Spinach Facts..For Heart Health

Popeye was not the only believer in the plentiful benefits of spinach. Nutritionists and dieticians, and increasingly the medical profession as a whole have come to understand that spinach truly is one of the healthiest foods you can eat. A daily spinach recipe in your diet is a vital part of your ongoing health and vitality.

Spinach is low in calories, yet extremely high in vitamins, minerals and other phytonutrients (natural plant chemicals with human nutritional value.).

Unlike a handful of other nutrient-dense health foods (such as aloe vera and spirulina, for example), spinach is readily accessible to all, available almost everywhere in the world today as a whole food, rather than only as a processed supplement, and is a low priced vegetable that everyone can afford - or even grow spinach in your own back yard. It can be used in a remarkably wide range of healthy spinach recipes.

The modern, Western diet has changed dramatically over the past century and with those changes have come a raft of degenerative diseases. Some of these diseases were never before known. Others are now occurring far more commonly and at younger ages than in generations past.

It is no co-incidence that our changed diet and the rise of these diseases go hand-in-hand.

One of those changes has been that grain products have become one of the dominant sources of caloric intake today, despite being relatively low in nutrient value.

On the other hand, the western diet today contains only 40% of the volume of vegetables, such as spinach, than it did a century ago.

Spinach is rich in the mineral potassium and low in sodium. Potassium or potassium-rich diets are an effective first line of defence against high blood pressure / hypertension. Potassium salts are commonly recommended as a substitute of sodium chloride (common table/cooking salt) for people at risk of or suffering from high blood pressure. Potassium lowers blood pressure. Sodium raises blood pressure. Spinach, being high in potassium and low in sodium is therefore a clear choice for your cardiovascular health.

Folate or folic acid, abundant in spinach, is also known to reduce high blood pressure or hypertension. Folate also reduces the risk of developing high blood pressure in the first place. It serves as both a preventative and a treatment for hypertension. Folate has been shown to reduce levels of homocysteine, a blood component and inflammation marker that can damage blood vessels. Folate may also help blood vessels relax, improving blood flow.

Co-enzyme Q10, of which spinach is one of only two plant sources (the other is broccoli) plays an important role in cardiovascular and heart health. Co-Q10 is essential for muscle strength throughout the human body - and the heart is one of the body's muscles. In fact, patients on statin (cholesterol lowering) medications often suffer the side effect of weak and painful muscles because statins interfere with the human liver's natural ability to produce Co-Q10. Accordingly, Co-enzyme Q-10 is often recommended by doctors to be taken as a supplement alongside statin drugs. Wouldn't it be nice if the medical profession just recommended more spinach in the diet?

Specific to heart and cardiovascular health, there has been over 30 years of research studies into the role of Co-enzyme Q10 for both prevention and treatment. The research solidly establishes that Co-enzyme Q10, an antioxidant, has potential for use in prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease, particularly hypertension, hyperlipidemia, coronary artery disease, and heart failure.

Lutein, an antioxidant carotenoid also abundant in spinach, prevents or reduces atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. Atherosclerosis is one of the major causes of heart attacks, so lutein is a valuable nutrient for the prevention of not just atherosclerosis, but also of heart attacks and strokes.