Water Chestnut
The water chestnut, resembles a chestnut in color and shape, is also known as the Chinese water caltrop. This tuber is commonly associated with Chinese cooking, but is finding its way into other ethnic meals.

Hailing from Southeast Asia, water chestnuts are actually roots of an aquatic plant that grows in freshwater ponds, marshes, lakes, and in slow-moving rivers and streams. These roots are commonly grown in Japan, Taiwan, China, Thailand, and sometimes in Australia. Water chestnut harvesting is laborious, making them somewhat expensive to purchase. Processed and canned water chestnuts widely found in most supermarkets. However, fresh water chestnuts, are more difficult to find, but are becoming more available.


Water Chestnut
Serving Size (62g) Amounts Per Serving % Daily Value
Calories 30
Calories from Fat 0
Total Fat 0g 0%
Sodium 5mg 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 8g 3%
Dietary Fiber 3g 12%
Sugars 1g
Protein 1g
Vitamin A 0%
Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 0%
Iron 90%

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

[www.cdc.gov]

So the message here is that water chestnuts are supposedly 90% iron....if you can absorb it.
I got them fresh in China Town.

I don't know where people are getting these bizzare figures from. If something was 90% iron, it would be a piece of metal and there would be no way we could eat it. Waterchesnuts are 70-80% water, as with a lot of our foods. See:

[www.nutritiondata.com]

and

[www.nutritiondata.com]

According to Nutrition Data, canned (cooked I assume) water chesnuts have 3% iron. And a raw type of waterchessnut has 0% iron.

Rob

--
Rob Hull - Funky Raw
My blog: [www.rawrob.com]

The source for rosemary's info was the CDC (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), and the source for nutritiondata.com's info was the USDA (US Dept. of Agriculture).

Isn't it interesting and amazing that those two US govt. agencies would list such completely different information?

Takes the raw food vegans to notice such things. (smile)

Nutritiondata.com is put together by Lori and Ron Johnson. The email address they list for questions about their site is feedback@nutritiondata.com.

I have emailed them to see if they have any explanation for the different data, and will share with you both whatever response. Or you might try to email also.

Best wishes!

Ya know, I don't think the 90% listing for iron is intended to mean that the chestnuts are made up of 90% iron. I think it's supposed to mean that the chestnuts supply 90% of the daily requirement. That's what "percent daily value" means.

If you look at rosemary's CDC link, "percent daily value" is the heading over the column where you will find the 90%.

Ah, I missed that. But I read Rosemarys second post "So the message here is that water chestnuts are supposedly 90% iron...."

--
Rob Hull - Funky Raw
My blog: [www.rawrob.com]

To rosemary and Funky Rob,

I asked Ron and Lori Johnson of nutritiondata.com,"...what do you think is the reason for the extreme difference in data?"

Ron Johnson emailed the following:

"Primarily a lack of communication between the USDA and the CDC. Unfortunately, they are two large and fairly inefficient agencies, who compile data from different sources. We use the most recent data from the USDA's National Nutrient Database because it's generally the most accurate and most complete. Please note, however, that nutrient levels can vary considerably from sample to sample for cultivated foods, due to differences in growing conditions. For most listings, the USDA averages the results of several tests, which gives more reliable results. I'm not sure where the CDC obtained their iron data, but I would suspect that it came from a more limited set of studies."

The source listed on the CDC website seemed to just lead back to the same article, although I didn't pursue it too far. I emailed the CDC to ask them about it, but I'll be kind of surprised to hear a reply any time soon.

So the question remains somewhat unanswered, but until there is more information, I personally would not consider the CDC's high iron assessment to be completely reliable.

Best wishes!

Thanks for checking that out Ally.

Rob

--
Rob Hull - Funky Raw
My blog: [www.rawrob.com]

Apologies that should read that 62g of water chestnuts supplies 90% of your daily requirement of protein (if you can absorb it).