Lettuce VS Spinach

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MyaPapaya75
MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
Today I had a salad it was made with spinach....I was just wondering if anyone has some quick info on the benefits of spinach verses lettuce....after having the salad I realized I probably wont ever go back to eating lettuce ...spinach has such a good flavor and texture and the fact it can be warmed is a plus....Im going to do my research on this but I just wondered if anyone can offer some info:drinker:
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  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
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    Today I had a salad it was made with spinach....I was just wondering if anyone has some quick info on the benefits of spinach verses lettuce....after having the salad I realized I probably wont ever go back to eating lettuce ...spinach has such a good flavor and texture and the fact it can be warmed is a plus....Im going to do my research on this but I just wondered if anyone can offer some info:drinker:
  • bugmagnt
    bugmagnt Posts: 150
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    There is a lot more minerals, vitamins, and fiber in spinach versus lettuce.

    Check out this website I just found:
    http://plantanswers.tamu.edu/recipes/spinach/spinach&lettucenutrition.html
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
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    Today I had a salad it was made with spinach....I was just wondering if anyone has some quick info on the benefits of spinach verses lettuce....after having the salad I realized I probably wont ever go back to eating lettuce ...spinach has such a good flavor and texture and the fact it can be warmed is a plus....Im going to do my research on this but I just wondered if anyone can offer some info:drinker:

    iceberg lettuce is the last choice for lettuce
    spinach as a lettuce is an excellent choice..has iron also....spinach is a number 1 food on many plans
    I steam it, eat it raw, throw it in with eggs, I eat spinach almost every day
  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
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    Thanks for the feedback guys! Dave Im with ya I think Im gonna start eating it daily as well..Im gradually switching over to a lot of raw veggies ...
  • LeanLioness
    LeanLioness Posts: 1,091 Member
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    Today I had a salad it was made with spinach....I was just wondering if anyone has some quick info on the benefits of spinach verses lettuce....after having the salad I realized I probably wont ever go back to eating lettuce ...spinach has such a good flavor and texture and the fact it can be warmed is a plus....Im going to do my research on this but I just wondered if anyone can offer some info:drinker:

    iceberg lettuce is the last choice for lettuce
    spinach as a lettuce is an excellent choice..has iron also....spinach is a number 1 food on many plans
    I steam it, eat it raw, throw it in with eggs, I eat spinach almost every day

    I only eat Romaine lettuce and spinach.........
  • purrrr
    purrrr Posts: 1,073
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    iceberg lettuce is the last choice for lettuce
    spinach as a lettuce is an excellent choice..has iron also....spinach is a number 1 food on many plans
    I steam it, eat it raw, throw it in with eggs, I eat spinach almost every day

    i wish i could eat spinach, i so hate the smell of it... i have problems with my iron, and spinach is one of the best resources since i don't eat animal products... i can never reach more than 2/3 of my RDA of iron and if it falls too low i get anemic... i tried disguising the spinach taste in cooked meals but it just makes me puke in all its forms... :frown:

    can you please explain why is iceberg lettuce the worst lettuce to pick? people here claim it's better than regular lettuce because it's cleaner cultivated (i guess because it's rolled like a cabbage but not open to pesticides and pollution like regular lettuce)
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
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    iceberg lettuce is the last choice for lettuce
    spinach as a lettuce is an excellent choice..has iron also....spinach is a number 1 food on many plans
    I steam it, eat it raw, throw it in with eggs, I eat spinach almost every day

    i wish i could eat spinach, i so hate the smell of it... i have problems with my iron, and spinach is one of the best resources since i don't eat animal products... i can never reach more than 2/3 of my RDA of iron and if it falls too low i get anemic... i tried disguising the spinach taste in cooked meals but it just makes me puke in all its forms... :frown:

    can you please explain why is iceberg lettuce the worst lettuce to pick? people here claim it's better than regular lettuce because it's cleaner cultivated (i guess because it's rolled like a cabbage but not open to pesticides and pollution like regular lettuce)

    ice berg is nutritionally :light" as a general rule for veggies,,the darker the green the better it is..ice berg really has very little nutrition..for spinach,,,you can sprinkle it with balsalmic vinegar or saute it in EVO...some sea salt can help...I love it so much I juice it in my champion jujicer and drink it!
  • LeanLioness
    LeanLioness Posts: 1,091 Member
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    iceberg lettuce is the last choice for lettuce
    spinach as a lettuce is an excellent choice..has iron also....spinach is a number 1 food on many plans
    I steam it, eat it raw, throw it in with eggs, I eat spinach almost every day

    i wish i could eat spinach, i so hate the smell of it... i have problems with my iron, and spinach is one of the best resources since i don't eat animal products... i can never reach more than 2/3 of my RDA of iron and if it falls too low i get anemic... i tried disguising the spinach taste in cooked meals but it just makes me puke in all its forms... :frown:

    can you please explain why is iceberg lettuce the worst lettuce to pick? people here claim it's better than regular lettuce because it's cleaner cultivated (i guess because it's rolled like a cabbage but not open to pesticides and pollution like regular lettuce)

    ice berg is nutritionally :light" as a general rule for veggies,,the darker the green the better it is..ice berg really has very little nutrition..for spinach,,,you can sprinkle it with balsalmic vinegar or saute it in EVO...some sea salt can help...I love it so much I juice it in my champion jujicer and drink it!

