SOME HEALING FOODS FOR ANEMIA (LOW IRON)

It is a fact that healthy blood depends on a good supply of iron.  When your blood is low in iron, your body isn't getting the oxygen it needs causing you to feel tired and listless.  Anemia means your blood is iron deficient.  If you have a problem with low iron, here is a partial list of healing foods you should be eating.

• Clams
• Low-fat meats, especially beef
• Poultry, especially the dark turkey meat
• Duck
• Beans
• Cauliflower
• Cantaloupe
• Sesame Seeds
• Tofu

Vitamin C is helpful to the body in absorbing the iron from grains and veggies.  Consider some citrus, etc when eating vegetables and/or grains to improve the iron in your blood.

If you are wondering why liver isn't listed above, that was intended.  Doctors used to recommend eating liver to improve one's iron level.  However, over the years they have discovered that while liver is great for iron levels it is also loaded with cholesterol.  If you have a problem with cholesterol, get your iron from other sources!

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BROCCOLI IS A NUTRIENT POWERHOUSE

Eat your broccoli! Broccoli is full of nutrients and only has 40 calories per cup (raw). Broccoli is chock full of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B, calcium and iron. That's a lot of benefits for only 40 calories.

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EASY WAYS TO GET MORE SPINACH INTO YOUR DIET

We all know spinach is good for us but many of us don't like to eat it.  Personally, I love spinach and could eat it every day.  I know that is not the norm.  Whether you like spinach or not, it is important to include it in your diet.  The American Heart Association recommends spinach (and other green leafy vegetables) as part of a heart-healthy diet as they provide good sources of vitamins A and C.  Spinach also a good source of iron, as was noted in a previous post on healthy foods for anemics.  Spinach also contains flavonoids and beta-carotene both of which are important to maintaining good health and preventing disease!  If you don't want to eat a spinach salad or a whole serving of cooked spinach, here are some easy ways to work spinach into your diet.  Whatever method you choose to use, just be sure to include spinach into your diet on a regular basis.  Try to include it at least once a week, starting out slowly if necessary.  Try these little tips:

• Use supermarket bagged spinach to save time if you don't like the rinsing, drying, stemming, etc required in bunches of fresh spinach.
• Coarse chop and toss into scrambled eggs and/or omelets.
• Sauté with garlic until just wilted and toss into tarts, casseroles, etc.
• Add chopped spinach leaves to rice and/or pasta dishes.
• Toss a handful of fresh spinach leaves into soups right at the end of the cooking time.  Chop up if you don't want to get a whole leaf in your spoonful of soup!
• Coarsely chop, toss in a little olive oil and put on pizza.
• Use fresh baby spinach leaves in smoothies.
• Chop and toss with onion and garlic.  Add to browned sausage and or ground beef or turkey and use as a filling in little handheld personal pies.  You could even use refrigerated pie crust or pizza dough without having to make your own.

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#3 HEALTHIEST FRUITS - ORANGES

Continuing with the healthiest fruits, today is number three. I'm sure most aren't surprised that oranges are close to the top. You might even be surprised oranges aren't number one or two. I personally was surprised they weren't number two. As with the other two the past couple of days, the following is a direct quote from the healthiest fruits list. This list is from a health guide I picked up in my oncologist office.

" Oranges pack a punch when it comes to nutrition. Just one navel orange contains 82.7 milligrams of vitamin C, which meets most (or all) of your daily requirement for this nutrient. Vitamin C supports immune function, collagen synthesis, and iron absorption, and works as an antioxidant to help protect cells against damage that could potentially lead to disease. Research indicates that people who regularly consume citrus fruits like oranges lower their risk for a number of diseases, including colorectal cancer."

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KALE AND BAKED POTATO TOGETHER FOR A NUTRITIONAL PUNCH

You can improve your bodies absorption of the nutrients in these two foods by eating them together. The iron in the kale will be absorbed better because of the vitamin C in the baked potato, according to Bonnie Taub-Dix, RDN.

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BENEFITS OF CHIA SEEDS

 

 

GET ACQUAINTED WITH QUINOA

If quinoa (keen wah) is not a part of your diet, it probably should be.  Many are confused about what quinoa is and its benefits.  Here are some facts:

Click on the image for easier reading.

The high level of magnesium is known to reduce headaches and regulate blood sugar, additional benefits not listed above.

Should It Be A Banana A Day to Keep the Doctor Away?

 

Instead of eating an apple each day for optimum health, the adage should state that a banana each day keeps the doctor away.  Here we examine why.  The banana health benefits far outweigh those of the apple because it has many more vitamins and nutrients than their round counterparts.  

If you are diabetic, you may have been told to only eat half a banana at a time.  Here is the reason why; a banana has twice the carbs as an apple and also more natural sugar.  So, beware of that if you are a diabetic.  But here is the good news, a banana has five times as much Vitamin A and iron and three times as much phosphorus as an apple. In addition, bananas are also rich in potassium. 

