Spinach, Iron & Popeye

[Tribble]

So, a long time ago, people were told that spinach was high in iron.

Then it was discovered that it wasn't high in iron (it actually inhibits iron uptake) and that this was supposedly caused by a misplaced decimal point.

It's possible that that erroneous decimal point may itself be an urban legend.

Sutton (2010b) argues convincingly that there were entirely other reasons, such as contamination during the analysis or the confusion between fresh and dried spinach, that caused the exaggerated figures in the 19th century. He also criticizes Hamblin for perpetuating another related misconception: that Popeye was created in order to promote spinach for its iron content. According to Sutton (2010a: 13–14), Elzie Crisler Segar had an entirely different nutrient, vitamin A, in mind when he invented Popeye and contributed to a massive increase in spinach consumption in the United States during the 1930s.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0306312714535679

 

[Min Bannister]

Ha! I can't say I am too surprised. I am all too familiar with the paper treasure hunt in trying to find experimental techniques.

Another consequence is that readers who try to verify my statement will get an unpleasant surprise when they look up the source (Larsson, 1995: 448–449) I have provided. They will then discover that they have become, quite unwillingly, participants in a kind of treasure hunt. Having reached the first post at page 449 in Larsson’s article, their only options would be either to give up the quest for verification, or to proceed to the next destination, Hamblin’s (1981) article in British Medical Journal.

Tiresome enough nowdays but before the internet it required a great deal of galloping about in libraries going from one paper to the next. Often by the time you finally get back to the description it is completely unfollowable anyway. "The tubes were incubated in potassium carbonate solution" or something equally unhelpful.

 

[Frideswide]

I hear you!

I volunteered for a transcribing-from-the-original-handwriting project because until it was done I couldn't move that next step.

Project was finished and a great success! Was what I was hoping for in it? Bah Humbug!

 

[Kondoru]

I dont care; Spinach tastes fantastic.

 

[GerdaWordyer]

 

[michael59]

I remember my siblings and I begging my Granny to buy us some spinach, we so wanted to try it because of the Popeye cartoons.

She went out and purchased a huge amount and boiled up a pot for us. We were so excited. We all shoveled a big spoonful into our mouths and then we couldn't spit it out fast enough. My Granny was livid!

I don't mind raw spinach. I especially love spinach dip but, other than that I never developed a taste for it.

Medicinally, we were always told not to eat spinach if you had a fractured or broken bone or any kind of up coming surgery because it delayed the bodies natural healing process.

 

[JamesWhitehead]

we were always told not to eat spinach if you had a fractured or broken bone or any kind of up coming surgery because it delayed the bodies natural healing process.

Eating a lot of it suppresses the body's ability to absorb calcium, I gather. A single portion is unlikely to harm. It's the same with a lot of foods perceived as healthy: excess does not make people fighting-fit. :nurse:

 

[Frideswide]

Medicinally, we were always told not to eat spinach if you had a fractured or broken bone or any kind of up coming surgery because it delayed the bodies natural healing process.

I have excess blood calcium because I don't absorb it properly. I've been advised (by somebody relevant!) to avoid more than the occasional indulgence in spinach. Which is a shame because I love the stuff and we can grow it easily!

 

[GerdaWordyer]

Popeye was wrong. Canned spinach is vile, frozen spinach is good, and fresh spinach is delish.

 

[GNC]

Just been eating spinach and ricotta cannelloni. I'll suggest that to Popeye.

 

[Mythopoeika]

I remember my siblings and I begging my Granny to buy us some spinach, we so wanted to try it because of the Popeye cartoons.

She went out and purchased a huge amount and boiled up a pot for us. We were so excited. We all shoveled a big spoonful into our mouths and then we couldn't spit it out fast enough. My Granny was livid!

Ha ha! That happened to me! My sis and I persuaded Mum to get some tinned spinach, so we could be as strong as Popeye.
She finally found some and boiled it up for us.
It was one of the most awful things we'd tasted! Even worse than a school dinner.

 

[Mythopoeika]

Popeye was wrong. Canned spinach is vile, frozen spinach is good, and fresh spinach is delish.

Popeye was clueless. He just squeezed a can of spinach into his mouth, cold. None of that cooking, adding spices etc.

 

[Tribble]

Popeye was clueless. He just squeezed a can of spinach into his mouth, cold. None of that cooking, adding spices etc.

If he had the grip strength to squeeze and rupture a sealed tin can, did he really need any boosters? He could surely have just snapped Bluto's neck or crushed his windpipe. No fisticuffs, no mess.

 

[Mythopoeika]

If he had the grip strength to squeeze and rupture a sealed tin can, did he really need any boosters? He could surely have just snapped Bluto's neck or crushed his windpipe. No fisticuffs, no mess.

You're right! But Popeye may have actually liked fighting Bluto.

 

[Cochise]

'misplaced decimal point'

Wouldn't have happened if you'd have avoided that illogical metric system.