Eat Spinach for Efficient and Stronger Muscles

Definition

Spinach

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) is a widely cultivated edible Asian plant of the goosefoot family, with large, dark green leaves that are eaten raw or cooked as a vegetable. Raw spinach is 91% water, 4% carbohydrates, 3% protein, and contains little fat. In a 100 g (3.5 Oz) serving providing only 23 calories, spinach has a high nutritional value, especially when fresh, frozen, steamed, or quickly boiled. It is a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, magnesium, manganese, iron, and folate. Spinach is a moderate source (10-19% of DV) of the B vitamins, riboflavin, vitamin B6, E, calcium, potassium, and dietary fiber.

Main Digest

Want more efficient muscles? Eat your spinach. After taking a small dose of inorganic nitrate for three days, healthy people consume less oxygen while riding an exercise bike. A new study in the February issue of Cell Metabolism traces that improved performance to increased efficiency of the mitochondria that power our cells.

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The researchers aren't recommending anyone begin taking inorganic nitrate supplements based on the new findings. Rather, they say that the results may offer one explanation for the well-known health benefits of fruits and vegetables, and leafy green vegetables in particular.

"We're talking about an amount of nitrate equivalent to what is found in two or three red beets or a plate of spinach," said Eddie Weitzberg of the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. "We know that diets rich in fruits and vegetables can help prevent cardiovascular disease and diabetes, but the active nutrients haven't been clear. This shows inorganic nitrate as a candidate to explain those benefits."

Until recently, nitrate wasn't thought to have any nutritional value. It has even been suggested that this component of vegetables might be toxic. But Weitzberg and his colleague Jon Lundberg showed that dietary nitrate feeds into a pathway that produces nitric oxide with the help of friendly bacteria in our mouths. Nitric oxide has been known for two decades as a physiologically important molecule. It opens up our blood vessels to lower blood pressure, for instance.

The new study offers yet another benefit of nitrate and the nitric oxides that stem from them. It appears that the increased mitochondrial efficiency is owed to lower levels of proteins that normally make the cellular powerhouses leaky.

"Mitochondria normally aren't fully efficient," Weitzberg explained. "No machine is."

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Questions Remain

The new results show that increased dietary nitrate can have a rather immediate effect. But it's not yet clear what might happen in people who consume higher levels of inorganic nitrate over longer periods. Weitzberg says it will be a natural next step to repeat the experiment in people with conditions linked to mitochondrial dysfunction, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease, to see if they also enjoy nitrates' benefits.

"Among the more consistent findings from nutritional research are the beneficial effects of a high intake of fruit and vegetables in protection against major disorders such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes," the researchers concluded. "However, the underlying mechanism(s) responsible for these effects is still unclear, and trials with single nutrients have generally failed. It is tempting to speculate that boosting the nitrate-nitrite-NO pathway may be one mechanism by which vegetables exert their protective effects."

As an interesting aside, Weitzberg says that the benefits of dietary nitrates suggest that powerful mouthwashes may have a downside.

"We need oral bacteria for the first step in nitrate reduction," he says. "You could block the effects of inorganic nitrate if you use a strong mouthwash and spit - instead of swallowing your saliva. We believe strong mouthwashes are not good if you want this system to work."

Attribution/Source(s):

This quality-reviewed article relating to our Fruits and Vegetables section was selected for publishing by the editors of Disabled World due to its likely interest to our disability community readers. Though the content may have been edited for style, clarity, or length, the article "Eat Spinach for Efficient and Stronger Muscles" was originally written by Cell Press, and published by Disabled-World.com on 2011/02/02 (Updated: 2022/06/20). Should you require further information or clarification, Cell Press can be contacted at cell.com. Disabled World makes no warranties or representations in connection therewith.

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