Spinach Juice

Spinach is high in vitamin A and C, and is  one of only four vegetables that are also high in vitamin E. It’s also a good source of choline, calcium, iron, potassium and folic acid. Spinach is surprisingly high in protein per calorie. Vegan websites that argue the superiority of a total raw diet tout the virtues of raw vegetables as good sources of protein. But when looking at raw vegetables as a protein source, it should be noted that leafy greens are very light in calories, therefore it would take an enormous amount of chewing to chalk up your daily required intake of protein. For instance, the 30 percent protein in spinach seems impressive; however, a cup only has one gram of protein and a mere seven calories. You would have to eat ten cups to make up ten grams. But this is where the juice machine shines. Juicing ten cups of spinach will produce about a cup of liquid spinach, which then can be easily added to a daily ration of veggie juice. Talk about a glass of concentrated nutrition.

Spinach has 14 times the iron per calorie than red meat. It is true that the iron in meat has a greater bioavailability than plant foods, but for most of us, eating lots of raw green veggies will solve any iron deficiency, especially when released from their fibers in juice form and with the help of added vitamin C-rich lemon. (I always throw a lemon in with my veggie juice.)  

Ophthalmologist Steven Pratt of the Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, California, tells all of his patients to eat their spinach, proclaiming, “Eat it raw. Eat it cooked. Eat it any way you can.” Spinach is one of the highest sources of eye-protecting, cancer-fighting lutein. Lutein has been shown to play a crucial role in protecting against age-related macular degeneration, which is the leading cause of blindness among the elderly. In 1994, Dr. Johanna Seddon of Harvard University was the first to demonstrate the ability of lutein in fighting macular degeneration. In her study, participants who ate high amounts of lutein-rich foods decreased their risks of macular degeneration by an incredible 43 percent. And the eye protection doesn’t stop there. Another recent study at Harvard has shown that women who ate spinach two or more times weekly lowered their risk of cataracts by 30 to 38 percent. 

Two powerful antioxidants, glutathione and alpha lipoic acid, are also found in spinach.  According to Lester Packer, professor of Molecular cell biology at the University of California, glutathione is “nature’s master antioxidant,” and is the primary antioxidant in the cells. It protects DNA from oxidation, detoxifies pollutants and carcinogens, boosts the immune system, aids healthy cell replication, and reduces chronic inflammation. The body is able to produce glutathione, but often we don’t make enough, and as we age, we produce even less. Glutathione can be found in spinach, asparagus, avocadoes and strawberries. An important note: cooking will destroy all the glutathione in food.   

Lester Packer calls alpha lipoic acid a “superantioxidant.” Most other antioxidants are either water soluble or fat soluble, but alpha lipoic acid is both, which means it is able to defend every type of human cell from oxidative assaults.

Spinach is also important due to its chlorophyll content, and also supplies an abundance of nutrients such as oxalic acid, which is beneficial in the cleansing and healing of the intestinal tract.