Striving4Zen

Both spinach and Swiss chard are among the most nutrient-rich foods we know. Nutrient richness refers to the quality by which a food provides a concentration of nutrients for the calories that it contains. If a food is nutrient rich, it means that you'll get a lot of nutrients but you won't have to "spend" a lot of calories on them.

In general, spinach does contain a higher concentration of many nutrients than does Swiss chard; yet, there are exceptions such as vitamin E for which Swiss chard contains about double the amount contained in spinach. And Swiss chard contains phytonutrients that spinach doesn't contain.

The other thing to consider is biochemical individuality; for example, while both vegetables contain oxalates, spinach is also one of the most common foods to which people report allergies/intolerances and commercially grown spinach is among the 12 foods upon which the most pesticide residues have been found. So, while spinach may be consider 'more healthy' for some people since it has a higher concentration of many nutrients, it would be less healthy for those who are allergic to it or are very sensitive to pesticides.

For more information on this topic, please see:
Spinach
Swiss chard

Labels: health food, spinach, swiss chard; greens, vegetables