Did you ever eat spinach and end up later on with a weird feeling in your mouth or all over your teeth?
Like, you had just sucked on some sandpaper and your teeth or your tongue feels funny?
Your teeth feel like they’re coated in some weird chalky substance? Or maybe some other strange mouthfeel that you’re not used to.
Well, you’re not crazy, there’s an actual explanation for that!
actually may be crazy
It’s because spinach is high in oxalic acid.
Chemically speaking, this acid is able to tightly bond with the calcium in your saliva and when this happens, it forms crystals.
This is why, if you are prone to this phenomenon (or if you are just starting to notice that it happens!), try not to eat spinach with dairy, like milk or cheese. The crystallization will be even more heightened by the calcium in the milk.
Also, the phenomenon should be lessened by cooking the spinach, though personally I’ve always noticed it more with cooked spinach eaten wilted.
My usual method for eating spinach now is by smoothie, because it all gets blended up and I can’t taste it at all. I get a very minimal “fuzzy” crystallization feeling on my teeth this way, so I just stick with this method.
I always notice the crystals when I eat a raw spinach salad or eat it wilted.
Kidney Stones and Spinach
Another important thing to note is that oxalic acid is a major cause of kidney stones. I know the feeling and it’s definitely not something you want to deal with, so try to limit your consumption of foods with a high level of this acid. Like rhubarb, chocolate (gasp), purslane, swiss chard and kale.
Though I’m stubborn and love healthy foods, so even though I have kidney stone issues, I refuse to cut back. :P TAKE THATTT!!
Absorption of Iron Issues
When I started eating smoothies a lot, a friend of mine told me she had to cut back on spinach in her smoothies because of her issue with absorption of iron.
This made me nervous for a while, until I read that you can increase your iron absorption with these foods simply by eating citrus at the same time. (It’s the Vitamin C) So most times when I have a smoothie with kale or spinach, I will eat an orange before or after also.
Okay though honestly, I don’t know many other people who eat crazy like this…so it’s probably not an issue for you really, but just beware in case you ever up the intake in the future.
Actually, kiwi has more vitamin C than an orange.
Also, if you’re concerned about having too much iron – you can donate blood. You will be saving up to 3 lives with 1 donation.
(I’m a phlebotomist with the American Red Cross)
Great tip, Julia!! Thanks, I just happen to have a bunch of kiwi in my freezer now!
Your blog is gorgeously fun! I’ll be following you for healthy (and not-so-healthy recipes!!). Trying out the marshmellow shots this Christmas fer sure!! :)
THANK you so much Verity! Good luck with the shots! Try out the new Apple and Pumpkin pie jello shots I just posted too! :D Merry Christmas!
I wondered why my tongue felt tied to my teeth whenever I ate spinach! I find myself biting my tongue when I eat it and can never understand why. Thanks for the information.
That would probably account for the sore throat im experiencing, I order spinach on my tune win at subway, I thought it was the stems that did it..
Oh no Eric! I hope this is resolved for you by nowwwww!!!
I was just wondering if you have ever had anyone experience sandpaper lips which become super dry and this lasts for days after eating raw spinach? I can’t find any documentation on this, and I have made sure that this was the culprit by subtracting it then introducing again. I am just wondering if I should consider this an effect or an allergy.
Hi Kristen!! So I only get sandpaper lips after eating mango, because I’m actually allergic to mangoes. With spinach, I generally only get the feeling inside my mouth because it is physically abrasive after chewing, and I would imagine that if you’re getting it on your lips, that it may be closer to an allergy. But I’m no doctor. :) I hope you get some resolve soon!
Does this happen toeveryone or some people only?
Just some of us lucky dogs! :D
I had crystal type things in my mouth and googled to see what was going on. I topped my turkey burger with spinach and OMG, your post was spot on. I never noticed the crystals before.
So glad this helped you Ronda thanks!!!
Thanks sooo much! I thought I had scalded the roof of my mouth with hot tea. I really enjoy spinach salads. Phooey on this, but glad to know the “Why?”. I had no idea…
Ahh you’re so welcome Jan! Glad I could help ;)
My tongue gets numb when I eat spinach. It normally goes away relatively soon. Except the last time it felt funky for about 24 hours and also had a sore throat. Now 72 hours later I have a few red bumps on my tongue. Is this an allergy or intolerance? I have no known allergies so it’s strange to me.
I don’t have a problem in my mouth from eating spinach, but it does burn my hands whenever I’m squeezing the water out after cooking or freezing it. This also is due to the oxalic acid. I have to wash my hands really well after handling it.
Wow how interesting Paula!
I’ve been drinking a fresh spinach, frozen fresh carrots and frozen fresh blueberry smoothie blended with water twice a day and I notice afterwards I feel different, like my entire body feels charged, like a weird vibration inside me and I’ve lost belly fat, and my acne has improved, and my skin is softer. I don’t add any kind of sweetner or anything, just those three things though I will use frozen strawberries and occasionally fresh apples instead of blueberries. Am I doing good by continuing this everyday? Is the weird electric type charge and vibration in my body ok?
Hey Angela! That’s certainly a very healthy drink! Not sure why the buzzing is occurring, I don’t know the cause of it, but if you’re feeling great, go with it! Bring it up to doctor next time tho, just to be sure. I want to offer a bit of advice though, try to not have spinach every day. A couple things: spinach is the highest oxalic food on the planet, so if you’re going to develop kidney stones, you certainly will from this smoothie (I learned the hard way, though only 10% of the population will ever develop stones no matter what they eat). But also that too much spinach inhibits the absorption of calcium, actually, so best to spread out your use of this wonderful green to maybe once every 3 days, and not twice in one day. Some other great greens to incorporate into your smoothie are romaine, butter lettuce, green and red leaf, kale, cabbage, and collard greens. Mix those up and get used to more of the green taste, this won’t take too long. And your body will love the change in nutrients from each different type of green. hope this helps!!
Actually eating dairy with spinach means the crystals are more likely to form in the gut and not in the kidneys.