Greetings family
I tried cooked veganism before (about 4 years ago) and after 9 months became severely anaemic. This time around (just over 6 months) I have been 80% raw and vegan and recently my menses ended and I beginning to feel those smptoms of anaemia again. waking up tired, or completely exhausted by early afternoon. I also been finding it difficult to sleep these past few days.
I been eating approximately 1.5lb greens a day, pak choy, string beans, lettuce and occasionally curly kale.
Anybody had similar symptoms or know what maybe going on with me?
OD

I haven't had any problems.


Have you tried using citrus with your greens?
Or a cast-iron pan for the cooked food you do eat?

Here are the fruits and fruit juices highest in iron (per 100g serving):

[www.nutritiondata.com]

Vegetables and and vegetable products highest in iron (per 100g serving)

[www.nutritiondata.com]

Nut and seed products highest in iron (per 100g serving):

[www.nutritiondata.com]

Of course, there's a lot of stuff on these lists that aren't raw-vegan-friendly, but there's a lot of good stuff too. Definitely, a raw food vegan diet should be able to supply enough iron.

Utopian Life mentioned citrus. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in citrus and other fruits/vegetables can enhance bioavailablity (absorption) of iron. Phytates from cooked grains lower iron bioavailability. "Vitamin and Mineral Requirements in Human Nutrition" (from WHO), includes this statement: "In the more developed countries, a high bioavailability of iron from the diet is mainly associated with a high meat intake, a high intake of ascorbic acid with meals, a low intake of phytate-rich cereals, and no coffee or tea within two hours of the main meals." Here's the article's section on iron, including recommendations (see chart 13.5):

[whqlibdoc.who.int]

I think chart 13.3 (from the same article) is interesting too. The diets with the lowest iron bioavailability have the least meat/fish, BUT, those diets - as listed on the chart - were also high in phytates (from cooked grains). So, generally speaking, a diet that is mostly raw food vegan, but also includes phytates from cooked grains, might be at a higher risk for iron deficiency.

A moderately non-restrictive raw food vegan diet should be able to supply plenty of iron. 1/4 cup of organic pumpkin seeds or 1/4 cup whole brown sesame seeds can significantly boost iron intake. And/or you might consider including some spirulina everyday.

Best wishes.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/07/2009 08:32PM by suncloud.

Suncloud, great post. Thanks for all the info and links

Thanks, Cocoa_Nibs .

I thought this was a pretty good article on iron, for anyone who might be interested:

[ibdcrohns.about.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/07/2009 08:37PM by suncloud.

Try to vary your greens and especially don't concentrate on the high oxalic acid ones. I've never had problems with anemia myself --not on cooked veganism or raw.

Thanks Suncloud - good post. Unfortunately a quater cup of sesame seeds or pumpkin seeds would finish me off - terrible bloating pain. I try not to eat too many dried fruit as they make my teeth hurt amongst other problems .

I do love parsley and eat a handfull every day - I weighed it the other day just out of interest and it weighed 10gms so it's nowhere near enough to be of real benefit. I'd better get growing and grow a field of parsley lol.

I really need more iron and am wondering how I can eat elderberries when they come into season - they are so sour - any ideas anyone?

flipperjan-

have you tried juicing the parsley? i add it to carrot and other veg juices, and it's a much easier way to get alot more down.

I like marsh's idea.

Flipperjan, maybe you could blend the elderberries with some sweeter fruits - strawberries and bananas maybe. Or perhaps even better, mix them into a fruit salad with sweeter fruits.

To be clear, about the lists that I linked above, I'm not recommending anything in particular from those charts. The charts are just out there for people to read and make their own choices. I like dried fruit, but only just a little bit. Definitely not too great for the teeth!

I suggested adding sesame seeds, because seeds helped me overcome my own deficiencies in the past.

But there are other ways to get iron. A head of romaine lettuce supplies 6.1 mg of iron. That's more iron than in 1/4 cup of sesame seeds (1/4 cup sesame seeds supplies about 5.2 mg iron). A head of red leaf lettuce supplies 3.7 mg of iron. You can probably get enough iron if you have lots of good greens in your diet, plus whatever other iron sources you eat during the day.

Also, keep in mind that eating plenty of raw foods rich in Vitamin C will help your body absorb more iron.

Might be best to keep an eye on it though. If you're not already doing so, you can enter your daily foods on a nutrient calculator online. It wouldn't hurt to keep track of other minerals/vitamins as well.

If you ever do think it might be helpful to add a some seeds (or nuts, or whatever) to your diet, maybe try eating them over the course of the entire day - a teaspoon here, and a teaspoon there - and see how that is.

Best wishes!

Hi All
Thank you so much for your inputs and great information. I am feeling better a few days on, I am becoming more conscious of the iron content of my foods and starting to track it on Cronometer.
I think I need to juice & blend more of my greens, as chewing is not doing it. I will try that for a while and feed back. I also need to add more citrus not realizing its needed for non-heme absorption. If that fails to work maybe molasses and cooked green banana soup in a cast iron pot would help. Like flipper I don't need to increase my fat so much with seeds.
I don't like this feeling at all. I had been congratulating myself on how light (by comparison) my menses were this last time, premature. It is all about learning.
Thanks again
OD

Two really shocking things I found out when I was found to be slightly anemic were that caffeine really impairs one's ability to absorb iron and that citrus really improves the ability to absorb iron. Also, try tossing greens into a fruit smoothie with a bit of lemon or orange squeezed in - you'll never taste the greens and they are much better chewed up by the blender than by you!

blessings and peace, Pammie

why do things have more iron when they are dried or frozen?

ILoveJen, I think it's more about percentages, eg when a food has water removed from it, each nutrient will 'appear' to be higher. That's one of the ways in which sellers of powders market their products. If you then mixed the powder with liquid, and measurements were taken again, iron etc would go down.

Can't answer 'frozen' off the top of my head - perhaps someone else can!

thanks marsh and suncloud.

My head is not good! I forgot that about 3 weeks ago I stopped taking a mega vit & mineral supplement, too much money. It could be that it has worked out of my system and the drain of my menses accelerated that process.
I going o check and see if there is a thread already about raw food and supplementation.

OkunDeji

Just a thought...do you have alcohol or caffeine at all? They (as well as a host of other things) adversely affect iron absorption.

No I don't drink alcohol, 5 years sober and I cut out caffeine at the same time I went raw vegan, I quit smoking too that's about 7 months ago.

Those are some hard addictions to quit. Hooray for you OkunDeji!

Yay!

Great thread guys!!

Thanks for all the information.

Way to go OkunDeji!

Thanks everybody, I didn't do it by myself I ahd a lot of helpo and support, even from this and other fora/ forums?!~
One day at a time.

I've just written an article on iron and raw food which may be of interest.

[www.debbietookrawforlife.blogspot.com]

Maca is full of iron... I take some everyday, and my doctor tought i was taking iron supplements!

mira,

That's good to know--I bought a bag of maca out of curiosity 3/4 of a year ago, and am not into superfoods, so it's just sitting in the pantry. Now I know what to use it for! Thanks!