Spinach: 2 ways to eat it, big differences for your health.

Spinach is commonly used in daily meals, from raw to cooked dishes. Both methods of preparation offer health benefits.

However, cooking spinach helps to concentrate its nutrients and allows the body to better absorb certain important protective compounds, according to the health website Health .

Cooked spinach allows for better nutrient absorption.

Jillian Kubala, a nutritionist working in the US, says that when spinach is cooked, the heat breaks down some compounds that hinder nutrient absorption, while also increasing the content of certain vitamins and minerals.

Spinach contains oxalates, a compound that can bind to minerals like calcium and magnesium in the digestive tract. When this binding occurs, the body absorbs those minerals less effectively.

Cooking helps reduce the amount of oxalates in vegetables. Accordingly, boiling spinach can reduce its oxalate content by more than 80%.

After cooking, spinach loses some of its water content, resulting in a higher nutrient density. A serving of cooked spinach provides significantly more fiber, folate, potassium, magnesium, and calcium than the same weight of raw spinach.

Cooking methods that use fat, such as sautéing spinach with olive oil or butter, also help increase the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins.

Changes in spinach when cooked

The cooking process alters the chemical structure of spinach, thereby affecting its digestibility and nutrient absorption.

When cooked, the cell walls of vegetables become softer. This increases the bioavailability of fat-soluble nutrients, including beta-carotene and lutein. These are carotenoid antioxidants that support eye health and help regulate inflammatory responses in the body.

Spinach also shrinks considerably after cooking. Therefore, the actual amount of spinach consumed in a serving is often greater than when eaten raw.

Eating raw spinach still offers benefits.

Raw spinach contains the same vitamins and minerals as cooked spinach. However, to obtain the same amount of nutrients, one needs to consume a larger quantity.

Raw spinach also contains more oxalates, which reduce the absorption of minerals such as calcium and magnesium.

On the other hand, raw spinach has a crisp texture, a fresh taste, and is easy to incorporate into meals. This vegetable is suitable for salads and smoothies.

The cooking method greatly affects the nutritional value of spinach. Boiling and blanching are the methods that cause the most loss of water-soluble nutrients, especially vitamin C. These vitamins easily dissolve in cooking water and are lost as a result.