The banana a “super food” that is an integral part of a healthy daily diet regimen.

Because of the abundance of vitamins and minerals, bananas are a great source of natural energy. Eating only two bananas will give you enough energy to exercise or workout for an hour and a half.  Note: If you are a diabetic and you eat two bananas you had better workout for an hour and a half!

Bananas are also ideal for eating during that midday lull when you feel tired and sluggish.  Instead of drinking caffeine or having a sugary snack, bananas provide a level of energy that lasts longer without the dramatic crash caused by caffeine and/or sugar.

Would you believe bananas are a brain food?  Because they are rich in potassium, bananas help the body’s circulatory system deliver oxygen to the brain. This also helps maintain a regular heartbeat and a proper balance of water in the body. 

Potassium is also helpful for reducing strokes and regulating blood pressure because of the way it promotes circulatory health.  Bananas are one of the foods commonly recommended for anyone suffering with high blood pressure.

The above are just a few of the benefits of eating bananas.  Are bananas a regular part of your diet?

Note: some of the above information was gathered from LifeScript

LET'S TALK TURKEY

Did you know that turkey breast roasted without the skin is lower in fat than any other commercially available meat?  That makes it a good choice for dieters and those watching their cholesterol levels.  In addition, it is a good source of zinc, iron, and the B vitamins.  The dark meat is good for you too.  It has more fat and calories than the breast, but it also has more iron and zinc.

Caution:  If you buy ground turkey, read the label!  Ground turkey often is mostly dark meat and may contain the fatty skin.  And remember self-basting turkeys are injected with saturated fat!

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MORE REASONS TO EAT GARLIC

 

Yes, I know, garlic can linger on your breath!  You should probably eat it anyway!  There are so many benefits of garlic, many discussed on this blog in past posts.  Today I am reminding you that garlic can be beneficial to your heart and has a positive effect on you blood pressure.  But do you know that garlic can also protect against stomach and colon cancer?  Another recent study suggests that adding garlic (also onion) to whole grains may help your body absorb more of the iron and zinc from said grains.  A good way to use garlic with whole-grains is to put it in your pasta sauces and use whole-grain pasta.

BELIEVE IT - POPCORN IS A HEALING FOOD

Sometimes popcorn gets a bad rap.  We are warned to avoid it in movie theaters, etc.  But it is not the popcorn that is bad.  We have slathered popcorn with butter, salt, sugary syrups, etc. to the point the healthy, healing popcorn has a hard time getting noticed.  Make your own healthy, healing popcorn by air-popping it.  A handful of air-popped popcorn has only 6 calories.  Popcorn contains a little bit of iron to help us fight fatigue and it contains some B-vitamins that help to steady one's nerves.  So, make yourself some popcorn and sprinkle it with a tiny bit of salt or some other spices and herbs.  Curry powder, chili powder, garlic powder, etc are all great for sprinkling on popcorn.  Mix with some pumpkin or sunflower seeds and/or some nuts for a healthy snack.

COMBINE CITRUS WITH FOODS FOR MORE HEALTH BENEFIT

We can actually improve the benefits we get from certain foods by what we combine them with.  Here are some examples of what you can do to not only improve taste but health benefits by combining citrus with other foods.  Citrus is today's example, but it is not the only food that can be added to make healthy tasty combinations.

• Take some plain light vanilla yogurt and add some finely shredded lime peel or cara cara oranges to add lycopene to the yogurt.  You are not only adding flavor to the yogurt, you are getting some lycopene-rich food in the process.  Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant.
• Blood oranges are anthocyanin-rich fruits.  Add some segments to salsas and chutneys to not only improve flavor but for the anthocyanin benefits.  Anthocyanins have powerful antioxidant properties.
• Add tangerine segments to spinach salads.  This vitamin-C rich citrus will help your body absorb the iron from the spinach.
• Squeeze fresh lemon or lime juice onto fish, into sauces, and onto salads.  This will add a fresh zesty taste while giving you a vitamin boost.

APPLES

Did you know that more than 2500 varieties of apples are grown in the United States?  Some of the most popular ones are red delicious, golden delicious, gala, Granny Smith, and Rome.  No matter which variety you choose, apples are a good-for-you food.  However, if you think eating an apple a day will take care of your vitamin C needs as many people do, think again.  The average apple provides only around 8 mg of vitamin C; that is only 13% of the daily recommended allowance.  In addition to the vitamin C, apples are a good source of fiber, and the skins contain small amounts of beta-carotene, and the meat of the apple also contains some amounts of potassium and iron.

Apples are good fruits for diabetics.  The naturally occurring sugar in apples is Fructose which absorbs into the blood stream slower than sucrose otherwise known as simple table sugar.

Biting and chewing on an apple (an active calorie food, by the way!) stimulates the gums and prompts an increased flow of saliva which helps to reduce tooth decay by lowering levels of bacteria in the mouth.

