How many of you remember Popeye and his can of spinach? He would eat the spinach and develop these humongous muscles instantly. While we won’t develop those muscles instantly, there are several reasons you should eat your spinach.

Spinach is low in calories and contains many nutrients that benefit your body in multiple ways. One of those is hydration, many of us struggle with drinking enough water daily to stay hydrated. Spinach is a vegetable that is almost all water and adding it to meals and snacks is one way to add extra hydration.

Thykaloid extracts found in spinach may help to reduce your appetite. Thykaloid lowers your hunger hormone and raises hormones that make you feel full. They can also make your stomach empty later.

Calcium, manganese, and vitamin K are essential for healthy bones. Your body continuously gets rid of old bone tissue and builds new bone tissue. When the amount of new bone tissue is not enough to replace the old broken down tissue you may develop osteoporosis. Osteoporosis makes your bones weak and break easily. Without enough calcium throughout your life your chances of developing osteoporosis are higher.

Spinach is also a good source of iron, a mineral needed to help red blood cells bring oxygen to different areas of your body. When you have too little iron you develop iron deficiency anemia. This condition makes you feel weak, dizzy, and have difficulty breathing.

Vitamins and minerals like E and magnesium found in spinach support your immune system. A healthy immune system keeps you safe from viruses and bacteria that cause disease. It also defends against toxins.

With each of my pregnancies the physician always prescribed folic acid. Folic acid is a man made version of folate, found in spinach. Folate prevents neural tube birth defects like spina bifada in babies. The vitamin B6 found in spinach is important for the development of your babies brain.

Carotenoids, lutein, and zeaxanthin found in spinach lower your chances of developing long term eye diseases. One of those being cataracts. Spinach also contains vitamin A which supports good vision.

Antioxidants limit the harmful molecules known as free radicals. Spinach is abundant with antioxidants. Cell damage from free radicals play a role in illnesses like diabetes, cancer, and Parkinson’s disease.

Whenever we get hurt or come into contact with a dangerous substance, our bodies natural defense, inflammation, attempts to heal us. However long term inflammation can be unhealthy. Spinach has anti-inflammatory properties which can reduce inflammation in your body.

The vitamin C in spinach has many benefits, one of which includes collagen production. Collagen is needed to repair injuries. Vitamin C also assists your body increase the amount of iron absorbed from plant based foods. This also supports the healing process.

There are many ways to eat spinach, I steam or sauté it to prevent losing too many of its nutrients. Frozen spinach may be added to green smoothies, soups, stews, and egg dishes.

To prevent spinach from spoiling rapidly, don’t wash it until you are ready to use it. Keep it in a plastic food storage bag. Be sure to expel all the air out before sealing the bag. This helps it stay fresh for up to 5 days.

Spinach does do your body good, you may not want to be like Popeye and eat it daily, but try and consume it a few times a week. Remember vitamins and nutrients from food are always better than supplements. So eat your spinach!