    Ice ber lettuce is mostly water..........not much nutrition as Dave mentioned..........


    I put it in my green shakes!!!
  • sassiebritches
    sassiebritches Posts: 1,861 Member
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    I too eat spinach everyday in something.............eggs, sandwich, dinner side, pasta, tacos.....

    Darn near anything.............

    Lovin the "Igh Igh Igh Igh me eats me spinach-Igh Igh Igh Igh"

    :smokin:
  • kobrie17
    kobrie17 Posts: 106 Member
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    spinach is nutritionally better, but it is actually an iron blocker.
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
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    spinach is nutritionally better, but it is actually an iron blocker.

    I have nver heard that ....can you tell me where I could read about it?
  • Georg
    Georg Posts: 1,728 Member
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    I think iceberg also has natural sodium...
  • MTGirl
    MTGirl Posts: 1,490 Member
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    spinach is nutritionally better, but it is actually an iron blocker.

    I was curious about this, because I had always heard it was good for low iron levels, but found this on wiki:

    Nutrition

    [edit] Iron
    Spinach is known as a rich source of iron and calcium. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, a 180 gram serving of boiled spinach contains 6.43 mg of iron, whereas one 6 oz. (170 gram) ground hamburger patty contains at most 4.42 mg. Thus spinach does contain a relatively high level of iron, compared to other vegetable and meat sources.[3]

    The iron in spinach is poorly absorbed by the body unless eaten with vitamin C. The type of iron found in spinach is non-blood (non-heme), a plant iron, which the body does not absorb as efficiently as blood (heme) iron, found in meat.[4]

    The bioavailability of iron is dependent on its absorption. This is influenced by a number of factors. Iron enters the body in two forms: nonheme iron and heme iron. All of the iron in grains and vegetables, and about three fifths of the iron in animal food sources (meats), is nonheme iron. The much smaller remaining portion from meats is heme iron.[5]

    The larger portion of dietary iron (nonheme) is absorbed slowly in its many food sources, including spinach. This absorption may vary widely depending on the presence of binders such as fiber or enhancers, such as vitamin C. Therefore, the body's absorption of non-heme iron can be improved by consuming foods that are rich in vitamin C. However, spinach contains high levels of oxalate. Oxalates bind to iron to form ferrous oxalate, thus making the iron in spinach unavailable,[6] plus high amounts of oxalates remove iron from the body. Therefore, a diet high in oxalate (or phosphate or phytate) leads to a decrease in iron absorption. As a result around 90% of the iron content in Spinach will be released in urine, and not absorbed in the body.[
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
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    wow,,thanks...get some vitamin c I guess....learn something everyday
  • MTGirl
    MTGirl Posts: 1,490 Member
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    I guess if you're cooking the spinich, if you add some diced tomatoes that should work, and would be really good too. :heart:
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
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    I guess if you're cooking the spinich, if you add some diced tomatoes that should work, and would be really good too. :heart:

    that sounds good....saute that in some EVO and sea salt and bingo...yum
  • Nich0le
    Nich0le Posts: 2,906 Member
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    spinach is nutritionally better, but it is actually an iron blocker.
    I have nver heard that ....can you tell me where I could read about it?

    Spinach is an EXCELLENT source of iron, more iron than in beef. It is also an excellent source of calcium, potassium, vitamins a, e, c, k, magnesium, zinc, b2, b6 and packed full of several healty antioxidants.

    The iron in spinach IS harder for our bodies to absorb as efficiently as other sources so it is recommended to alway add vegetables or fruits (citrus and strawberries go great in a spinach salad!) as the added vitamin C helps the body absorb the iron best. This is a similar process to Vitamin D helping our bodies better absorb calcium.

    BEWARE of leafy green veggies at lunch time as most carry a fair deal of trytophan, just like your turkey at thanksgiving, you are likely to feel sluggish and have better chance of an afternoon slump when you pack your lunch full of those yummy dark green veggies! If you ever have bouts of insomnia it is highly recommended that you eat your dark green leafy's a couple of hours before bed and let the trytophan do it's best work then!

    To get to know your spinach better simply google "spinach benefits" and a host of websites will appear, including a study on spinach from the smarty pants at MIT. :drinker:
  • MTGirl
    MTGirl Posts: 1,490 Member
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    I was getting ready to put my dd to bed and I thought if you were juicing spinach, then spinach also goes well with orange and strawberry - don't know if necessarily both at the same time :laugh: But maybe! Now I want spinach :tongue:
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
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    I was getting ready to put my dd to bed and I thought if you were juicing spinach, then spinach also goes well with orange and strawberry - don't know if necessarily both at the same time :laugh: But maybe! Now I want spinach :tongue:

    I think it is fun to mix things like that...what the heck,,,,and I love strawberries and oranges and spinach,,,so ,,,ya,,,I like it
    thanks
  • ivykivy
    ivykivy Posts: 2,970 Member
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    I read the other day on yahoo that the iron content of spinach was overexaggerated b/c tests done 50 years ago were done with vegetables where the soil was still clinging. Also the nutrient content of the soil now is not as rich as it was then. However, I usually go for romaine for the lettuce. For some strange reason spinach makes my side hurt if I consume to much. But thats just me.