Chalky Teeth After Eating Spinach... What's the deal?

[iNow]

I've noticed that after eating spinach (usually, frozen) that my teeth feel somewhat "chalky." I'm not sure that's the right word, but the texture and smoothness of my teeth seems to shift after I've eaten spinach.

 

Usually, when I run my tongue along my teeth, it slides like it's well lubricated. Practically no friction, practically no sensation since I'm acclimated to this baseline. Yet, after eating spinach (which I've been doing a lot more lately to try increasing my intake of rich green leafy vegetables) I find that for several hours after doing so my teeth feel like their lubrication has decreased dramatically.

 

It's tough to describe, honestly. It just feels somewhat "chalky."

 

Our tongues are pretty amazing perceptual organs, and even slight changes tend to register as hits. Using my tongue as my guide, I notice a very real change after eating spinach, and the primary change seems to be mostly in the texture, lubrication, and absence of the usual smooth sensation I get when sweeping my tongue across the backs and fronts of my teeth.

 

 

Do any of you have an idea of why this occurs, or what it is about spinach which causes the change? It's too consistent to be related to some other confounding variable, and I'm growing increasingly curious to get an explanation which makes sense and will give me that "aha!" epiphany moment. Cheers to any contributions you may have.

[Mr Skeptic]

Try scraping one of your teeth with your fingernail before and after eating spinach. There should be a white pasty substance, but the amount may change -- accumulating or rubbing off depending on the texture and composition of the food. Perhaps this may account for the change? Alternately, does brushing your teeth after eating the spinach return them to how they usually are, or does brushing your teeth also remove the lubrication?

[iNow]

Try scraping one of your teeth with your fingernail before and after eating spinach. There should be a white pasty substance, but the amount may change -- accumulating or rubbing off depending on the texture and composition of the food.

I thought that was called "plaque?"

 

Kidding aside, I don't notice it eating other things. This strikes me as some sort of chemical reaction from the spinach itself.

 

 

 

Alternately, does brushing your teeth after eating the spinach return them to how they usually are, or does brushing your teeth also remove the lubrication?

Interesting question. Not sure... I'll need to add that experiment to my approach next time.

[CharonY]

I assume it is the high oxaloacetic acid concentration. The accumulate in high concentration in spinach and actually form crystals. However, this is only a rough guess.

[GDG]

This is probably due to tannins. You would probably notice the same effect after drinking strong tea or red wine, or after eating cranberries.

[iNow]

I assume it is the high oxaloacetic acid concentration. The accumulate in high concentration in spinach and actually form crystals. However, this is only a rough guess.

 

This is probably due to tannins. You would probably notice the same effect after drinking strong tea or red wine, or after eating cranberries.

 

 

You know, I think you both are hitting nails squarely on their heads. To GDGs comment, I realize that I often do get a similar feeling when drinking red wine. I hadn't even considered the possibility that spinach had tannins, but it turns out they really do. It seems that these tannins act like little micro pebbles.

 

Also, after reading CharonYs post about oxaloacetic acid, I did some googling, and from what I can that has a pretty huge effect.

 

If I'm reading things correctly, the oxaloacetic acid metabolizes as small crystals which don't dissolve in water. For that reason, the feeling I am trying to describe is the result of scraping my tongue across these little oxalic acid crystals left on the teeth...

 

So, the two taken together make the effect of spinach on the teeth that much more noticeable.

 

Thanks to both of you.

 

 

 

Now, the next step in my investigation is to ensure that the frozen spinach I purchase was properly cleaned prior to packaging. I'm okay with tannins and oxalic acid, but I really don't want to be eating dirt or sand.

[Moontanman]

Do you, like many people, put vinegar on your spinach? Could the effect of acid.

[iNow]

Nope. Just olive oil, black pepper, and a touch of kosher salt. I do, however, think your hypothesis is a good one.

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Vinegar on spinach, though? Hmm... Interesting idea. Kinda like a salad.