Sure, we all know that wheatgrass juice is an impressive powerhouse of nutrients but many other leafy greens are worth adding to your juice blends too. Right now, let’s take a look at what you’ll get with a little added spinach.
Vitamins and Minerals
Vitamins and minerals are always the first things to talk about when looking at nutrient contents. And you’ll get a big mix with spinach juice:
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin K
- Calcium
- Iron
- Potassium
- Folic Acid
A shot of spinach juice will give you more than your daily requirement of vitamin K and vitamin A needs, and it’s got about half your vitamin C requirement.
Spinach’s big nutrient claim to fame is iron. There is considerably more iron in spinach than there is in red meat, and its a vital nutrient for blood health and to prevent anemia. Calcium is also a big one with spinach though the levels are about half of iron’s.
A little note on calcium and spinach: Even though technically-speaking spinach has high calcium content, it’s not that easily absorbed by the human body. Don’t be fooled into thinking that you’re getting a huge dose of calcium just by looking at the numbers.
Anything Else?
Like with any leafy green, you’ll get more than just vitamins and minerals. With spinach, you can count on getting some protein as well as great dietary fiber with every ounce. Protein amounts aren’t too high, and you’ll only get about a gram of it for a cup of spinach leaves that you’ve juiced down. Still, it can’t be ignored.
You’ll also get a dose of multiple antioxidants, such as glutathione and lipoic acid. These compounds help detox your bloodstream and clean out oxidation damage. Very good ideas to help boost your immune system.
One more spinach juice bonus: chlorophyll. Just like with wheatgrass juice you’ll get healthy chlorophyll with every ounce of fresh spinach juice. It’s getting famous as an antioxidant and a blood health booster. Can’t go wrong with that.
There is no fat whatsoever in spinach juice, and only a couple of calories in a shot of juice. There is some natural sodium in spinach, so I can’t say it’s salt-free. No worries though, it’s a very small amount compared to the rest of your daily diet.
Juicing Spinach
Unlike wheatgrass, finding fresh spinach leaves for juicing is as easy as a trip to the supermarket. You can use either baby spinach or the usual bunches of mature spinach. They both juice up very nicely. Just wash the leaves if necessary and either juice on their own, or mixed with other ingredients. A cold-pressed juicer is best to get all the nutrients you can from your spinach leaves.
You can add spinach juice to any other juice blends and the flavor is actually more mild than you might think. It blends nicely with other greens, or just added to any number of fruit or vegetable juice recipes.
It may have a bit of a bad reputation among kids but definitely don’t overlook spinach when working with leafy green juices. Popeye had the right idea!
