Avoiding Anemia (More Than Just "Get More Iron")

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Today’s 30-Second Summary

If you don’t have time to read the whole email today, here are some key takeaways:

• Anemia affects 10% of American seniors, or 34–39% in the case of having comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, or hypercholesterolemia.

  • Today’s main feature examines the juggling act of “red meats contain a lot of iron” vs “red meats are generally one of the worst things to eat for heath”

  • We also look at “plant foods also contain iron”, but “it’s not as well-absorbed as from meat”, tempered with “unless you eat these foods with it”

• Do you use headphones/earbuds a lot? If so…

  • Today’s sponsor Status has some latest-tech earbuds you are going to want to try out, to give your ears the best they’ve ever heard.

• Today’s featured recipe dates back to Ancient Egypt, and it tastes just as good today, while also being an incredibly healthy way to start the day with prebiotics, probiotics, protein, healthy fats, and a whole array of tasty health-giving spices.

Read on to learn more about these things, or click here to visit our archive

A Word To The Wise

Watch and Learn

7 Ways To Boost Mitochondrial Health To Fight Disease

Dr. Jonas Kuene gives a well-referenced rundown:

Prefer text? The above video will take you to a 10almonds page with a text-overview, as well as the video!

Wildcard Wednesday

The Iron Dilemma: Factors To Consider

Anemia affects around 10% of American seniors, and that number jumps to 34–39% if there’s a comorbidity such as diabetes, hypertension, or hypercholesterolemia, which in turn climbs with increasing age or with other chronic conditions:

The Prevalence of Anemia and Its Associated Factors among Older Persons: Findings from the National Health and Morbidity Survey

So, what can we do about it?

Get iron yes, but how?

We’d be remiss not to say: yes, do of course make sure you get plenty of iron.

Most people know that red meats, which are terrible for the heart and for cancer risk, are good sources of iron.

Well, good insofar as they provide plenty of it! They’re bad for other reasons.

Source: Red Meat Consumption (Heme Iron Intake) and Risk for Diabetes and Comorbidities?

To heme or not to heme

Did you catch that in the middle there, about the heme iron component?

Dietary iron is broadly divided into two kinds: heme, and non-heme.

• Heme iron comes from animals

• Non-heme iron comes from plants

Bad news for vegans: non-heme iron is not so easily absorbed as heme iron.

This means that if you’re just eating plants, the RDA may be significantly lowballing the amount actually required. As a rule, about 1.8x more iron may be needed for vegans, to compensate for it being less easily absorbed.

Why this happens: it’s because of the phytic acid / phytate in the plants that contain the iron, blocking its absorption.

Good news for vegans: however, taking iron with vitamin C increases its absorption rate by about 5x better absorption, and several other side-along nutrients do similarly, including allium (from garlic), carotenoids (from many colorful plants), and fermented foods.

Why this happens: it’s because they bind with similar sites as phytic acid, without causing the same effect. To make a metaphor: these foods steal phytic acid’s parking space, so phytic acid can’t do its iron-blocking thing.

By happy coincidence, today’s featured recipe has all of these things in, by the way (vitamin C, allium, carotenoids, and fermented foods), and the star ingredient (fava beans) is a rich source of iron.

What are good sources of iron, then?

In the category of plants:

• Beans (pick your favorites / eat a variety)

• Lentils (pick your favorites / eat a variety)

• Greens (especially dark leafy greens)

• Apricots (you can get these dried, for convenience!)

• Dark chocolate (5mg per 1oz square!)*

*Ok, technically dark chocolate is not a plant; cacao is a plant; dark chocolate is usually plant-based, though, as there is no reason to add milk.

In the category of dairy products:

That’s not a publication error; dairy products are just not great for iron. Cheeses are more nutrient-dense than milk, and have less than 0.5mg per oz, in other words, the top dairy product has around 10x less iron than dark chocolate, which came in 5th place and let’s face it, we were doing broad categories there. If we listed all the beans, lentils, greens, etc it’d be a much longer list.

Eggs, which are sometimes considered under the category of dairy by virtue of not being an animal (yet!) but an animal product, have around 1mg per egg, by the way, so considering eggs are nearer 2oz, that’s not much better than the cheese.

“But what about if…”

The above is good science and general good advice for most people. That said, some people may have conditions that preclude the foods we recommended, or have other considerations, and so things may be different. Anemia can sometimes be caused by things that can’t be fixed by diet (beyond the scope of today’s article; another time, perhaps), but for example, if you have leukemia then definitely discuss things with your doctors first. Other illnesses, and some medications, can also have troublesome effects that can contribute to anemia. Again, we can offer very good general information here, but we don’t know your medical history, and our standard legal/medical disclaimer applies as always.

See also: Do We Need Animal Products To Be Healthy? 

Take care!

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This Or That?

Vote on Which is Healthier

Yesterday we asked you to choose between hemp seeds and flax seeds—we picked the flax (click here to read about why), as did 72% of you!

Now for today’s choice:

Click on whichever you think is better for you!

Recipes Worth Sharing

Wise Old Fool

Sometimes at 10almonds we’re sharing the latest innovations; today, we’re sharing a traditional breakfast dish that dates back to Ancient Egypt.

We’ve got morning protein, carbs, fats, and healthful spices. We’ve got prebiotics, probiotics, and enough taste (from the many-propertied spices) to more than compete with other beans-based breakfast foods.

Click below for our full recipe, and give your mornings an Egyptian twist:

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One-Minute Book Review

Hope Not Nope: Using Hope for Healing and Reclaiming Identity as a Lifelong Athlete in a Sick Healthcare System – by Dr. Dillon Caswell

The author a Doctor of Physical Therapy, writes from both professional expertise and personal experience, when it comes to the treatment of long term injury / disability / chronic illness.

His position here is that while suffering is unavoidable, we don’t have to suffer as much or as long as many might tell us. We can do things to crawl and claw our way to a better position, and we do not have to settle for any outcome we don’t want. That doesn’t mean there’s always a miracle cure—we don’t get to decide that—but we do get to decide whether we keep trying.

Dr. Caswell’s advice is based mostly in psychology—a lot of it in sports psychology, which is no surprise given his long history as an athlete as well as his medical career.

The style is very easy-reading, and a combination of explanation, illustrative (often funny) anecdotes, and a backbone of actual research to keep everything within the realms of science rather than mere wishful thinking—he strikes a good balance.

Bottom line: if your current health outlook is more of an uphill marathon, then this book can give you the tools to carry yourself through the healthcare system that’s been made for numbers, not people.

Click here to check out Hope Not Nope, and keep going!

Penny For Your Thoughts?

Wishing you a healthy day today and every day,

The 10almonds Team