Best to eat your apples fresh rather than dried.  It takes about 5 lbs of apples to produce 1 lb dried which contain about 70 calories per ounce.  When apples are dried, most of their nutrients are lost with the exception of fiber and a small amount of iron.

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BENEFITS OF BROCCOLI

Your mother was right; eat your vegetables.  That is especially true for green vegetables.  While all the green vegetables are good for you, broccoli is one you should eat regularly whether you like it or not!  Broccoli is an excellent source of vitamin C.  It is a good source of vitamin A and folate.  It is a significant source of protein, calcium, iron, and other minerals.  Broccoli is also rich in bioflavonoids and other plant chemicals that protect against cancer.  In fact, while other cruciferous vegetables are protective, broccoli seems to have more cancer-fighting compounds than the others.  Some of these compounds block the action of hormones that stimulate tumors; others work by inhibiting tumor growth or by boosting the action of protective enzymes.  The bioflavonoids and other antioxidants found in broccoli are substances that protect against mutation and damage from unstable molecules.

Other benefits of broccoli are that it is high in fiber and low in calories!

If you don't like broccoli, think of it as a natural protector for your body and learn to eat it for your health's sake.

WHAT DOES THE LABEL ON YOUR BREAD MEAN?

Do you get confused when you go to the bread aisle?  Here is a little breakdown on what the "title" on your bread means.

• White Bread - This bread is made from refined white flour with nutrients such as iron, calcium, and several of the B vitamins restored.
• Wheat Bread - Usually made from refined white flour, although it may contain varying amounts of whole-wheat flour, bran, and other ingredients.
• Whole-Wheat Bread - Mostly made from whole-grain wheat flour.  But unless the label says, "100% Whole Wheat," such bread may still contain some refined white flour.
• High Fiber Bread - Usually made from white wheat flour with the addition of other grains.

Personally, I only buy bread that is labeled 100% Whole Wheat or 100% Whole Grain to be sure I am getting the needed whole grains and fiber.

APRICOTS ARE HEALTHY - BOTH FRESH AND DRIED

Apricots are rich sources of beta carotene, iron, and potassium.  They are high in fiber and yeah - low in calories and basically fat-free!  Yes, three fresh apricots have only about 50 calories and 10 dried apricot halves only have about 85 calories.

Fresh apricots are rich in vitamin C, however, when canned or dried apricots lose much of their vitamin C.  Still ounce for ounce, dried apricots are more nutritious than the fresh or canned ones.  That is because dried apricots are less than 1/3 water while the fresh apricots are 85% water.  (Remember this when you need hydration.  See article on this blog regarding "Eating Water.")

Apricots are great for desserts and for snacking.  Dried apricots and/or apricot leather are nutritious, fat-free snack foods.

Note: Apricots do contain natural salicylate which is a major ingredient in aspirin.  If you have an allergy to aspirin, be cautious about apricots.

CHICKEN WHITE MEAT VS DARK MEAT

If you are one of those people who only eat the breast meat of chicken, you should consider adding some dark meat to your diet.  The meat from the legs and thighs has greater amounts of nutrients such as zinc and iron than does the white breast meat.

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SUGAR AND DEPRESSION

Are you aware that high sugar intake and depression go hand in hand?  If you battle depression and you crave sweets, try substituting honey for some of the sugar you normally consume.  Honey contains traces of B vitamins, folate, iron, manganese, plus 181 different bioactive compounds such as quercetin, caffeic acid, etc which boosts energy production in the brain.

I wonder if this strange connection has anything to do with the fact that people who get depressed about something tend to overeat and put on weight.  Perhaps they get into a cycle where the depression feeds the sugar cravings and the sugar cravings feed the depression.  Keep this in mind the next time you feel depressed and reach for a candy bar, piece of cake, etc.

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TOMATOES ARE A HAPPINESS FOOD!

We all know tomatoes are good for us and are a food we definitely need as a part of our diets.  Here is a reason that might surprise you; tomatoes are a happiness food.  Tomatoes are rich in lycopene which helps maintain good mood by preventing the formation of inflammatory compounds that are associated with depression.  There are other mood enhancers in tomatoes, too, such as folate, magnesium, iron, vitamin B6.  The iron and vitamin B6 are both needed by the brain to produce important mood-regulating neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine.

So, eat your tomatoes and tomato products and be happy!

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WALNUTS ARE NATURE'S MULTIVITAMIN AND A HAPPINESS FOOD

Walnuts are sometimes called the multivitamin designed by nature!  If walnuts are not currently a part of your diet, they should be!  Consider this list of vitally important nutrients packed into a little walnut:

• trace minerals
• macronutrients
• magnesium
• copper
• iron
• manganese
• zinc
• calcium
• omega-3s
• folate
• other B vitamins

And I have probably missed one or two!  And by the way, walnuts are also considered 'happiness food."