Spinach Melts Body Fat. Proved!
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| Power of Spinach |
Preface
Among all foods ever known
to humans, nothing can beat spinach in the battle of health. Spinach is one of
the healthiest foods and most nutritious vegetables in the world.
This leafy green is full
of essential nutrients, like protein, dietary fiber, and many vitamins,
particularly antioxidants (vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E), vitamin B, vitamin
K, and minerals, like calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, and potassium.
There are many spinach-based
delicious recipes we all like, e.g., spinach soup, sautéed spinach, and spinach
gratin. What if I tell you that not only you are allowed to continue enjoying
those mouth-watering dishes, but you are encouraged to eat more spinach during
weight loss.
Spinach and Weight Loss
Spinach has some natural
substances which have been associated with enhanced fat loss and a healthy and
fit physique in several studies. These 4 substances are listed below:
- Protein
- Dietary Fiber
- Thylakoid
- Water
How these substances boost
the burning of fat is discussed below.
Protein
Protein is one of the
three macro-nutrients that food contains. Spinach is a good source of protein.
There is 5 g of protein in a cup of boiled spinach, which equals 10% of the
recommended protein intake for a 2000-calorie diet.
Protein consumption
increases the rate of metabolism more than any other nutrient. That’s because
protein has the strongest thermic effect of all three big nutrients, which is 20-35%
of the calories, as compared to about 10% for carbohydrate and fat.
The thermic effect of a
food measures the number of calories burnt by the body to digest and metabolize
the food.
As protein has a very
powerful thermic effect, our body burns lots of calories to process the
ingested protein. A portion of these calories come from body fat, so high
protein consumption is linked with lower body fat and better weight management.
More detail on the thermic
effect of food is available in one of my previous articles.
Additionally, as protein’s
digestion occurs slowly, you’ll feel full earlier without consuming more
calories, which can lead to more effective weight control in the long term.
Furthermore, as protein is
the building block of muscle, a high-protein diet combined with exercise builds
muscle mass. Increase in muscle mass increases the basic metabolic rate, which
means the body burns more calories and fat even when you’re sitting idly.
As spinach is a high-protein vegetable, it can be very beneficial for your fitness endeavors owing to protein’s anti-obesity characteristics discussed above.
Dietary Fiber
Spinach is rich in dietary
fiber. A cup of boiled spinach contains 4 g of dietary fiber, which equals 17%
of the recommended dietary fiber intake for a 2000-calorie diet.
It is challenging for our
body to digest foods high in dietary fiber. The reason is the lack of enzymes
in our stomach to break down dietary fiber because of its very complex shape.
Therefore, the body has to work hard to digest and absorb high-fiber foods like spinach, which means it needs more energy to digest these foods. As glycogen and body fat are our body’s primary energy reserves, you can expect a faster reduction in your waistline by adding more fiber in your diet.
Thylakoid
Spinach, like other leafy
greens, contains thylakoid, which is the site of photosynthesis (a process in
which plants absorb sunlight to produce food). Thylakoid slows down the
digestion of dietary fat in the digestive system resulting in reduced appetite,
a natural response of the brain to reduce burden on the stomach.
Consequently, less food is consumed, which can cause a calorie deficit in the long term with regular spinach consumption. Once there is a calorie deficit in the body, the body moves on to stored energy resources including body fat to meet its overall energy requirement.
Water
Spinach is primarily
water, which accounts for 91% of its weight.
Research has shown that
water increases the rate of fat metabolism, or, in other words, results in fat
loss owing to water-induced thermogenesis.
Even drinking just ½
-liter water increases the rate of metabolism by 30% for more than 1 hour
according to a study, which is a significant rise.
Additionally, water is calorie-free but filling, so it fills the stomach and reduces appetite with minimum calorie intake. This effect of water further benefits weight loss by easing the calorie deficit.
Note
Although spinach is linked
with an effective fat-loss approach, keep in mind that you must stay away from
desserts and fast foods and follow some other guidelines for your dream body.
There is my detailed article on these guidelines.
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