So I bought some molasses yesterday for a dish I was making and I remember hearing about people putting it in hot water as a drink (Ayurvedic?) and I also knew it was high in iron and calcium so I looked on the label. This is per Tbsp.

10% RDA for calcium

15% RDA for iron

10% for B6

lots of potassium

So I am wondering if perhaps it's not a good addition to one's diet. I always thought it was strange to dis it because it's a "by-product," like a pig's snout. It's the most nutritious part!

I used to take molasses and apple cider vinegar many years ago as supplements.
There are now so many other super food that have not been altered by heat that make these unnecessary for me.
There may be issues on how molasses are made.

Molasses are worse than white sugar. [www.rawfoodsupport.com]

CommonSenseRaw Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I used to take molasses and apple cider vinegar
> many years ago as supplements.
> There are now so many other super food that have
> not been altered by heat that make these
> unnecessary for me.
> There may be issues on how molasses are made.


[wholesomesweeteners.com] This is the brand. Also sustainable! By the way, saying it's worse than white sugar is just plain silly. That link was just a thread--where's proof of it being worse? How could it be if it contains the nutrients in the sugar cane juice? I forgot to add that a Tbsp. is 8% magnesium, which is hard to get in the diet!

The thing about nutritional yeast is that it is fortified with synthetic B vitamins, no? It is not naturally-occurring from the yeast, is it? It's like when they talk about soy milk as a source of B12 or calcium and these are added ingredients and not straight from Nature.

I remember when I worked in the health food store there was a liquid iron supplement called Flor-vita or something similar. You would know. But you look on the label and the iron is not purely from plants! I will look it up but it just seems like most supplements are not derived from plants directly. I believe that a fresh veggie juice (even a small glass) would be more beneficial than a powder or pill any day. I should add that I mean with assorted veggies and not just one type.

Lookie here: [www.drugstore.com]

How confusing! Elemental iron from ferrous gluconate comes from where? It's not listed in the ingredients so is it derived from the fruit ingredients or what?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/14/2013 07:07PM by banana who.

Its naturally occuring bananawho with the B-complex vitamins and yeast. All yeasts are naturally a great source of B vitamins and other nutrients.

The B12 which some nutritional yeasts brands such as red star are fortified with is synthetic however.

I know the supplement you mean and your right it contains synthetic iron even though there are some plant sources in it. Synthetic vitamins/minerals can be helpful in the case of treating serious deficiencies. Otherwise i agree natural foods are better sources to get dietary iron.

Natu Health Food Store

powerlifter Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Its naturally occuring bananawho with the
> B-complex vitamins and yeast. All yeasts are
> naturally a great source of B vitamins and other
> nutrients.
>
> The B12 which some nutritional yeasts brands such
> as red star are fortified with is synthetic
> however.
>
> I know the supplement you mean and your right it
> contains synthetic iron even though there are some
> plant sources in it. Synthetic vitamins/minerals
> can be helpful in the case of treating serious
> deficiencies. Otherwise i agree natural foods are
> better sources to get dietary iron.
>
> Natu Health Food Store

Don't you think it's a bit odd that it's not listed in the ingredients? It really gives the impression that the iron is coming straight from the produce! Do you know what they call iron derived from greens? Do they just call it iron or does it have another word after it (or does 'ate' indicate that it's synthetic)?

How can overheated sugar be better than sugar?

Sugar is already very bad.

These foods were useful in the past when we did not have enough knowledge about nutrition, we did not have super food, sprouts, green juices, smoothies.

Now they are totally useless, even harmful.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/14/2013 11:15PM by CommonSenseRaw.

CommonSenseRaw Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> How can overheated sugar be better than sugar?
>
> Sugar is already very bad.
>
> These foods were useful in the past when we did
> not have enough knowledge about nutrition, we did
> not have super food, sprouts, green juices,
> smoothies.
>
> Now they are totally useless, even harmful.

Eh--sounds like hyperbole. A Tbsp. a day is not the end of the world and might just be the beginning of something beautiful...

Oprah said, “It’s every alcoholic’s dream to find some way to still have it.”

Panchito Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Oprah said, “It’s every alcoholic’s dream to
> find some way to still have it.”
>
> [yoursmiles.org]


That's what John Rose said over and over recently. Hope it's not your sock puppet. In any case, why would this relate to an addiction? I would rather supplement with a FOOD that is readily available than an overpriced sham-wow latest, greatest supplement.

