CRAP! Iron too low!

[ladypeace82]

I couldn't donate blood today. The first stick was 12.3. the second stick was like 11.6.

I eat lots of spinach. And all this week I've had lots of blackberries.....

All the other times I've donated its been about 12.7.

I don't start my "pyramid" for another 4 or 5 days.......

Do I naturally have low iron?

I'm pretty disappointed. I have to give myself lots of pep talks to go donate....
:(

[Nurse in the Raw]

I know this is a bummer for you but it gives hope to people like me who have Hemochromatosis (Iron Overload). This is why I eat raw. One day I hope that my iron actually registers "normal" so I won't be predisposed to liver cancer.

[FloridaPatty]

Quote from Monica Brandies, gardening author in Florida.
"Jewels of Opar, Fame Flower, and Waterleaf are some of the common names for Talinum paniculatum or other Talinum species. We call it our leaf-a-day plant and have had no flu or even colds for the last year since we've been eating that leaf. You'll see the feathery fronds of its bloom in my front yard and are welcome to try a leaf. It tastes a bit like raw spinach. I use no poisons, so just check the underside for dust.
Very easy to grow, and it reseeds and naturalizes without being a pest. It thrives through heat, drought, and neglect in full sun to light shade and loves to grow in flower pots, though it grows well in the ground as well. I first planted it as a cut flower.
My friend Rachel Jackson first told me of someone whose doctor gave her one of these plants and told her to eat a leaf a day for the rest of her life. She had taken up the practice, and I came home and ate quite a few leaves myself before I forgot. Than a young gardener told me that her grandmother had similar advice, was told that the leaves were rich in iron and good for anemia.

You can find seeds in the catalogs of J.L. Hudson, who also mentions that they are edible both raw and parboiled, and of Thompson and Morgan. I'll have plants for sale at my garden. They are members of the Purslane family."

[greenday]

Nurse In The Raw - am curious how high the numbers have to be to be Iron Overload? I know this is bad, too, just as being too low is. All my life my numbers have been a "little high" around 14.9 or so. Recently had my bloodwork done and now it's 16.0. Any cause for concern? Any raw advice for this? Thanks.

[Nurse in the Raw]

Nurse In The Raw - am curious how high the numbers have to be to be Iron Overload? I know this is bad, too, just as being too low is. All my life my numbers have been a "little high" around 14.9 or so. Recently had my bloodwork done and now it's 16.0. Any cause for concern? Any raw advice for this? Thanks.

If you are of European ancestry, you need to have an iron profile (Iron, Ferritin, TIBC) completed and also your liver enzymes (ALT/AST) checked. Most doctors don't pick up on this and leave things unchecked for years until the organs start failing and then they make the discovery. Do it right away and let me know how it turns out. Feel free to email me.

[Nurse in the Raw]

I couldn't donate blood today. The first stick was 12.3. the second stick was like 11.6.

I eat lots of spinach. And all this week I've had lots of blackberries.....

All the other times I've donated its been about 12.7.

I don't start my "pyramid" for another 4 or 5 days.......

Do I naturally have low iron?

I'm pretty disappointed. I have to give myself lots of pep talks to go donate....
:(

Read my post (somewhere) about spinach. It is a poor form of iron because of the natural oxalates it has in it. Switch to other leafy greens that have iron. Gogi berries are a good source of iron.

[ladypeace82]

ok thanks!