Popeye is eating right! Eating spinach can help you grow muscles and strengthen your body

"Popepy," published in 1929, is a common childhood memory for almost all generations. When Pope is defeated by the villain Bluto in the story, he can fight back by eating the canned spinach he has prepared with him. Now Swedish scholars have solved this mystery, pointing out that the nitrate in spinach helps to tighten muscle cells, and that a certain amount of intake every day does have the effect of growing muscles. (Video/taken from YouTube)

The British Daily Mail reported on the 25th that researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden mixed nitrates rich in spinach into the drinking water of experimental mice. After a period of time, they observed their muscle texture and found that nitrates made these mice stronger, especially the "fast-twitch muscles" that are often used. Their muscle fibers became particularly dense, while there was no difference in the "slow-twitch muscles".

The saying "Eat more spinach and you'll be as strong as Popeye the Sailor" is not nonsense! Swedish scholars have confirmed that the nitrates in spinach help to tighten muscle cells, and only 200 to 250 grams of it is needed per day. (Photo/Taken from the British Daily Mail)

Nitrates can stimulate muscles to secrete two types of proteins, which promote the storage and release of calcium respectively. The muscles will become firmer (contraction) under the interaction of the two. In the human body, it can reduce the formation of fat, enhance muscle endurance, and make the muscles in commonly used parts such as arms and calves "thrive". If calculated based on the daily nitrate intake of experimental mice, humans only need to eat 200 to 250 grams of spinach a day to see results, which is very helpful for people who are eager to get rid of muscle looseness or suffer from muscle diseases.

According to Wikipedia, the reason why the author chose spinach as the secret weapon of Pop Pie was because he misused a research data from 1870 and overestimated the iron content in spinach by 10 times, which led to this "beautiful mistake". Some educational scholars have also observed that many children are more willing to eat vegetables (especially spinach) after watching the cartoon. Many spinach farmers also use Pop Pie as a sales gimmick. It seems that this craze will continue to be popular because of this research.