Raw Spinach vs. Cooked Spinach - Which one is better to eat?

[Guinea Piggy]

A friend of mine told me the other day that spinach is almost impossible for your body to digest when it hasn't been cooked. When eaten raw, all spinach really provides is fiber and the amazing nutrients, and the main reason I choke the stuff back to begin with, does not get released during digestion.

Is this true? Does spinach have to be cooked in order for its nutrients to be absorbed during digestion?

[Jimmy]

I always heard that spinach should be cooked if you are to get any nutritional value from it. To tell you the truth though, I have never found any real proof of this statement. What I did find on Google was this info:

"Spinach has only 13 calories per serving and packs a punch for Vitamin A as well as folic Acid (especially important for pregnant women) and is rich in carotenoids and antioxidants. It is also rich in chlorophyll. Debate exists whether it is more beneficial to cook spinach or eat it raw (juice it). Spinach contains oxalic acid. While this cleans our intestinal tract, oxalic acid binds with calcium and diminishes the absorption of calcium in our bodies. Cooking turns the oxalic acid into crystals that could damage kidneys and limit the absorption of iron but cooking also breaks down cell walls and allow us to absorb more nutrients. The answer? Eat spinach in moderation, and eat it raw as well as cooked."

The good thing about eating raw spinach is that it is very high in fiber. Unless all you are eating is raw spinach I really wouldn't worry too much about not getting enough vitamins and minerals.

[Janica Lim]

There are raw diet advocates that claim cooked foods are actually "poison foods" which is not true in all sense of the word. now, on your question whether or not to eat raw spinach. I think you get just the right amount of nutrients if you eat it either way. Let us quantify:

Raw spinach actually contains large amount of unactivated iron. This means that it cannot be absorbed by the body if you only eat spinach. You have to incorporate lemon or other citrus fruits or foods containing vitamin C in order to make use of the iron in the vegie. However, the downside of eating raw spinach is that it actually blocks the absorption of calcium and iodine in our body therefore, anyone with thyroid or bone problems should avoid eating the food raw.

Cooked spinach on the other hand is said to be more nutritious since you will get to enjoy all the nutrients in the vegie which includes Fiber, vitamin K, vitamin C, calcium, magnesium and manganese,B vitamins particularly folate, vitamin A and so much more.

So you see, whether you eat spinach raw or cooked, you will still get some essential nutrients from it. The key is to balance the amount of raw and cooked spinach that you eat. after all, you would not want to suffer from osteoporosis or thyroid diseases from eating ONLY raw spinach.

[Leah Parker]

This is a constant argument since time immemorial bout whether foods should be eaten raw or not. and I cant quite comprehend why there is a need for such argument. I mean, we all know that there are advantages and disadvantage of eating foods in either way. It is true that there are enzymes in our food that can be destroyed once in cooked in fire. These active enzymes will only be absorbed or used by our body as long as we eat them raw which is true. furthermore, raw food enthusiasts argue that if you eat foods raw, it will be easily digested thus good for our stomach. However, there is a down side to this. Some foods are better eaten cooked than raw. Here are the reasons why:

just like in spinach, foods also have enzymes that can only be absorbed once cooked in heat. And there are certain nutrients that are only active after it has been cooked. Raw food is great but you cannot live on eating on them alone, you need cooked foods to make meals more tasty, chewable, and digestible. Can you imagine eating potato without cooking it first? Besides, we need heat to sterilize out food. If you constantly eat raw, it may contain disease-causing microorganisms and can cause illness on you and your family.

While it is true that some raw foods are healthier than cooked foods. We cannot live on them alone. It is recommended by dietitians that we include cooked foods on our meals even one cooked meal a day to keep our nervous system healthy. I hope this information helps.

[legendarytroy]

A friend of mine told me the other day that spinach is almost impossible for your body to digest when it hasn't been cooked. When eaten raw, all spinach really provides is fiber and the amazing nutrients, and the main reason I choke the stuff back to begin with, does not get released during digestion.

Is this true? Does spinach have to be cooked in order for its nutrients to be absorbed during digestion?

I think you can digest it raw. cooking it can actually cook some of the nutrients out of it, so careful how you prepare it. You might not get as many nutrients out of the raw form, but you'll still get a lot and there's still a lot of fiber there, too. I think both ways are good.