If someone is really interested in being a vegetarian special concern needs to be taken that enough iron is being consumed and the mix of foods consumed. Iron anemia is one of the world's greatest nutritional problems, especially in those areas where a vegetarian diet is common and/or in areas where poverty allows mostly only veggie sources of food; especially grain foods. India has a big problem in this area, here is an article discussing it: Correction of Anemia and Iron Deficiency in Vegetarians http://makeashorterlink.com/?X26712E67 Here is an article that discusses the range of problems a vegetarian only diet can present and the variables to be juggled to avoid being anemic: http://www.llu.edu/llu/vegetarian/iron.htm There are two kinds of iron, both occur in meat and only one in veggies. The iron in meat is easily absorbed while that in veggies is less so. Some vegetarian foods even make this absorbtion less effective. For example, soy products can cause less iron absorption. The above article address quite well how to avoid being iron deficiency anemic on a vegetarian only diet and the problems, especially for women and children, if care is not taken.
<[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]... > > If someone is really interested in being a vegetarian special concern needs to be taken that > enough iron is being consumed and the mix of foods consumed. Iron anemia is one of the world's > greatest nutritional problems, especially in those areas where a vegetarian diet is common and/or > in areas where poverty allows mostly only veggie sources of food; especially grain foods. India > has a big problem in this area, here is an article discussing it: > > Correction of Anemia and Iron Deficiency in Vegetarians > > http://makeashorterlink.com/?X26712E67 > > Here is an article that discusses the range of problems a vegetarian only diet can present and the > variables to be juggled to avoid being anemic: > > http://www.llu.edu/llu/vegetarian/iron.htm > > There are two kinds of iron, both occur in meat and only one in veggies. The iron in meat is > easily absorbed while that in veggies is less so. Some vegetarian foods even make this absorbtion > less effective. For example, soy products can cause less iron absorption. The above article > address quite well how to avoid being iron deficiency anemic on a vegetarian only diet and the > problems, especially for women and children, if care is not taken. Oh you're just winding him up now ;o) MB
On 19 Feb 2004 22:12:15 GMT, [email protected] wrote: > >If someone is really interested in being a vegetarian special concern needs to be taken that enough >iron is being consumed and the mix of foods consumed. Iron anemia is one of the world's greatest >nutritional problems, especially in those areas where a vegetarian diet is common and/or in areas >where poverty allows mostly only veggie sources of food; especially grain foods. India has a big >problem in this area, here is an article discussing it: It may not be the vegetarian diet per se that may induce iron-deficiency, but the lack of a diverse diet. In India, a great deal of the diet rests in dal (lentils) and rice. The phytic acid may help deplete iron. Those who eat a more diverse diet probably will not have as much of a trouble with iron deficiency. Clearly, for many globally, there IS a problem with iron deficiency, especially among menstruating women. Some supplementation may help. Iodine deficiencies are also widely recognized. By contrast, in some populations, iron overload can be a significant problem. Adult men probably do NOT need to supplement with any iron, even in a resource poor environment. There are studies showing that excess iron may lead to heightened susceptibility to tuberculosis infection, for example. In the setting of certain chronic diseases such as a chronic hepatitis viral infection or HIV, excess iron is contraindicated for the most part. Making blanket statements that apply to all humans is part of the problem. "It worked for me, therefore it is good for all!" This kind of narrow thinking is not holistic nor sensible. Dietary advice, for example. Individuals must be evaluated -- and each of us should do this more for ourselves than rely solely on physicians with little time to actually practice the ART of medicine -- based on our gender, age, body mass index/weight, medical history, etc. Then choices about whether and what and if to supplement, how to modify diet, levels of exercise and amounts of rest can be made based on extant data, personal choice, income and access issues and the time and willingness one will put into such modifications. That doesn't mean generalizations need never be made. For example, I think a good multivitamin is an inexpensive and extremely valuable intervention for each and every individual with HIV. Iron-free for men! This view is based on numerous data from studies done in Africa, the United States and elsewhere. George M. Carter
[email protected] wrote or quoted: > Here is an article that discusses the range of problems a vegetarian only diet can present and the > variables to be juggled to avoid being anemic: > > http://www.llu.edu/llu/vegetarian/iron.htm > > There are two kinds of iron, both occur in meat and only one in veggies. The iron in meat is > easily absorbed while that in veggies is less so. Some vegetarian foods even make this absorbtion > less effective. For example, soy products can cause less iron absorption. The above article > address quite well how to avoid being iron deficiency anemic on a vegetarian only diet and the > problems, especially for women and children, if care is not taken. The article concludes: ``The fact that iron from plant foods is more influenced by inhibitors and enhancers of absorption may be advantageous. High body stores of iron don't have any particular advantage, but they may have a disadvantage. Iron is a pro- oxidant--it promotes the oxidative damage that is linked to many chronic diseases. Excess iron stores are linked to increased risk for heart disease and cancer, particularly colorectal cancer. In the Framingham Heart Study, only 3 percent of 1,016 older people studied had low iron stores, but 13 percent had iron stores that were too high. Since the main way the human body protects against excess iron is by controlling absorption, and non-heme iron is more sensitive to the factors that control absorption, diets that contain only non-heme iron--i.e., vegetarian diets--are more likely to protect against excess iron storage. Also, the very factor in vegetarian diets that inhibits iron absorption, phytate, is an antioxidant and so may contribute to lower chronic disease risk. In addition, the plant foods that are rich in iron are also rich in other disease- fighting compounds, while consumption of red meat raises risk for chronic disease. It doesn't make sense to look toward meat to provide adequate iron since plant foods can provide plenty of this mineral. It does make sense to include plenty of iron-rich foods in the diet every day and to choose a diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables to enhance iron absorption.'' -- __________ |im |yler http://timtyler.org/ [email protected] Remove lock to reply.
