I'm often sent emails asking whether or not there are any side effects to drinking spinach juice. Other than exceptional health, radiant skin, shiny nails, and thick flowing hair, I'm not aware of any negative side effects to drinking spinach juice. I have been drinking raw spinach juice for over ten years now, and I have never gotten sick even once from drinking it, not that anyone would expect me to. Spinach juice is one of the healthiest beverages on earth, with the exception of wheatgrass juice. When I'm drinking spinach juice, I rarely drink over a pint of it per day, with my average serving size generally being about one to two cups. Two cups per day is probably all you want to drink if you drink it often, as your body will have a nice level of nutrients from the beverage. If you don't drink it often, you could drink a pint in one sitting or even more, as your body might be heavily craving some of the juice's abundant vitamins and minerals.
If you are new to drinking spinach juice, then you might experience a stomach ache after drinking it, especially if you drink too much of the juice. I am also aware of many people who do not like the taste of spinach juice, and have stated that the flavor gives them nausea. For me personally, I love the refreshing taste, but will admit that it does take some getting used to, as the flavor can be quite overpowering to new juice drinkers. The other minor nuisance that might come along with drinking fresh spinach juice, is that you might get diarrhea from it, if your system isn't used to it. Once you start drinking it often however, you will find that all stomach related issues will disappear quickly, as your digestive track will adapt to process the juice without any problems at all. Outside of these minor stomach issues, I have never heard of anyone developing any worrying stomach related side effects after consuming fresh homemade raw spinach juice.
As with all homemade unpasteurized juices, you need to be extra careful about avoiding any contamination of your juice. Spinach juice can become contaminated through several difference sources. The first and most dangerous type of spinach juice contamination, would come from juicing raw spinach that wasn't cleaned properly. As most of you probably know, spinach grows very close to the soil, and can easily come into contact with fertilizer based bacteria, such as Salmonella or E. coli. This is why you should always thoroughly wash and rinse the spinach before juicing. You can also use safe vegetable sprays on spinach, that will kill all dangerous forms of bacteria that might be living on the leaf of the plant. Another possible contamination source for spinach, would come from soap. Many people wash their fruits and vegetables with soap, however you should never do this. Lukewarm tap water is sufficient in cleaning produce.
While it's fairly rare for someone to have an allergy to spinach, it is still possible. If after drinking spinach juice, you notice a skin rash, then you should probably consult with your doctor to find out if you might have a spinach allergy. If you develop symptoms more severe than just a rash or minor skin blemish, then you should consult with a certified doctor immediately, as fruit and vegetable allergies can be deadly if not treated immediately. To date I have never heard of such a thing happening, so I wouldn't be overly concerned with the possibility. One other thing that you should probably consider regarding spinach allergies, is that babies or small infants could be ultra sensitive to spinach juice, and could develop allergy like symptoms if they drink the beverage. You should not feed an infant or very young child spinach juice, unless you first consult with a doctor beforehand. Thanks for taking the time to read through this spinach juice related article.
