I just ate a tasty and fresh spinach salad and my teeth feel completely funky, kinda chalky. Now this is not the first time this has happened, but this is the first time I researched the issue.
First off, the term "spinach teeth" cannot yet be found in one of my favorite resources - the Urban Dictionary, but the phenomenon none the less exists. It is caused by the high quantities of oxalic acid found in spinach, not iron like many spinach lovers might think. The oxalate crystals leak out as you chew, and even more, when you cook spinach and these crystals coat the teeth. Drinking milk with spinach can exacerbate the chalky sensation. Rhubarb, beets, kale and chocolate are high in oxalic acid as well. People with kidney problems should not eat large quantities of spinach or any food high in this acid since it can lead to because of the increased risk of producing oxalate stones in the kidneys.
Fit's tip: The oxalic acid contained in spinach can prevent your body from absorbing iron and calcium. To improve iron absorption, spinach should be eaten with foods that contain vitamin C. This is a good reason to squeeze fresh lemon on cooked spinach!
Calvin Klein
Ikea
Timberland
I've always wondered! Thanks for covering this...I guess my mom's delicious spinach/strawberry salad really makes sense!
1I didn't know that about the iron thing. I've always been told to eat a lot of spinach for the iron, but now it turns out that the spinach itself is preventing the iron to get absorbed? Weird.
2I did know that vitamine C helps to absorb the iron. And I can tell you that it does work.
I eat enough chocolate that I'm surprised I don't have 'chocolate teeth'
since it
has the same ingredient
3Thanks Fitsugar, I always think it was the iron that makes your teeth feel funny.
4I can't eat spinach! yay for no spinach teeth!
5what about fresh pineapple teeth/tongue? what causes that?
6wow I thought I was the only one who got that feeling while eating spinach. thanks!
7My teeth actually feel that way when I eat lemons...is that weird, or is it normal?
8eeew!
9NO WONDER! I thought I was going crazy when me teeth felt weird after eating spinach....
10Wow! I thought I was alone in this too! It drives me crazy. It doesn't happen to me as much with frozen spinach or regular spinach, but baby spinach does it every time.
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