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| in balance. In particular, they help regulate homocysteine, an amino acid that can become toxic at high levels, contributing to clogged arteries and heart disease. A major study found that people with the highest levels of homocysteine in their blood were three times more likely to have heart attacks than those with lower levels. |
| Eye Aid |
| Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the number-one cause of irreversible blindness among American adults. The good news: a recent study found that people who often ate spinach or collard greens were at the lowest risk for AMDup to 43 percent lower risk, to be exact. Most interestingly, their risk was lower than that of people who ate other carotene-rich foods. |
| The Ironic Truth |
| Thanks to Popeye, even people who know nothing else about nutrition know that spinach is the world's best source of strength-building, anemia-preventing iron. The only problem is, that's not quite true. But neither is it true, as some nutritionists now claim, that it's a lousy source. |
| Confused? Here's the lowdown. For a long time, it was believed to contain more iron than it actually does. Then researchers discovered that not only was the iron content overestimated, but it was also hard for the body to use, thanks to other compounds called oxalates that interfere with its absorption. So its reputation as an iron provider plummeted. |
| However, spinach is a useful, if not super, source of iron. Studies show that the effects of oxalates may be short-term. In one study, the mineral levels of men who ate one-quarter pound of spinach every other day dropped at first but returned to normal after six weeks. |
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