolic syndrome and diabetes.
Lutein is a carotenoid, a natural compound similar to vitamin A found in vegetables and other plants. It’s abundant in dark leafy vegetables. In fact, only kale has more lutein than spinach. In other studies, lutein has been shown to reduce the risk of two of the leading causes of blindness: age-related macular degeneration and cataracts. So, live long and live strong, and like Popeye, make sure to eat or drink your spinach.
Yours for better health,
Frank Shallenberger, MD
REF:
Newly Discovered Benefits of Lutein. August 2016 by Maureen Fiona. Lifeextention.com/magazine.