DNA vs DIET

So.  After one whole year of eating less meat, WAY less cheese, using the right cooking oils, eating loads of fruits and vegetables, getting all kinds of exercise, and maintaining a healthy weight…

my cholesterol is still high.

That, my friend, is called genetics.  The diet is a great tool to have to keep ourselves healthy, but unfortunately, DNA is the boss!

Clear as Spinach

Ah, if only more of us had followed in Pop-eye's steps and learned to love spinach!  When you eat spinach, your body sees all that iron, and wants it!  Unfortunately, there is a compound in spinach that also loves iron, and competes with your body to get it.  But, there's more iron than the greedy compound can handle, so your body does get some. 

The key to getting enough iron is to eat a variety of iron-rich foods, so that even if your body doesn't get enough from one food, it can get it from a different one.    And don't forget to drink some orange juice with the non-meat high iron foods, to help your body win more often.

Rais’in more questions about Iron!

Irene-
That's a good question, and I know many people who snarf a handful of raisins on their way to donate blood.  Raisins are a good source of iron, however 'a lot' is a relative term. 

I looked up some numbers, because, believe it or not, I don't actually have the iron content of raisins memorized!!! (I must be slacking…)

To add on to the previous 'tip of the blog':
The iron needs of adult women are predicted to be 15mg per day.  Adult men: 10 mg per day.  (Men have bigger stores of iron, and they don't lose blood every month like most women.)

Red meat is the best source of iron, and the most easily absorbed.  The iron in plant foods requires our body to complete an extra step during digestion, and so much less iron is absorbed from these foods.  Luckily, by eating vitamin C at the same time as the non-animal products, we can greatly increase the amount of iron that we absorb.

So!  IRON!
Women: 15 mg
Men: 10 mg

Raisins: 1.3-1.8 mg (1/4 cup)
Pumpkin seeds: 4 mg (1/4 cup)
Sunflower seeds: 2.5mg (1/4 cup)
Soybeans: 2.3 mg (1/4 cup)
Peanuts: 3.2 mg (1/2 cup)
Fortified cereals: 4-18 mg (1 cup)

Scallops: 3 mg (3.5 oz)
Beef, other meats: 2.6 mg (3.5 oz)
Egg: 1.0 mg (1 egg)

Vitamin C (eat with the non-animal sources of iron to increase absorption)
Oranges, kiwi, grapefruit, strawberries, cantaloupe, and their juices!!

Spinach, Milk, Egg whites, and Tea, can decrease the absorption of iron.  Just eat a variety of iron-rich foods and do your best!  Everything in the world of eating and nutrition is about balance.  A little game of give-and-take.

IRON

Tip of the blog: If daily activities have become an even more exhausting task than usual, consider blaming it on your blood. Many people don’t eat enough IRON, (and most women lose iron on a monthly basis…) Without iron, your blood can’t transport oxygen. Without oxygen, the couch becomes more appealing than the bike.

Eat: spinach, green peas, soybeans, molasses, meat

Think a Spinach Salad with Roasted Soybeans, or a Tuna, Green Pea Casserole (or “Hotdish”, if you’re from Minnesota!)

So today started out with the warm sun streaming through my window while I enjoyed my Saturday morning the way it’s meant to be enjoyed. From bed. Unfortunately, the early bird got the worm today, because now that I’m all set to head out-of-doors, the clouds have come in on a cool breeze. Must be time for a blog update!

Want some stats about this online RD? I work in a hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I’m from Wisconsin, although I did finally break down and apply for MN ID and car plates… My summer is about to be consumed with water skiing with my team, the Twin Cities River Rats Water Ski Show Team! And of course, discussing vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, diets, medical nutrition therapy, and life, with doctors, patients, families, dietitians, and myself. Life is good.

Any questions?