Iron In Spinach Myth

The decimal error story is also a myth because the true iron con tent off spinach was measured by bunge in 1892 3and earlier erro neously high measures such as those made by von wolff in 18714 were explained in the usa by professor sherman in 19075 as resulting from iron contamination from heating dishes and other bad science.

Iron in spinach myth. Kale has 24 mg and brussels sprouts have 1 2 mg per cup even more than the cup of raw spinach. The spinach myth mariam abdelsalam mostafa samydecember 2 20190comments if you have low levels of iron in your body you might have been told to consume more spinach as a meat free way to increase your iron levels. Spinach has long been regarded as a real iron bomb but this isn t actually true and the myth has been perpetuated for years all because of the accidental omission of a decimal point. The iron in spinach myth.

Nevertheless this green leafy vegetable promoted by the fictional character popeye has managed to maintain its reputation as an excellent source of iron perhaps because it actually does contain surprisingly high amounts of iron compared with other vegetables. Even without any decimal point errors it s easy to understand how the myth of spinach being a good source of iron originated. One cup of cooked fresh spinach contains about one milligram more iron than you ll find in 3 ounces 85 grams of beef liver which has long been known for its iron content. For decades spinach was believed to contain ten times more iron than it really does.

The myth that the superfood spinach contains exceptionally high amounts of iron was debunked by scientists a long time ago. And far more than you d encounter in a head of lettuce. It clocks in at approximately 2 6 milligrams of iron per 100 grams according to the usda food composition database. That exceeds the amount of iron found in some types of meat with the amount of iron found in beef sirloin steak coming in at around 2 5 milligrams per 100 grams.

One cup of raw spinach has 81 milligrams of iron while the same amount of broccoli has 66 mg. But as the story behind the spinach was itself a myth which i think makes it a myth squared then i am unclear as to who has the last laugh. Even though we all knew that spinach didn t have any more iron than say broccoli or kale we generally still tend to think of it as being better for us. For decades spinach was believed to contain ten times more iron than it really does.

In fact 100g spinach contains 3 8mg iron reduced to 2 9 mg when it is cooked and not as initially communicated 38 mg. Spinach also contains oxalic acid which prevents more than 90 percent of the iron from being absorbed by the body says dr. 3 72 milligrams in one cup frozen spinach. Von wolf whose figures remained unchallenged until 1937 when it was discovered that the content was 1 10 th the claim.

In fact 100 g spinach contains 3 8 mg iron reduced to 2 9 mg when it s cooked and not as initially communicated 38 mg. Spinach s iron content actually trumps that of many other vegetables. The truth is that spinach does not contain a lot of iron just like other leafy greens eg.