JAKARTA - Nutrition expert and book author from New York, Cynthia Sass recommends adding spinach to raw and cooked dishes, ANTARA reported. Although some research shows that not cooking it is the best way to maintain its lutein content.
Lutein, one of the antioxidants in spinach, plays a role in reducing a person's risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD), an eye disease that causes vision loss. In a Swedish study, spinach was cooked using various methods for up to 90 minutes. The longer the spinach is boiled, the lower the remaining lutein content will be.
Then, when fried at high temperatures, most of the lutein degrades in just two minutes. Scientists say the best way to consume spinach so that its lutein intake is not reduced is to make it into a smoothie combined with healthy fats, such as avocado or almonds.
The reason is that when spinach is cut into small pieces more lutein is released from the leaves, and the fat increases the ability to absorb antioxidants. Previous research has found that cooking spinach can affect its folate content, with boiling it cutting B vitamin levels by almost half.
While steaming spinach, it doesn't make much of the folate lost even after four and a half minutes. A recent study looked at the effect of different cooking methods on the vitamin content of certain vegetables, including spinach. The researchers found that using a microwave can cause vitamin K to be lost.
Cooking spinach also lowers the vitamin E levels in the vegetable but increases the vitamin A content because it softens, which helps release and absorb nutrients. Again, for best results, mix the way you eat spinach i.e. partially raw, partially cooked but try not to overcook it.
Cynthia recommends consuming one cup of several types of green leafy vegetables each day or placing a handful of spinach on a plate as a base for other foods you eat. So you get some spinach leaves in every bite. Saute spinach topped with olive oil, crushed red pepper and red chili, or steamed and tossed vegetables with olives. Alternatively, make spinach smoothies, mix them into pancakes or add spinach to soups.
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