# Spinach--nutritious? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 16, 2000, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinach-nutritious/7443 "2000-02-16T21:27:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SoMoMom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@SoMoMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoMoMom)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2000, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinach-nutritious/7443/1 "2000-02-16T21:27:00Z")
I have a vague recollection of reading many years ago how spinach isn’t as nutritious as it seems because the nutrients are hard to absorb. I remember it had something to do with some in the spinach that is “crystaline”. Anyone know the details on this? Since we follow a dairy-free diet I count every mg of calcium we take in. Can I include the calcium in spinach? ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2000, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinach-nutritious/7443/2 "2000-02-16T21:55:00Z")
Here’s some info: [http://www.nationaldairycouncil.org/medcent/calcium/htmls/cal11.html](http://www.nationaldairycouncil.org/medcent/calcium/htmls/cal11.html) Basically, about 5% absorption from spinach as opposed to 30% from dairy. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2000, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinach-nutritious/7443/3 "2000-02-16T21:57:00Z")
What I have read is that the problem with spinach is oxalate, which binds with calcium during digestion, making it unavailable. This would, presumably, also be true of other greens high in oxalate (e.g., chard, mustard), but not true of related vegetables that are lower (kale, broccoli, collards). So you should not count the calcium in spinach. It is a great source of other things (e.g. folate) for those who don’t have to worry about calcium intake, but, in your case, you would probably want to substitute some other vegetable most of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2000, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinach-nutritious/7443/4 "2000-02-17T01:21:00Z")
And no one brought up [Why was spinach once considered the ultimate vegetable?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_120.html). * * * Your Official Cat Goddess since 10/20/99. “I’m a god. I’m not _the_ God–I don’t think.” --P.C. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2000, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinach-nutritious/7443/5 "2000-02-17T09:11:00Z")
I once heard (somebody help) that early in the century the U.S. Dept. of Ag. made a mistake in computing the nutritional value of spinish. They were only off by a decimal point. But that little decimal point made spinich look like a super vegetable. Until the tests were repeated later. Anyone else heard this one? ---
**Author:** ![Rahul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f14d63/32.png) [@Rahul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rahul)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2000, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinach-nutritious/7443/6 "2000-02-17T10:07:00Z")
Popeye, maybe? ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2000, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinach-nutritious/7443/7 "2000-02-17T14:24:00Z")
John Stossel in one of his “investigative reports” on ABC a few years ago mentioned the “decimal error.” Still, even with the decimal error corrected, spinach has a pretty decent amount of iron, although the cite above mentions that it is not absorbed well (without giving a reason). I don’t care. I eat it because it tastes good. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2000, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinach-nutritious/7443/8 "2000-02-17T21:10:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Mjollnir: > **I don’t care. I eat it because it tastes good.** I dont either, and I don’t, because it doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Feelgood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@Feelgood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feelgood)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2000, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinach-nutritious/7443/9 "2000-02-17T21:20:00Z")
C’mon. Spinach calzone ain’t bad. Best way to cook spinach is with a little butter and lime or lemon juice. Add salt, of course. I find spinach bland and pretty tasteless if you ask me. Maybe it has some chemical in it that only certain people can taste. I remember a test in biology class. The teacher gave each of us a little bit of paper and asked us to chew it. 25% the class made disgusting facial expressions and spit it out because it was horribly bitter–to me it tasted like…paper. Supposedly the paper was impregnated with some chemical that only certain people can taste. Good example of genetic traits. Can’t remember what the chemical was though. ---
**Author:** ![SoMoMom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@SoMoMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoMoMom)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2000, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spinach-nutritious/7443/10 "2000-02-17T21:53:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Feelgood: > \*\* Can’t remember what the chemical was though.\*\* It’s the chemical present in the cabbage family of plants (broccoli, etc.)