Raw Spinach ?

[Rick2009]

Is oxalic acid a big deal ?

I know you are supposed to rotate your greens but there has been a lot of organic baby spinach available to me these days. I have eaten bananas with spinach for the last four days. I'm not dieting or anything.. the 2 foods just seem to satisfy me right now. I add a little cinnamon, cayenne and/or ginger just for variety.

I just got enough spinach for another couple of days. If oxalic acid is bad for you I haven't noticed it yet. But whats the deal ?

[Susan123]

I'd be interested in this infomation, too... I can't get used to green smoothies with any other green. I'm a spinach girl through and through... I tried romaine but the kids said the smoothy tasted yucky. I wasn't crazy about it either.

[revdrcyn]

You should hear it from the expert, Victoria Boutenko:

http://greensmoothiesblog.com/oxalic-acid-in-spinach/

[Ekin]

Excellent question and thank you revdrcyn for the link!

[Rick2009]

You should hear it from the expert, Victoria Boutenko:

http://greensmoothiesblog.com/oxalic-acid-in-spinach/

Thank you for the link. What a great source !
She says "many weeks".. so (before I get to the danger zone) I,ll give it another 4 or 5 days then vary it more. Fresh baby spinach is so good. There are mixed baby greens available too. They don't taste as good as baby spinach tho.

[streetsurfer]

I thought I'd throw this in here since it's about baby spinach......last week I was cleaning and sorting out the bad from some store bought and came across a varigated leaf. I've seen varigations in lots of different plants, but this was the first seeing it in a food item that I can recall.....

[CosimaMoon]

Is oxalic acid a big deal ?

I know you are supposed to rotate your greens but there has been a lot of organic baby spinach available to me these days. I have eaten bananas with spinach for the last four days. I'm not dieting or anything.. the 2 foods just seem to satisfy me right now. I add a little cinnamon, cayenne and/or ginger just for variety.

I just got enough spinach for another couple of days. If oxalic acid is bad for you I haven't noticed it yet. But whats the deal ?

I've read that if you eat spinach with a food containing vitamin C, then it binds to the oxalic acid and it won't have a bad effect on you. Not sure on that, but it's worth researching.

[Basenjimamma]

Good info, thanks for the link. I have spinach daily and kale too, in my smoothie, but sometime I will have a few days of no smoothies and that cuts down on my "poisoning"..I hope.

[Rick2009]

I've read that if you eat spinach with a food containing vitamin C, then it binds to the oxalic acid and it won't have a bad effect on you. Not sure on that, but it's worth researching.

Thats interesting...bananas are considered a good souce of vitamin C.
Here is a chart that lists the Vit C contents of several fruits.

http://www.naturalhub.com/natural_food_guide_fruit_vitamin_c.htm

Def. worth researching as that would allow a little more leaway with spinach consumption.

[Linds]

Interesting thread! I was just doing some research on this when I found out my thyroid was a little out of whack.
I got on a major spinach kick with my smoothies..like 2 months. So I've been varying & Susan, i'm with you on the romaine! However, I have been really enjoying chard (rainbow & white are particularly tasty & pretty mild) as well as green leaf lettuce & kale. I also had a smoothie at my local raw joint that we just kinda created since they were out of vitamineral green.
We did 2 big handfuls of "spring mix", blueberries, strawberries, a tablespoon of coconut oil - it was really refreshing & light!

Hope everyone is well : )

[Emma Jane]

That is really interesting about the vit C, I've never heard that! I have heard concentrations of oxalic acid are lower in baby spinach than in mature leaves...? :) XxXxX

[Rick2009]

That is really interesting about the vit C, I've never heard that! I have heard concentrations of oxalic acid are lower in baby spinach than in mature leaves...? :) XxXxX

Thats really good to know ! I prefer the baby leaves.. especially with banana.
I usually massage the larger leaves with dressing for a salad. btw, I took a raw class many years ago and they said massaging leafy greens for a salad made them more easily assimilated. They also absorb the dressing taste too.

[michigan roman]

not up to date on current opinion

but my most trusted raw foodie is the late norman walker
whom RAVED about raw spinach as his favorite plant while
warning that after heated it develops the oxalic acid problem .
where as in raw state its great

i grow spinach in garden every year to the max and its my favorite
green by far that i wish i had a year round fresh organic supply of

buy my seeds cheaply at www.willhiteseed.com ,
the variety ' bloomsdale ' = tried and true for a century .
tried several other spinach varietys that get no where
near it

[neurosport]

i'll show you a good source of vitamin C right here:

http://www.bulknutrition.com/?products_id=614

YESS ! ! !

[walnutty]

After watching "Food Matters" last fall, I have started taking vitamin C. I take this product: http://www.iherb.com/HealthForce-Nutritionals-Truly-Natural-Vitamin-C-500-g/20523?at=0 along with 3 - 1000 mg. vitamin C tablets with rose hips. I take in about 5000 mg. a day.

[Green_Woman]

You should hear it from the expert, Victoria Boutenko:

http://greensmoothiesblog.com/oxalic-acid-in-spinach/

This... read it, soak it up, do it.

[Rick2009]

I'm going to switch to bok choy for a few days. Baby bok choy is delicious and it gets a super high rating from the food scientists who mesure nutrients/calories. High nutrient, low calorie.

[JCB44]

Spinach affects me in a negative way - I have gout and spinach is one that will set it off, along with beans, peas . I don't think it is the oxalic acid but the pureens that are the problem, to bad because I do love the taste of it.

[Rick2009]

I have heard of the pureens in foods and that they affect those with gout issues. I would think that gout would heal over the long haul with raw foods tho. Some issues heal faster than others.

[Wordracr]

if you eat it plain and without blending it, you'll get a good response from your body. If you're really liking the taste of spinach, maybe use it for 50-75% of your greens intake for awhile longer and see how it goes.

personally, I can only seem to consume 2-8oz of spinach at a time. With romaine or red leaf, I can easily do a pound every other day. You'll obviously have different stop points :D

[Evie]

Spinach is great for you. I would think it would be hard to consume enough to cause any issues. I used to only like spinach raw. Now, I find as i get healthier, other greens are starting to appeal to me.:D

[Rick2009]

Thank you for all the feedback. When you like spinach, especially organic baby spinach, the way I do, you want to eat as much as you can of it. I am mixing it up with celery these days. I googled celery...wow ! Lots of big pluses ! I like to "eat leaves" so baby spinach and baby greens are first choice. I think celery could become a close second.