UTILIZATION OF THE CALCIUM OF SPINACH

TL;DRAbstract

Spinach, rich in minerals and vitamins, is one of the most widely used of leafy vegetables.It ranks high among the vegetables in calcium, but its calcium is less readily soluble than that of most other vegetables (1).However, calcium that is insoluble in cooking water may be rendered soluble in the stomach and upper intestine and thus be utilized.It seems probable that if this calcium is utilized that of other vegetables under the same conditions would be.Again, spinach contains an unusually high percentage of oxalic acid (2) which unlike most other organic acids of fruits and vegetables seems not to be oxidized in the body (3).Eaten in large quantities, free or combined, oxalates might possibly interfere with the assimilation of food, for cases of oxalic acid poisoning from food have been reported (4).For these reasons, it was planned to compare the calcium balance on a diet in which spinach furnished a very high proportion of the calcium with that of the same diet in which milk furni

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