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Is it true that it's dangerous to re-heat and eat spinach?
- Thread starter evan
- Start date
barbara-in-va
Well-known member
Eva, I put spinach in everything, pasta, rice, soup, etc, reheat and eat
later in the week. I'm still here to tell about it!
later in the week. I'm still here to tell about it!
I "knew" I had it from somewhere. FAQ from EUFIC
I heard it is unhealthy to reheat spinach. Is this true?
Germany
Spinach and other leafy vegetables contain high concentrations of nitrate. The amount depends on the variety, season, and the soil and water conditions where the vegetable was grown. Nitrate itself is totally harmless, but it can be converted to nitrites, and then to nitrosamines, some of which are known to be carcinogenic. Enzymes present in bacteria convert nitrate to nitrite. This happens especially when spinach is heated, stored and then later reheated. Nitrite itself is a harmless compound, but it should be avoided by infants of up to 6 months. It can affect the ability of the blood to transport oxygen by transforming haemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen in the blood, into methaemoglobin, a form of the protein which is unable to carry oxygen. This can be dangerous for babies and is commonly known as “Blue Baby Syndrome”. However, in view of the fact that acidic conditions favour the formation of nitrosamines from nitrite, coupled with the facts that nearly all foods contain some protein and are exposed to acid in the stomach nitrosamine production cannot completely be prevented. Hence the recommendation to avoid reheating spinach.
http://www.eufic.org/page/en/faqid/unhealthy-reheat-spinach/
I heard it is unhealthy to reheat spinach. Is this true?
Germany
Spinach and other leafy vegetables contain high concentrations of nitrate. The amount depends on the variety, season, and the soil and water conditions where the vegetable was grown. Nitrate itself is totally harmless, but it can be converted to nitrites, and then to nitrosamines, some of which are known to be carcinogenic. Enzymes present in bacteria convert nitrate to nitrite. This happens especially when spinach is heated, stored and then later reheated. Nitrite itself is a harmless compound, but it should be avoided by infants of up to 6 months. It can affect the ability of the blood to transport oxygen by transforming haemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen in the blood, into methaemoglobin, a form of the protein which is unable to carry oxygen. This can be dangerous for babies and is commonly known as “Blue Baby Syndrome”. However, in view of the fact that acidic conditions favour the formation of nitrosamines from nitrite, coupled with the facts that nearly all foods contain some protein and are exposed to acid in the stomach nitrosamine production cannot completely be prevented. Hence the recommendation to avoid reheating spinach.
http://www.eufic.org/page/en/faqid/unhealthy-reheat-spinach/
Hmmm, This has me wondering...
Look at the responses I got from my Google search. They are all European sites, as far as I can see. Is this fear of re-heating spinach an European thing?
http://www.google.se/search?hl=no&q=re+heat+spinach&meta=
http://www.google.se/search?hl=no&q=re+heat+spinach&meta=
Look at the responses I got from my Google search. They are all European sites, as far as I can see. Is this fear of re-heating spinach an European thing?
http://www.google.se/search?hl=no&q=re+heat+spinach&meta=
http://www.google.se/search?hl=no&q=re+heat+spinach&meta=
I just had some yesterday. So far, I'm still going. Never heard of this but I just did a.
search, here, and found some of the same responses. It does seem to be a European thing. But there is one response that makes some sense...certain bacteria thrive on nitrate-rich foods. But then that would imply that the cooked spinach had been improperly stored in between.
Good thing to consider though.
search, here, and found some of the same responses. It does seem to be a European thing. But there is one response that makes some sense...certain bacteria thrive on nitrate-rich foods. But then that would imply that the cooked spinach had been improperly stored in between.
Good thing to consider though.
We should never eat canned spinach then since it is heated once already. yuk to canned anyway, but
this makes no sense. My relatives in Germany have some odd(to me) views on certain food traditions and also personal hygiene habits, if ya know what I mean. My grandma who grew up in Russia had some really odd "wives tales" like not drinking anything cold and the spinach thing and "drafts" will kill you and so on and so on.
this makes no sense. My relatives in Germany have some odd(to me) views on certain food traditions and also personal hygiene habits, if ya know what I mean. My grandma who grew up in Russia had some really odd "wives tales" like not drinking anything cold and the spinach thing and "drafts" will kill you and so on and so on.