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Page 92
| F.Y.I. |
| The riboflavin in spinach promotes tissue growth and repair, and helps convert other nutrients into usable form. |
| Minerals in spinach help regulate the amount of fluid your body retains; proper fluid balance is essential to overall health. |
| Spinach is a great source of potassium, which helps regulate blood pressure and maintain heart health. |
| The folic acid in spinach also helps prevent the birth defect spina bifida. |
| Spinach |
| Helps prevent birth defects |
| Helps prevent and treat anemia |
| May lower risk of cancer |
| May reduce risk of heart disease and stroke |
| May cut risk of degenerative eye disease |
| Leafy green vegetables of all kinds (not including iceberg lettuce) head the list of nutritional bargains; they're full of health-enhancing ingredients and nearly empty of calories. But spinach is near the top of the top of the list. As versatile as it is delicious, it offers an easy way to incorporate more green goodness into your diet. |
| Disease Protection |
| Spinach and other leafy greens are top sources of vitamins C and E and the carotenoids lutein, alpha-carotene, and beta-carotene. All are powerful antioxidants that help neutralize dangerous free radicals and help lower risk of heart disease, strokes, cancer, and cataracts. |
| Researchers have found that people who eat leafy greens such as spinach are apt to have a lower risk of stomach, skin, prostate, lung, and bladder cancers. For example, a recent study showed that people over age sixty-six who ate the most vegetables rich in carotenes had two-thirds fewer deaths from cancer within the next five years than people who ate the least. |
| Toxic Blockers |
| Spinach's high levels of folic acid and other B vitamins work to keep the body's natural compounds |
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