If you’re like most people, you know spinach is good for you, even if you don’t include it on your shopping list. It’s loaded with folate, iron, vitamin K, magnesium, calcium and phytonutrients.
Phytonutrients are natural nutrients in plants that give fruits and vegetables their vibrant colors and respective health benefits when consumed. They also are effective ingredients in skin care.
That’s why spinach is a key ingredient in Nutrilite™ supplements and Artistry™ skin care products, making it an important crop at our certified organic Nutrilite farm in El Petacal, Mexico.*
Carefully selected variety
The spinach grown on our farm doesn’t look like the baby spinach in your favorite salad or for sale at your local farmers market.
The El Petacal spinach has massive leaves to maximize its nutrient content. Our researchers landed on this variety after analyzing multiple kinds to find the one that would meet our high nutrient standards and thrive in our farm’s climate.
“This vibrant, deep green plant means our spinach has a high concentration of the beneficial phytonutrients we are looking for,” said Ana Chavez, who handles communications for Nutrilite Rancho El Petacal.
Hand harvested
It takes just 65 days in the field for our spinach to reach its peak phytonutrient content and be ready for harvest, she said. “We get two harvests from each plant, chopping the leaves off by hand with a sanitized, stainless steel knife.”
When our testing and documentation confirms that nutrient levels have peaked, we carefully cut only the portion of the plant needed—the mature leaves and a bit of the stem. This precision helps prevent any weeds from getting taken up with the harvest and allows a second crop from the same plant.
Once the second harvest of spinach is complete, our crews till the remaining plant back into the field where it will decompose and release its nutrients back to the soil to feed the next crop.
Preserving the nutrients
Immediately upon harvest, the spinach is washed, chopped and loaded into the dehydrator. Every crop has an ideal drying temperature for peak quality and nutrient levels. For spinach, we set the dial to a toasty 70 degrees Celsius or 158 degrees Fahrenheit—that’s hot! Once its finished, we mill the dried leaves into a fine, rich powder.
As part of the traceability process we require for all Nutrilite botanicals, we test samples and document the results throughout the spinach growing, drying and milling process to ensure purity, safety and effectiveness.
Checking and rechecking quality
With all the nutrients captured in its powdered state, we package up the spinach and send it on to manufacturing facilities for Nutrilite or Artistry products. Part of that packaging is a number that connects that batch to all the documentation recorded on the farm, verifying everything it went through to get there, starting with the seed and ending with the powder.
When crews receive the spinach powder at the manufacturing facilities, they do their own testing to verify that the contents and the quality are up to par before it’s used. Once it’s verified, the spinach powder goes on to its final destination.
Putting the nutrients to work
You’ll find it in supplements like Nutrilite Concentrated Fruits and Vegetables, where it is part of the phytonutrient equivalent of 5+ servings of fruits and vegetables found in each tablet. You’ll also find it in some Artistry Skin Nutrition™ products, where it’s combined with turmeric and tea olive flower to help restore skin’s youthful-looking condition by helping support elasticity and firmness. It’s also helps reversing the visible signs of aging.
No matter where it’s used, it’s contributing nutrients that were carefully cultivated from a tiny seed on our certified organic farm in El Petacal. To learn more about our farms visit nutrilitetraceability.com.
* Unless indicated on the product label, Nutrilite products and ingredients are not organic.