"Tim Tyler" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]... > [email protected] wrote or quoted: > > > Here is an article that discusses the range of problems a vegetarian only > > diet can present and the variables to be juggled to avoid being anemic: > > > > http://www.llu.edu/llu/vegetarian/iron.htm > > > > There are two kinds of iron, both occur in meat and only one in veggies. The iron in meat is > > easily absorbed while that in veggies is less so. Some vegetarian foods even make this > > absorbtion less effective. For example, soy products can cause less iron absorption. The above > > article address quite well how to avoid being iron deficiency anemic on a vegetarian only diet > > and the problems, especially for women and children, > > if care is not taken. > > The article concludes: > > ``The fact that iron from plant foods is more influenced by inhibitors and enhancers of absorption > may be advantageous. High body stores of iron don't have any particular advantage, but they may > have a disadvantage. Iron is a pro- oxidant--it promotes the oxidative damage that is linked to > many chronic diseases. Excess iron stores are linked to increased risk for heart disease and > cancer, particularly colorectal cancer. In the Framingham Heart Study, only 3 percent of 1,016 > older people studied had low iron stores, but 13 percent had iron stores that were too high. Since > the main way the human body protects against excess iron is by controlling absorption, and non- > heme iron is more sensitive to the factors that control absorption, diets that contain only non- > heme iron--i.e., vegetarian diets--are more likely to protect against excess iron storage. > > Also, the very factor in vegetarian diets that inhibits iron absorption, phytate, is an > antioxidant and so may contribute to lower chronic disease risk. In addition, the plant foods > that are rich in iron are also rich in other disease- fighting compounds, while consumption of > red meat raises risk for chronic disease. > > It doesn't make sense to look toward meat to provide adequate iron since plant foods can provide > plenty of this mineral. It does make sense to include plenty of iron-rich foods in the diet > every day and to choose a diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables to enhance iron > absorption.'' IF a vegetarian IS iron-deficient and s/he is willing to eat a barely sentient creature, then small baby clams are a very rich source of iron. I conjecture the iron is in the contents of their little tummies, not in their flesh. Therefore, whole baby clams may be non-heme iron. My iron store is somewhat low, for which I'm grateful. George W. Cherry
<snip> > George Cherry wrote: > >IF a vegetarian IS iron-deficient and s/he is willing to eat a barely sentient creature, then > >small baby clams are a very rich source of iron. I conjecture the iron is in the contents of > >their little tummies, not in their flesh. Therefore, whole baby clams may be non-heme iron. My > >iron store is somewhat low, for which I'm grateful. > > > >George W. Cherry > It seems you are wrong .. > > <<snip>> Foods containing heme iron include (in order of iron-richness) clams, oysters, > organ meats, beef, pork, poultry, and fish. <<snip>> > > Who loves ya. Tom I assume that your list is in decreasing order of iron richness. Thanks, Tom. So it's heme iron. Where did you get this info? I monitor my iron level carefully, and my iron store is usually low. My doctor wants me to take a multivitamin with iron, but I refuse to follow his advice. I ingest lots of phytic acid when I eat meals which include clams. Is that in increasing order or decreasing order of iron richness? I'm holding in my hand a can of Geisha Whole Baby Clams. Here's what the label states: Serving Size: 1/3 cup (55g) Calories: 50 Total Fat: 0.5g Saturated Fat: 0g Protein: 9g Percent of Daily Value (DV) based on a 2,000 calorie diet: Iron 90% A pretty good profile, I think: Calorie density under 1.0 (far less if you use the liquid), no sat fat, quite a bit of protein, and a LOT of iron. I dump the whole can (3 servings) into a microwave container with a can of no-salt organic tomato soup, and warm it. I then liberally sprinkle curry powder on it and (yum-yum) eat it. It's the only flesh food I eat. (Unless you count the Menhaden fish oil capsules I take.) I belong to the low Glycemic Index lacto ovo plant-eating brotherhood. Buddha was a vegetarian too. George W. Cherry > Jesus Was A Vegetarian! http://jesuswasavegetarian.7h.com Man Is A Herbivore! > http://pages.ivillage.com/ironjustice/manisaherbivore DEAD PEOPLE WALKING http://pages.ivillage.com/ironjustice/deadpeoplewalking
