Spinach not only helps to cool down, but also has many valuable health benefits

1. Vegetables spinach What are the characteristics?

Spinach is also known as red spinach, purple spinach, groundnut… Scientific name Basella rubra L. (Basella alba L.). Belongs to the Mango family Basellaceae.

The mangosteen is a vine, living annually or biennially. Stems are rolled, 1.5-2m long. Stems are branched, pale green or pale purple.

Leaves alternate, single, petiolate, leaf blade ovate, tip pointed, petiole flat or slightly narrow, 3-12cm long, 2-6cm wide.

Spinach provides many nutrients.

Inflorescences spike-shaped, small, white or reddish purple in color. The flowers at the top are longer and thinner. Berries, small globose or ovoid, about 5mm long, purple-black when ripe.

The plant is native to the tropical countries of Asia and Africa. In Vietnam, thistle grows wild and is grown for climbing fences to get vegetables to eat. The stems and leaves are harvested in summer and autumn.

According to Read (1936), spinach contains vitamin A3, vitamin B3, saponins, mucilage and iron.

2. Usage and dosage

According to the book Medicinal plants and Vietnamese herbs by Prof. Dr. Do Tat Loi, among the people, usually only uses spinach to cook soup to keep cool, rarely used as medicine.

But in the ancient book (Manuscript of the outline by Ly Thoi Tran) it is recorded that spinach is sour, cold, active, non-toxic, active, neutral, dissipates heat, cools, and is beneficial for small intestine.

Indonesian people use spinach as medicine to treat children with constipation, women with difficult childbirth.

In China, there are places where people use pounded spinach to treat swollen breasts and detoxify.

Spinach – a cool, nutritious summer vegetable.

In addition, spinach also has the following uses:

Significantly increase the amount of milk for the motherMothers after giving birth with little milk can eat spinach to increase milk production because spinach contains vitamins A3, B3, saponin, iron, so it is good for pregnant women…

Clear heat, detoxify the body and cure constipation: Using spinach in daily meals will help the body clear heat, detoxify and improve constipation.

Supports youthful skin: Mint leaves have the effect of nourishing the skin, circulating blood and helping the skin to be smooth and youthful.

Spinach has the effect of treating wounds and improving joint pain: The juice from spinach can treat burns, besides, stewing spinach with pork legs to eat daily will help treat joint pain.

Improve physiological function, cure dream sperm: Spinach helps men to support the treatment of physiological weakness, spermatogenesis.

Can prevent osteoporosis from spinach: The calcium content in the spinach is very high, so it can prevent the risk of osteoporosis in the elderly.

Spinach is good for pregnant women: Folic acid and iron are two nutrients beneficial for pregnant women that are abundant in spinach.

Crab soup cooked with spinach.

Support to reduce fat and cholesterol: Mucus in spinach has the effect of absorbing cholesterol. Therefore, fat in food cannot penetrate through the intestinal membrane, so it will be excreted through the faeces.

Spinach has antioxidant effects and protects the eyes: Spinach contains many antioxidant carotenoid pigments. These antioxidants have the effect of neutralizing harmful free radicals, so they can prevent cancer. In addition, spinach is rich in vitamin A, which helps prevent cataracts or impaired vision.

Boost your immune system: 100g of spinach leaves contains 102 mg of vitamin C. With the amount of vitamin C present in spinach will help the body improve the health of the immune system, prevent disease and reduce the duration of illness.

Note: Although spinach has many nutrients, it should not be abused because it will make it poorly absorbed by the body because it contains a high content of oxalic acid. This chemical can bind with iron and calcium, making it difficult for the body to absorb other important nutrients, thereby the body will be deficient and weak.