fiber content of spinach
#210972 - 09/04/05 07:18 PM
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Cyndy
Reged: 03/05/05
Posts: 1301
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I've been buying the birdseye brand of chopped spinach which listed 2 grams of fiber. Today, I went to buy the same product and it now only lists 1 gram of fiber for the same serving amount.  How can the same product change fiber amounts? I need the IF and I've been counting it as 2 grams...I can't afford to lose that one gram...my bowels can't afford to lose it.
Does whole leaf spinach have more fiber? I like the chopped and it seems like it would be better for the Tummy.
I swear I looked at another brand of chopped spinach and it listed 2 grams. I'm confused...just want my IF!
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LOL!
#210975 - 09/04/05 07:26 PM
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atomic rose
Reged: 06/01/04
Posts: 7013
Loc: Maine (IBS-A stable since July '05!)
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I shouldn't laugh - I know how frustrating it is - but isn't it aggravating when they change things in or pertaining to the foods we depend on?
I did a google search, and I turned up this handy chart from Harvard (be warned, it's a PDF), which says that 1/2 cup cooked spinach contains 1.1g insoluble fiber. According to the chart, cooked spinach DOES contain some SF, so it's possible that that's where the labeling was getting a total of 2g from.
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with my computer. 
Even if the spinach contained some SF, wouldn't the fiber amount on the package stay the same regardless? I'm confused. How can the same pure food, no additives or anything, change?
Do you think the leaf spinach would be better for IF? I was really counting on this spinach as a daily source for IF...I'm so bummed out over spinach...this is crazy.
What are some other, safe, good IF sources for vegetables??? Besides Peas, which I hate! I looked at Heathers IF chart...but most of them I can't eat because of gassiness (bok choy, peppers, broccoli, cucumbers, cauliflower) plus spinach is listed on there and apparently it only has 1 gram.
Or do you think the chopped spinach is still a good IF source?
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Did they change the serving size?
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I don't get it.
I just don't know which IF veggies are best for me to be able to have a BM! Or if the spinach is still a good source.
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I mean, can't you just eat more of it to get the 2g you were counting on? 
I'm not sure why the labeling changed. Spinach is spinach and you'd think the fiber content would be pretty much the same, regardless of brand or processing.
Leaf spinach and chopped spinach will have the same fiber content, so it's really just a matter of personal preference.
You have to have the Adobe Acrobat Reader to open that file - it's free from the Adobe website, but if you don't want to download it, that's ok too.
As for other IF sources... basically, there's no such thing as an UNsafe vegetable! Eaten with SF, they're ALL safe. All you can really do is try veggies one at a time and see how your system does with them.
All vegetables actually contain IF - even carrots and sweet potatoes, which "count" as SF, do have some IF in them. Anyway, if you need suggestions... try green beans, tomatoes, corn, asparagus, bell peppers... basically, anything you find in the produce department! LOL Don't forget other sources of IF too: fruits, grains, and legumes. Legumes, especially, are an excellent source of IF, but if you're prone to gassiness, definitely take the addition of them into your diet slowly!
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Thank you Casey.
I didn't realize all IF was okay. I was always told to avoid gassy ones like broccoli, asparagus, peppers, cauliflower.
I have decided to try some peas again and, hopefully, learn to like them. They are such a good source of IF.
My question is...are tiny sweet peas okay or are the regular size ones better? I like the baby peas, but maybe it would be better to go with normal size peas since the amount of skin with the baby peas would be greater than the with the regular size peas. Does that make sense?
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Cyndy, spinach is still a great source of IF!!! Just eat more of it!
Kate, IBS-D.
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...but I get full very quickly so I can't handle a lot of foods at once. If I ate more spinach on top of the SF and protein source, I would bust!
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If you think about it, you'll eat more baby peas in a half cup of them, for example, than 1/2 cup of regular peas... so you're probably coming out just about even. Eat what you like! And you know, there's so many vegetables out there that there's really no reason to try to make yourself eat ones you don't like.
And yes, some IF vegetables can tend to be a little more gas-producing than others, but you might be surprised to find that you can tolerate them. I was completely shocked to find that broccoli and cauliflower, and even beans (legumes), give me no problems - that's something that I couldn't do pre-IBS-diet! Just remember to eat them safely, with your SF, and go easy on them at first.
Good luck!
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