Eating more spinach can effectively protect your eyes. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania in the United States said that spinach is rich in nutrients when it is just pulled out of the soil. There are two most important nutrients: folic acid, a vitamin B nutrient that can prevent spina bifida at birth, and carotene, a vitamin a nutrient that human growth and development need to prevent blindness. In addition, spinach is rich in antioxidants, which has an inestimable effect on delaying aging. An experiment by the U.S. Department of agriculture shows that women who eat about 30 grams of fresh spinach a day have better anti-aging effect than those who eat 1250 mg of vitamin C or drink three glasses of red wine.
But the researchers also found that the nutrients of spinach begin to decrease within a few days after picking. Within 4-8 days, nearly half of the folic acid will be lost, and the carotene content will also drop to about 54% of the original content.
How can we solve the problem of spinach nutrition loss? Experts point out that it is a good way to refrigerate spinach in the refrigerator. The experiment shows that low temperature can reduce the loss of nutrients in spinach to a great extent. In addition, many people think that canned vegetables are not as nutritious as fresh vegetables. Experts have also proved that this idea is not entirely correct. The nutrition preserved in canned spinach is more abundant than fresh spinach which has been put for a period of time.
Besides staying up late and overwork, malnutrition is a major cause of eye injuries. Spinach is one of the best sources of lutein, which is very effective in preventing the 'macular degeneration' caused by eye aging, according to a study from the University of Manchester in the UK. Researchers from Ohio State University in the United States say that a large amount of lutein in dark green leafy vegetables can help prevent cataract.
At the same time, green leafy vegetables are also a good source of vitamin B2 and & beta; - carotene. When vitamin B2 is sufficient, the eyes are not easily covered with blood; and & beta; - carotene can be converted into vitamin A in the body to prevent 'dry eye' and other diseases.
But the benefits of spinach go beyond that. It is rich in potassium, calcium and magnesium elements, can help eye muscles enhance elasticity, not prone to myopia. People all know that people with calcium deficiency have poor elasticity of the eyeball, and the axis of the eye is easy to lengthen. Daily life of rice, fried meat, braised fish with sweet drinks and desserts will cause serious loss of calcium in human body. If you can eat less meat, eat more leafy vegetables, you can make up for this defect, to improve the elasticity of eye muscle is greatly beneficial.
In addition to spinach, Brassica napus, oilseed rape, water spinach and agaric are also good, cheap and nutritious eye protection vegetables. The importance of eating green vegetables to eyes is no less than eating blueberries, even more than eating blueberries.