Swiss Chard

Swiss chard belongs to the same plant family as spinach and beet (Amaranthaceae) and shares much of their nutritional profile: substantial vitamin K, vitamin A, magnesium, and potassium, with very few calories per cooked cup. The colorful rainbow varieties carry the same betalain pigments as beets — including the same potential for harmless pink urine in some people.

Oxalates

Swiss chard is high in oxalate — somewhat below spinach but in the same tier. For people with calcium-oxalate kidney stones, the same advice applies: limit portions, cook and discard the water (which removes some oxalate), and pair with a calcium source at the same meal so the calcium binds oxalate in the gut rather than the urine. The stems contain less oxalate than the leaves, so chard-stem dishes are gentler.

Practical notes

Chard cooks differently from spinach — the stems need a head start (a few minutes) before the leaves go in, since the stems are sturdier. For nutritional purposes the leaves and stems behave similarly and both count toward leafy-green intake. Chard is also useful for people who find spinach's flavor flat — chard is slightly earthier and holds up better in longer-cooked dishes (soups, stews, braises) where spinach turns to mush.