The Spinach Iron Myth, and the Myth About the Myth

Spinach is a leafy green with a reputation for iron. The famous explanation — that a misplaced decimal point in nineteenth-century data multiplied its iron content by ten — is repeated everywhere and is not supported by the original sources. Spinach does contain iron, but oxalates in the leaf reduce how much the body absorbs, which is the fact worth keeping.

• A leafy green vegetable. *A bag of spinach.*
• Cooked spinach as a dish. *Creamed spinach.*
• Spinach as a modifier. *Spinach and ricotta.*

Word forms

How it is used in a sentence

• Spinach wilts to almost nothing.Ten handfuls make one portion.
• Vitamin C helps iron absorption.Which is why lemon on greens is sensible.
• Popeye made spinach famous in the 1930s.The cartoon, not the science.

Leafy greens compared

• Spinach — soft, mild, wilts fast
• Chard — sturdier stems, cook longer
• Kale — tough leaves, benefits from massaging or long cooking
• Rocket — peppery, usually raw
• Watercress — sharp, and unusually nutrient dense

Through Old French and Arabic *isbanakh* from Persian *aspanakh*. Spinach reached Europe from Persia by way of the Arab world, which is why the name is not Latin.