Different market products give very different results when it comes to liberating the antioxidant lutein from spinach in smoothies. Researchers at Linköping University, Sweden, have examined 14 common dairy and plant-based products and found that only four of these increased lutein liberation. Compared to water, some drinks had a negative effect on the lutein content in spinach smoothies.

Most people know that spinach is good for your health. One substance found in, for instance, spinach and kale is lutein. Several experimental studies have shown that lutein can suppress processes linked to inflammation, and there is now ample research indicating that chronic low-grade inflammation is an important risk factor in cardiovascular disease.

“Lutein is a bio-active compound. We have studied lutein in a similar way to studying a pharmaceutical drug. In this study, we looked at lutein liberation from fresh spinach,” says Rosanna Chung, assistant professor in the Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences at Linköping University, who led the study published in Nutrients.

As our bodies cannot produce lutein, the researchers behind the study were interested to find out how to optimize lutein intake from foods. The research group previously showed that preparation methods where the spinach is heated break down some of the lutein, whereas mixing it