Can You Juice Spinach?

Can you juice spinach or does it make more sense to blend it in a blender or eat it in a salad? Also, can you juice spinach or is drinking spinach juice bad for you? Good questions and something that anyone who is looking to start making green juices needs to know

What I’ve done here is set out to answer the most basic questions you will have regarding spinach juice. Let’s face it, if you’re reading my website,  the odds are that you’re somewhat interested in buying a juicing machine and want to make green juice using leafy greens using vegetables such as spinach. So, lets set your mind at ease and make sure you know exactly what the pros and cons are and if you really can juice spinach.

 

Can You Juice Spinach and Drink A Lot Of It?

Simple answer: No. While there is plenty of good things in spinach, including antioxidants, minerals, and iron, it also has a few things (such as iron) that you don’t want too much of. I’ve written about this extensively in the past, but it is also important to reiterate, that spinach has oxalic acid.  Now, it’s very hard to get too much of this if you’re just making a simply green drink. But if you’re drinking 20 ounces of pure spinach juice a day…let’s just say that’s too much.

When you’re cooking spinach, you should always steam or blanch it. This removes some of the oxalic acid and allows you to get the healthy benefits of the antioxidants such as lutein and vitamin A, K, and Vitamin C.

So yes you can drink too much spinach. This is why I suggest not making a pure green juice. Besides making the green juice taste better, adding things such as apples, lemons, pineapple, or other vegetables such as cucumbers or carrots helps to make your drink a more rounded and balanced treat.

 

Can You Juice Spinach Raw?

So the next question people tend to have after they’ve read up about spinach juice and oxalic acid is if they should blanch the spinach before juicing. I suggest not doing this. There are a few reasons, and we can examine each in turn.

First, whenever you blanch of steam spinach, it becomes moist. When you juice this wet spinach you will end up with a lot of water in your juice and not that much actual spinach juice.

Secondly, cooking spinach destroys some of the natural benefits that you’re looking for. There are some studies that suggest the antioxidants are not destroyed (in some studies they even suggest that Lutein is increased) the big concern is chlorophyll. This is a super nutrient that has been shown to have limitless healing potential. However, adding heat can destroy it. So, when you are juicing cooked or heated spinach, you are missing out on the chlorophyll.

The other benefit to drinking raw spinach juice is that it has antacid properties.

 

How Can You Juice Raw Spinach And Be Safe?

There are a few tips I have on how you can juice spinach, get the health benefits, but avoid any of the drawbacks.

As mentioned above and in my prior articles, the only concern with drinking excess spinach is the presence of oxalic acid and also excess iron. Normally these are not things people wonder about because you really never eat bowl after bowl of spinach (no one’s really Popeye after all). But when you start juicing you can end up getting a lot of nutrients..sometimes more than you want. Iron for instance.

So, when you’re making spinach juice (which, again…you can juice!) just make sure to make the juice using other fruits or veggies. My go to spinach juice recipe is as follows:

• A Handful Organic Spinach
• 1 Organic Lemon (using the ring)
• 1 Organic Apple (I like to use a granny smith apple)
• 4 stalks of Organic Celery

That juice is great and you won’t overdo it.

 

Can You Juice Frozen Spinach?

While you certainly can juice frozen spinach, why would you? It’s going to taste disgusting, it tastes horribly, and it doesn’t even have the benefits that you normally associate with spinach. The other problem with juicing frozen spinach is that it’s cooked. Cooking food destroys many of the nutrients. So, you’re not going to get the health benefits that you are looking for.

The most important thing about juicing frozen spinach is that it just tastes bad. It’s cold, slushy, and takes too much time to prepare to begin with. You have to thaw frozen spinach and then strain it before you juice it. And even if you do strain it, you will still have wet spinach. Some people go so far as squeeze the frozen water out of the spinach using a cheesecloth or paper towel, but that’s just a complete waste of time.

So, in closing. Just skip frozen spinach and opt for fresh spinach when making a juice.

How Much Spinach Juice Should I Drink A Day?

If you’re concerned about things like excess Iron, then make sure to ask your doctor about how much spinach juice you can eat.

Overall as a general rule, it’s a good idea to drink a modest amount of spinach juice. If you are not eating spinach, then you can have more spinach juice than if you were eating spinach for lunch and dinner. So I suggest determining your spinach intake and then setting up a schedule be it 3 spinach juice drinks a day, or more.

Finally, if you are planning on making spinach juice, then you should make sure to use an auger juicer. Spinach, and really any leafy greens, are best juiced using a masticating juicer. I have a good article that covers the best juicer for leafy greens and spinach you should read.