The believe that spinach contains the most iron is a misconception
A clinical trial report in U.S. made a surprisingly stunning statement: the common believe that drinking water helps our body to clear waste, reduce weight and increase metabolism is in fact, not exactly correct.
This report also rejected another popular believe taught in many households by our mothers since childhood; it claims drinking 1.5 liters of water is beneficial for our health is in fact, also another misconception.
Most people should drink the necessary amount of water that is suitable for their body. For example, people who performs a large amount of exercise should of course drink a greater amount of water; and those who sit quietly in the office daily would not have the same necessity to drink two large bottles of water. So ideally, drink only when you feel thirsty; there’s no reason to forcibly drink water just to meet the quota. A healthy functioning body should send signals to your brain telling you when your body needs to refill H2O.
Looking down on the people living in the 21st century, we are very capable of being early adopters; we can turn our lifestyles around at an annual-basis with portable computers, mp3 players and PDA phones. But some health concepts established centuries ago that should have been rectified are still being used today. Possibly, we care about our health so much that instead of going through the trouble of verifying every single message we receive, we would rather choose to accept them all if it sounds reasonably correct.
I believe some people still thinks that spinach is rich in iron, and you should eat more spinach to replenish your iron level (maybe after a loss of blood).
Oyster, clam shells and red meat are rich in iron
A hundred grams of spinach leaves contain only 2.1 miligrams of iron. It is not a surprisingly high number compared to other food groups such as oysters, clam shells, and even red meat (including beef and pork), which all have higher iron content than spinach. In fact, iron contained in vegetables are not as easy to get absorbed by our body than iron contained in meat. So unless you are a vegetarian, spinach is not the best choice when wanting to replenish iron levels in your body.
The misbelieve that spinach is high in iron wasn’t start by Popeye the Sailor, the cartoon character and his big can of spinach that rose in popularity in the early 19th century; the idea came over a hundred years ago, made by a tiny typo in a scientific report.
In 1870, a German scientist Dr. E von Wolf published a nutritional report on various food. The mistake came when writing the iron content for 100 grams of spinach. The decimal point was placed incorrectly which multiplied the numerical amount by tenfold. This mistake continues when it was referenced by Professor Dr. Gustav B. von Bunge in Basel, Switzerland, who used it as the amount of iron in dried spinach, instead of fresh spinach. And then lastly came Popeye the Sailor, who popped a can of spinach every episode, led all the caring mothers in the world to believe their child should eat the bitter-tasting spinach leaves regardless of how much they whined and complained.
Some health blogs and forums today still contain posts that suggest spinach is rich in iron without having heard of the story behind.
Spinach has other wonderful properties though. It should be noted for the rich in fiber, various vitamins and minerals, as well as lutein and zeaxanthin that is good for the eyes and antioxidant properties; iron should be at the very bottom of this list.
We should know that spinach can be harmful too. It contains oxalate, which can easily cause people who suffered from urolith (urinary calculus) or nephrolith (renal calculus) to have a relapse, and create metabolic arthritis (gout). Spinach requires a large amount of nitrogen fertilization to cultivate, so it often contains nitrogen that is harmful for humans.
The wrong ideas advertised by health food manufacturers
The French magazine Que Choisir had an issue that reported on false advertisements in health supplements. Many commercial nutritional products were tested for its promoted claims including weight loss and vitalizing components. It clarified and explained many of the misconceptions and misinterpretations included in advertisements, one being vitamin C.
The research found that taking vitamin C will not sooth the symptoms of a cold; the real benefitis of vitamin C is antioxidant and delay the ageing process.
According to French laboratory AgroParisTech researcher Ines Birlouez, there is no need to take a vitamin C pill every day, unless you are deprived of vegetables. If you don’t eat much vegetables, it is highly suggested that you change your eating habits to obtain a balanced diet instead of supplementing with nutritional products, because the body is better capable of absorbing vitamin C from vegetables.
Prolonged overdose causes early ageing
According to the recommendations from the French food safety agency (AFSSA), taking unnecessary nutrients can cause the human organs to malfunction. Some nutrients can even be harmful for the body.
An overdose of vitamin C can cause urolith (urinary calculus) and dyspepsia (indigestion); prolonged overdose can even cause early ageing.
An old Chinese saying had once said: medicine can be a double-edged sword, depending on how you use it. Today, we should supplement that by saying: learn to choose your sources wisely, and get the facts right.
