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February 20, 2010

Spinach Teeth

Photo from binbrain.com

I went to dinner the other night for my friend Sara's birthday. She lives in Baltimore so we decided to all meet up at Clyde's in Columbia. I'm a fan of the chain for the laid back atmosphere and dependable, good food. I have to say the cheesy polenta and brownie sundae are to die for! However, I'm not writing a review, I'm writing about something that happens to your mouth after you eat spinach. Sara and I both ordered a dish with sauteed spinach (yum) but were discussing why your teeth feel like they have socks on them after you eat it. She said I should look it up and write about it, so here I go.

Thanks to my friends at Chow, we will now understand why your teeth feel like you haven't brushed them in a month after eating spinach. The answer is oxalic acid. When you chew spinach, oxalic acid is released from the spinach. When calcium in your saliva combines with the oxalic acid, crystals are created leaving your mouth to feel gritty.

Want to continue enjoying spinach without the gritty aftertaste? Add some fat. I find that a healthy dose of olive oil or butter lessen the effect and makes the spinach taste great. Olive oil and butter always make things better!

1 comments:

Jerri Larimore said...

Eating spinach is one heck of a job, although it helps your body in a number of ways. Does it make you stronger like the cartoon character with the pipe, huh? Does he also feel the same 'gritty mouth' like yours?

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