Popeye Was Wrong: Spinach has more folic acid than iron, and its flavonoids can help lower ovarian cancer risk.

Everyone knows spinach is loaded with iron, right? A recent study indicates eating more spinach may lower ovarian cancer risk. The flavonoid kaempferol found in spinach and some cabbages is associated with a 40 percent reduced risk of ovarian cancer. The study was led by Margaret Gates from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston.

Calorie for calorie, leafy green vegetables like spinach provide more nutrients than any other food. Spinach is a great source of six crucial nutrients: vegetable pre-vitamin A (beta carotene), vitamin B6, folic acid, potassium, zinc and magnesium. Spinach is a rich source of folic acid, which decreases the risk for neural tube defects such as birth defects of the brain and spina bifida.