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Iron
I found out I have slightly low iron and hemoglobin levels..Any suggestions on how to increase my counts without supplements? maybe a scoop or two of vega everyday|?
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John Stewart on -
here is a good link for you...
j
http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=000lTB
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Permalink Reply by Luis on -
Spinach has iron in it.
Try cooking with cast iron.
Chlorella should be good too. Eating something like that would help your ability to absorb iron and other minerals.
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Permalink Reply by John Stewart on
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Luis is right about the Spinach however as the link provides magical Parsley trumps the Spinach by far... even though it is not as yummy as Popeye's favorite... The body needs iron within 4 hours of athletic activity. Most accidents happen when your iron count is down...
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Luis said:Spinach has iron in it.
Try cooking with cast iron.
Chlorella should be good too. Eating something like that would help your ability to absorb iron and other minerals.
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Permalink Reply by Jedidiah Soliz on -
Sure, Parsly and spinach are great sources, but you can't beat the worlds favorate food as an iron source. That's right, I'm talking about Chocolate. Raw Chocolate in fact, or in other words Cocao. It may not have a whole lot of Iron in it, but it has enough to give you a boost and it's fun, tastes great and it's good for you, so, I would definately include it as an iron source.
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Permalink Reply by Heather B on -
Make sure you aren't consuming caffiene while eating high iron foods - it will mess with assorption. A spoonful of molases (on oatmeal) is a good source of iron. Are you a runner by any chance? I had low iron while training for a marathon and my hematologist coulnd't figure it out unil she had another female - almost vegetarian - runner with the same issues. I also never had any fatigue symptoms. I backed off the running and my iron numbers have come back up.
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Permalink Reply by John Stewart on
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Chocolate is a source of Caffeine... and a lot of women don't want to hear it however the lovely Cocoa pleasure takes it harmful tolls on the liver leaving it depleted of useful sugars that cleanse the blood.. and then the abuse on the adrenals. I myself am trying to break the caffeine habit. Remember Caffeine is the most psycho active drug in the world and it takes less to kill you than cocaine when consumed in the pure form... In the end its not a fun drug.
Remember the governments regulate and legalize drugs that they can regulate and are highly addictive.
Caffeine is numeral #1!
If I was running the FDA Children would not be allowed to have high sugar snacks with Caffeine...
One cup of coffee a day is what I do and I barely finish that on some days. More than 4 cups is organ damaging...
Jedidiah Soliz said:Sure, Parsly and spinach are great sources, but you can't beat the worlds favorate food as an iron source. That's right, I'm talking about Chocolate. Raw Chocolate in fact, or in other words Cocao. It may not have a whole lot of Iron in it, but it has enough to give you a boost and it's fun, tastes great and it's good for you, so, I would definately include it as an iron source.
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Permalink Reply by Jedidiah Soliz on
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Raw Chocolate is a very low source of caffeine and is loaded with nutrients and minerals that our body need, including iron. Check it out!
http://www.sunfood.com/buy/1/5/507/Cacao-Beans--8-oz--Sunfood--raw-...
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Permalink Reply by John Stewart on
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Thanks,
great link...
i had a roommate who was a big raw chocolate fan... not sure why but it gave me headaches maybe something to do with his preparation. great stats for nutrition. maybe i can fall in love with the raw bean on its own... i have always preferred vanilla over chocolate for taste... will have to look at economics as Vega still wins my vote for over all nutritional value for the dollar... I am also researching fruits and veggies than can be grown independently in a Green House or Earthship in Canada.
I want to build a Earthship - its been my dream for over a decade...
Bulk option is good as well provided by Avena
http://www.avenaoriginals.com/store/product.asp?numRecordPosition=1...
The big question for me as well a lot of scientist is how will the earth massive populations cope when the Thermohaline circulation system collapses... this will effect all the major farming regions of the world.
Central America is at the top of the hit list.
If your a chocolate lover then raw chocolate is for you...