Sorry Banana. I was just playing around

Panchito Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sorry Banana. I was just playing around


LOL...

powerlifter

what's the deal with some people having low ferritin levels ( the protein that stores iron) and having perfect iron levels but still not able to store it well

so does it matter how much iron u intake if your iron storage levels are what is causing the problem? i'm talking about low iron levels cuz most vegans have low iron levels

in other words, how do u get your ferritin levels up without taking those synthetic irons like the fumarate/sulfate

Hey la_veronique,

From what ive researched low ferritin levels can be the result of a number of conditions such as thyroid disorders, celiac/intestinal diseases and even vitamin C deficiency. Serum iron levels aren't a great indicator of true iron levels in the body because they only show what is unbound and currently circulating in the blood.

Low ferritin levels can be indicative of iron deficiency anemia.

As you say vegans have been shown to have lower levels of serum ferritin this is because plant iron non-heme is poorly absorbed by the body. Consuming vitamin C rich foods alongside iron rich plant foods can help to increase absorption. Quite a few studies have shown even around half of vegans have low ferritin levels.

Serum ferritin tests should be used alongside serum iron to give a better indicator of true iron levels in the body. So many physicians rely on serum iron alone and can miss excess iron disorders such as hemochromatosis. Although ferritin levels can be sensitive and show increased levels when the individual is suffering from inflammation or infection.

To increase ferritin levels supplementation may be needed if iron deficiency anemia is diagnosed. Otherwise correcting the secondary issues whether thyroid, low vitamin C intake or lack of iron rich foods in the diet, which are causing low ferritin levels is recommended.

You bring up a great point about iron biounavaibility where the body can't utilize the iron it is getting well, this again can be the result of whole body issues and usually involve other minerals such as zinc deficiency, toxic metal imbalances and malabsorption issues as described above, which disrupts enzyme function and iron transport proteins. Many physicians routinely prescribe iron but if the body isn't using what its been given then excess iron will result.

Natu Health Food Store



Edited 7 time(s). Last edit at 12/15/2013 12:33PM by powerlifter.

hi powerlifter

thanks for taking the time to answer my question
i really appreciate it
i especially honed in on what u said concerning vitamin C and iron
vitamin c rich foods and iron rich foods go very well together
thank you for the reminder
that's interesting what u said concerning conditions what could cause ferritin levels to become low so that iron can't bind - the body is an interesting animal

also metal toxicity hindering the process
just the air that we breathe could have all sorts of glittery things floating around
a chelating diet is a good thing to always have
thanks again for your concise response

<<You bring up a great point about iron biounavaibility where the body can't utilize the iron it is getting well, this again can be the result of whole body issues and usually involve other minerals such as zinc deficiency, toxic metal imbalances and malabsorption issues as described above, which disrupts enzyme function and iron transport proteins. Many physicians routinely prescribe iron but if the body isn't using what its been given then excess iron will result.>>

so the weird thing is i heard of people having very low ferritin levels and then taking one of those synthetics ( fumarate/sulfate) and raising their ferritin levels

this seems bizarre to me since the storage proteins for iron is low.. so i'm wondering how the heck they got their ferritin levels higher by just putting in more synthetic iron

that would be like a baseball team lacking baseball mitts ( ferritin) where the baseball ( iron) would be caught in

and they decide to donate tons of baseballs ( iron) in order to increase the number of baseball mitts ( ferritin) that they are lacking

so, what i'm hearing from you is that the thyroid issues, zinc deficiencies, metal toxicities etc. are the cause of lack of iron

is it because it :

1. lowers ferritin levels ( hence lowering iron levels)
2. lowers iron absorbtion levels without affecting the ferritin
3. something else?

So, would adding more iron help at all with the ferritin levels?... it would seem like it would simply allow existing baseball mitts to have more baseballs inside of them without addressing the reason behind why there are low iron levels ( baseball mitts ) to begin with

i know its a subtle question but i'm really confused as to why i hear/read about people taking synthetic iron supplements like sulfate/fumarate etc. in order to incrase their ferritin levels and being somewhat successful in their endeavor

this makes no sense

i don't intend to take the synthetics ( but it still made me wonder what the deal is )

are they just enormously deluded? or do they feel that even though they have very little baseball mitts ( ferritin), just throwing more and more baseballs ( iron) will solve the problem of lack of baseball mitts to store more iron in the future?

sorry for asking this again

i was just twirling it over in my mind and something just didn't match

though i think what i'm getting from u is that the underlying problem must be treated first in order to affect iron bioavailability ... which makes sense

i was just trying to make sense of why some people seem to be successful in increasing ferritin levels by taking in more iron ( synthetic or non synthetic)

also, why would anyone take synthetic iron ( ferrous fumarate/ferrous sulfate)
cuz i read the side effects and they seem pretty bad