Hello, Healthy!
It’s been a while since I last posted a blog, I’ve been working diligently to get updated nutrition information on our smoothies for you and it’s taken up all my time! But, that is now complete and available on www.thesmoothieshop.com website so be sure to check it out!
To celebrate Earth Day, we wanted to launch a brand new green smoothie with spinach! The new Iron Monkey Smoothie features banana and spinach while still delivering the protein you want and is super delicious! You can try this in the regular, skinny, vegan, or vegan skinny version! In keeping with this, today I want to chat about the health benefits of spinach! Spinach is a superfood and the list of health benefits from this plant goes on and on, so to keep you from getting bored, I’ll just touch on a few! To start, let’s look at the list of vitamins and minerals in spinach: Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K1, Folic Acid, Iron, Calcium, Magnesium, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B9, Vitamin E, and carotenoids. So, let’s just say it’s healthy.
What does this mean for you? All these vitamins and minerals do great things for you but it’s nice to know how this really translates to real life and your health so I’ll touch on a few of the specifics. First up, oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is caused by free radicals which accelerate the aging process as well as increased risk of diseases like cancer and diabetes. Spinach and its compounds can help reduce oxidative stress, thereby reducing your risk of disease. Carotenoids in spinach, lutein, and zeaxanthin, are found in spinach, they are also found in the human eye and help to protect your eyes from sun damage. These compounds have been shown to protect against macular degeneration and cataracts, and may even help to reverse damage caused by these diseases, which is promising! Spinach also contains nitrates, which can help to regulate blood pressure and improve heart health.
There are people who should be careful about how much spinach they eat. Spinach contains a high amount of calcium and oxalates, both of which can contribute to kidney stones, so if you have kidney stone issues, you’ll want to watch your intake of spinach. The Vitamin K1 present in spinach is helpful in blood clotting, which is good for most of us, but those who take blood thinners for medical conditions need to be aware of how much Vitamin K1 they consume.
I hope you have a great Earth Day and can find some way to help promote the health of our planet as well as your own health today and each day! If you have a favorite way to help the Earth, please share below! When we know better, we can do better!
-Amy Denker, MS, RD, LD
More about me:
I attended Oklahoma State University and graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Nutrition and Exercise. I went on to earn a Master’s of Science degree in Dietetics and Nutrition and completed the Dietetic Internship Program at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City.
I was the Nutrition Services Clinical Coordinator at Crittenton Children’s Center for over 5 years before changing my focus to raising my family. I am excited to now be involved with a company that is focused on providing healthy options for customers as well as providing education and resources for customers to make informed decisions for themselves and their loved ones!