I find most dark chocolate to rich for my taste buds. Then again the only apples I can eat on a regular basis are granny smith because they are not so sweet.
Just like I enjoy a pink grapefruit over an orange any given day of the week...
once again thanks for the link...
i will look into see what is the cost at my local health food store...
if they are not too rich - this may become a new treat for me...
j
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Permalink Reply by Jedidiah Soliz on
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Hey John, that's weird about the headaches. That has never happened to me that I can remember. I usually always feel great when I eat raw cocao. I believe that caffeine in small doses is not harmful and like that website indicated, raw chocolate only has 1/20th the amount of caffeine as coffee. That is not much at all and is less than Green Tea and Yerba Mate. Furthermore, Brendan Brazier even recommends having a little caffeine in a healthy form. He put it in his Vega Sport after all. I do not believe coffee is good for you though. Maybe you should try giving that up and moving to raw chocolate and Yerba Mate. That's what I did and I love it!
There are tons of great raw chocolate recipies out there, you just have to find some you like and then it will be more enjoyable! One thing you gotta try that I learned from David Wolfe is just take a whole Cocao bean with the shell peeled off and dip in some good raw hunny. It is amazing!
One final note. There is a book called "Naked Chocolate" by David Wolfe and it is all about raw chocolate. I am in the process of reading it right now and I really enjoy it. There are so many interesting facts about Cocoa it will make your head spin. I never thought one bean could have so much history, depth, amusement and be so good for you at the same time.
P.S. That superfood by far has more antioxidants than any other food in the world.
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Permalink Reply by Jay Crawford on -
Brooke
Do you have a regular family doctor you see? It's so improtant to be with a physician that follows your health and knows your history. After finding you had low Iron and hemoglobin I wonder if your physician had your Ferritin tested (that's the next step).
Women typically have the low iron issue more than men but there is another problem that needs investigation. Testing Ferritin will let you know if there is low Iron in your liver as well. Allot of people diagnosed with low hemoglobin have plenty in their liver, its just not being used properly.
You can look at your diet and say 'I get enough Iron' (there is plenty in a raw whole food diet) and the Vitamin C that is required for absorption. Doctors often want to see you eat meat as the most absorbable and usable Iron for humans IS hemi-iron (Iron derived from blood) found only in meat. Now this isn't to say Vegans should be forced to eat meat for their Iron.
Selenium is what is needed for the liver to make Iron usable for Hemoglobin production and this is often overlooked.
So start tracking the foods you eat for Iron, vitamin C and Slenium. Make sure your getting plenty of all and ask your Physician if this might be your issue.
Supplemental Iron is notorious for upsetting the stomach but there is a brand, Floridix, that makes a plant based solution for Iron supplementation with the stomach upset in mind. I havn't needed it myself so haven't tried it but from what I understand they formulated this from a holistic approach and considered stomach upset, vitamin C and selenium.
Do a little reading (Wiki) on how hemoglobin is produced and you may get a bit more insight as to steps you can take to remedy your situation.
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Permalink Reply by Frances Worster on -
okay: Cacao is an ongoing debate - some people swear by it, others claim it is poison. It works for some, is terrible for others...
I did a right up for my ensemble-mates on iron. Here's the "good stuff":
Iron-rich veggies and fruits:
chlorella
spinach
legumes (esp. split peas)
pumpkin seeds
prunes
dates
broccoli
beets
watermelon
alfalfa
quinoa (pronounced keen-wah, a peusdograin, looks like millet)
swiss chard
blackstrap molasses
Generally speaking, the key here is dark leafy greens. Eat them with
foods that are high in vitamin C to increase absorption.
Foods that help with iron absorption:
Fruits: Orange, Orange Juice, cantaloupe, strawberries, grapefruit, lemons etc
Vegetables: Broccoli, brussels sprouts, tomato, tomato juice, potato,
red peppers
If you feel lethargic and tired, this may be a sign of an iron and/or
Vitamin B deficiency.
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