In the year that Popeye became once again a major movie star it is salutary to recall that his claims for spinach are spurious. Popeye’s superhuman strength for deeds of derring-do comes from consuming a can of the stuff. The discovery that spinach was as valuable a source of iron … was fraudulent; German chemists reinvestigating the iron content of spinach had shown in the 1930s that the original workers had put the decimal point in the wrong place and made a tenfold overestimate of its value. Spinach is no better for you than cabbage, Brussels sprouts, or broccoli. For a source of iron Popeye would have been better off chewing the cans.
h/t the joel
It reminds me of the myth that searing meat locks in juices. It derived from the speculation of a German chemist in the 1800s who didn't even cook. Yet the myth survived until recently.
Spinach it turns out is good for muscle building and stamina, but because of the nitrates.
"Popeye is right: spinach makes you stronger, study shows." June 25th, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-popeye-spinach-stronger.html
"Beetroot juice properties found to boost athletes' stamina." September 20th, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-beetroot-juice-properties-boost-athletes.html
Yep I read that back in the 1970s, in that old magazine/supplement "The Canadian" (?) that used to come with the weekend paper.
I miss that magazine.
That's like MSG.
Decades ago, a doctor wrote letter to the editor and sent it to a major medical journal, complaining that he went out for Chinese food and got a headache and blaming the MSG.
That got turned into "Medical journal declares MSG dangerous."
I've seen Popeye destroy Japanese battle ships after consuming a can of spinach, so I'm calling B.S. on the German researchers.
I completely gave up on spinach when I saw what it did to Popeyes face. Apparantly he looked like Brad Pitt before he got hooked on it.
In fact spinach not only contains no more iron than many other green vegetables it is also high in calcium. Absorption of calcium may displace absorption of iron. Therefore while it is a healthy, nutritious vegetable (we all need calcium) if you specifically need to increase iron uptake for anaemia or for a woman during her period, avoid eating spinach.
Popeye a fraud. You heartless bleeps.
The oxalate in spinach interferes with absorption of calcium. Much of the oxalate effect it mitigated by cooking. There seems to be much uncertainty as to the extent of oxalate effect. Vegans (surprise) say it is minimal.
However I tried when I was a kid, I was unable to chug down an entire can of spinach by pouring it down my throat like Popeye. The only choices left for my role models were Wimpy and Olive (can't remember the thug...Bluto??)
Thus proving that many scientists are f#cking Goofy.
Professor Walter's History Lessons debunked the spinach and Popeye myth in January 2011, nearly two years before the Wired article cited in this post. See Professor Walter's report here:
http://www.professorwalter.com/2011/01/on-january-17th-1929-the-daily-king-features-comic-strip-thimble-strip-introduced-the-united-states-to-their-new-hero-popeye.html
And then take a look at what he reveals about whether carrots are really good for your eyes:
http://www.professorwalter.com/2010/08/behold-the-power-of-carrots.html
I discovered Professor Walter's site a month or so ago, and it is an excellent time sink! Informative, too!
Kathy, "Canadian Magazine" was for awhile, Weekend Magazine, I liked it too, color photos in an age of black and white newspapers. No real internet presence at all.
http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_archives/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&lang=eng&rec_nbr=616944
Spinach, if folks like the taste of it and if cooked for example like swiss chard, they'll eat it and it's probably good for you. it tastes a lot better with a side of roast and potato though. I like it, but not for breakfast. And not out of a can. Let's be serious...
Who decided that spinach is actually edible. If a spinach leaf is edible, why isn't a maple leaf of an oak leaf? If i wanted to eat leaves I have plenty growing on trees in my back yard.
The truth is that your best source of iron is red meat. I worked in a health food store part-time and, trust me, there is nothing more unhealthy looking than a vegetarian who doesn't understand iron absorption is dependent on the source. Shoving a bottle of iron supplements at them was about the best you could so.
As to the general point of the article, science is often wrong/incomplete and it is surprising how often test results cannot be replicated. Sometime by the time the truth is realized so much bad policy has been piled on bad research that it becomes impossible to correct the errors without a lot of people looking stupid.
Agree with marc on that; out of a can? No can do. I'd skip the greens on that meal.
Do like it liberally minced-raw into a sour-cream dip with pumpernickel bread though, bit of diced shallots, tastes great and no teeth grime, like when it's steamed or raw in a salad. Don't dislike the taste of spinach but will take Brussels Sprouts over spinach for the most part.
Cut the ends off before steaming and the dog loves them raw, not the green petal parts, leaves those right there. Discovered by accident, Mince has nothing on my veggie cutting style.
For myself, it's baby spinach leaves chopped up into a salad.
Actually the myth about carrots being good for your eyes is WWII disinformation. The Brits had made a radar set small enough to be installed in their night fighters so they could hunt down German bombers in the dark. The RAF wanted to keep this a secret to keep the Germans from countering it or coming up with their own radar equipped night fighters. When asked how the German bombers were found in the night sky the RAF story was "Well, we know that rabbits can see in the dark, and they love carrots and so does night fighter ace 'Cat-eyes' Cunningham." and it went from there. I have no idea if the Germans were fooled, they had airborne intercept radar soon after.
Millions of people still subscribe to the Linus Pauling School for the Chronically Stupid that megadoses of vitamin C have magical properties.
The fact is that with any water soluble vitamin, whatever your body can't make use of right now ends up in the toilet. Vitamin C just raises the price per gallon of urine. I'd rather do that with beer.
While I'm not quite convinced that chiropractic and accupuncture are hokum, Im fairly convinced that if they have benefits, the people who practice them don't know why.
PT Barnum had it right.