In 2024 I learned just how good Spinach is when it comes to the micronutrient game. Check out this table.
| Vegetable | Vitamin A (IU) | Vitamin C (mg) | Vitamin K (μg) | Folate (μg) | Iron (mg) | Calcium (mg) | Magnesium (mg) | Potassium (mg) | Alpha-Linolenic Acid (mg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spinach | 9,377 | 28.1 | 483 | 194 | 2.7 | 99 | 79 | 558 | 370 |
| Broccoli | 623 | 89.2 | 102 | 63 | 0.7 | 47 | 21 | 316 | 22 |
| Carrot | 16,706 | 5.9 | 13.2 | 19 | 0.3 | 33 | 12 | 320 | < 10 |
| Sweet Potato | 14,187 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 11 | 0.6 | 30 | 25 | 337 | < 10 |
| Cauliflower | 0 | 48.2 | 15.5 | 57 | 0.4 | 22 | 15 | 299 | 27 |
| Kale | 9,990 | 120 | 704 | 141 | 1.5 | 150 | 47 | 491 | 180 |
| Bell Pepper | 3,131 | 127.7 | 4.9 | 46 | 0.4 | 7 | 12 | 211 | < 10 |
| Brussels Sprouts | 754 | 85 | 177 | 61 | 1.4 | 42 | 23 | 389 | 135 |
| Eggplant | 23 | 2.2 | 3.5 | 22 | 0.2 | 9 | 14 | 229 | < 10 |
I never realized how well it scores across the board. And it puts down the best score 5 categories, most notably the folate one. It appears that folates are one of the trickiest micronutrients because it’s not soluable in fat and hence has a short half-life in the body of about 3 days. It also wins big on ALA (the omega-3 fatty acid), but that seems less important considering that the real important OMG3 fatty acids are EPA and DHA, which are pretty much exclusively found in seafood. ALA is useful in that the body can convert it to these more useful fatties, but does so inefficiently, at rates below 10% — also something I learned this year!
It seems we are wasting our time telling ourselves to eat veg as a blanket statement and should focus on Spinach instead.
This also confirms my long-held belief that eggplant is a garbage veg that should be avoided. And that there’s no point in working through the soggy mess that it is for the nutrients either.
Bonus points for Spinach for tasting reasonably good, and for cooking in like 2 minutes. If you even want to cook it at all, because you don’t even have to.
I hereby acknowledge Spinach to be the absolute undisputed veg king.