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Popeye's
Secret
"Popeye, the sailor man," was the
cartoon character who magnified his strength by eating spinach. Even so,
spinach never was, nor is now considered a delicacy.
It is virtually a forgotten vegetable, as mothers
say to their children, "Eat your broccoli!" That's fine, but
other than the iron in spinach, just how valuable is it to our bodies? Is
it in the iceberg lettuce category (low value) or in the powerhouse
broccoli-cauliflower league?
It's very, very valuable, according to new
discoveries by teams of medical scientists at three university medical
centers. One group, from the departments of Chemistry, Dietetics and
Nutrition at Florida Int. U., of Miami,* found that taking the nutrient
lutein (found in spinach) significantly raised its level in the blood.
This is important, for other scientists have found that a deficiency of
lutein is a risk factor for the development of cataracts.
A second group, from the Department of
Preventative Medicine at U.C.L.A. and the Atherosclerosis (hardening of
the arteries) Research Unit of U.S.C., both in Los Angeles,** discovered
that lutein reduced the appearance of arthrosclerotic disease in animals.
And surprisingly, another group found
that lutein inhibited tumor growth and even enhanced immunity against
disease in general in animals.***
*Drs. Chen, Landrum, Bone, Micah, et al.
**Drs. Hassan, Hough, Fogelman, et al.
***Drs. Cerveny, Chew, Park & Wong, Dept. of
Animal Science, Washington State U., Pullman, WA.
FOR MORE ON NUTRIENTS CLICK HERE
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