Loss of blood can quickly lead to iron deficiency, if the diet does not provide sufficient iron sources. Iron deficiency effects one out of every five women and half of all pregnant women. Unfortunately for vegetarian and vegan women, the human body absorbs plant sources of iron poorly (this has to do with the chemical structure of the iron – heme vs. non-heme iron). What is insidious about this combination of circumstances is that without iron supplementation — and iron supplementation is not generally recommended without doctor supervision — a vegetarian or vegan female can eventually enter a state of iron deficiency anemia, without realizing it. It is most likely to creep up on her slowly and therefore go undetected.

Risk factors for iron deficiency include being female, eating a predominantly plant-based diet, and engaging in a high physical activity level. Some of the symptoms, which gradually intensify with continued decline in iron stores, are a general lack of energy and weakness, brittle nails, headache, and cravings for strange things like ice (known as pica). Left untreated, iron deficiency anemia can lead to heart problems, not to mention reduced quality of life.

On the other hand, excessive iron can lead to poisoning. Iron is stored primarily in the liver, where it can accumulate to toxic levels. Iron poisoning, which sometimes occurs during iron supplementation, is reversible in its early stages, so it might be prudent to know what symptoms to watch for. There is a fairly common condition, called hemochromatosis, in which the body over-stores iron. This is part of the reason iron supplementation is not generally recommended without consulting a doctor.

Diet is the safest means of ensuring you are getting enough iron. Foods that are richest in readily absorbable iron are red meat, eggs, seafood, and poultry. Plant-based foods, with the highest iron content are whole grains, beans and peas, dark leafy vegetables, dried apricots, figs, raisins, nuts and seeds. To maximize iron absorption, always combine your iron source with a source of vitamin C.

Ask your doctor to test your blood, if you suspect you may be suffering from an iron deficiency. Once you begin to reverse an iron deficiency, it can take up to six months to regain normal iron stores. Over the course of your iron therapy, it is important to have your doctor monitor your iron levels.

Without directly dissing dairy, the American Academy of Pediatrics has begun to advocate breast milk over cow’s milk for infants. Their stance is partially based upon a study finding that milk can cause intestinal bleeding in infants, which may lead to iron deficiencies. For all of you who were forced to drink milk as a child, you are going to love the next bit. One pediatric study has shown that adult bone density correlates more with childhood physical activity levels than with calcium consumption. And a review, by Dr. Amy Lanou, of multiple studies concludes that there is no concrete evidence that dairy products improve bone calcium status. Dr. Lanou concludes that “To build strong bones and healthy bodies, children need exercise, sunshine, and a diet rich in fruits and vegetables that helps them maintain a healthy body weight.”

Dairy consumption later in life seems to actually contribute to osteoporosis. In the mid-1990’s, the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine lodged a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission over the dairy industry’s ad campaigns that were deceptively promoting dairy for bone building. The Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine recommends green vegetables as a superior source of calcium.

Dr. Gabe Mirkin, points out a further concern with reliance on dairy products over the course of one’s life – milk consumption has been linked to prostrate cancer risk. Even though milk is often fortified with vitamin D, the calcium in milk can effectively reduces your vitamin D stores, such that regular consumers have below optimal levels of vitamin D. Low levels of vitamin D have been linked to cancer risk. Of further concern are insulin-like-growth-factors found in milk, which appear to stimulate the spread of cancer.

The dairy industry spends millions of dollars advertising the purported health benefits of milk products — health claims that even the USDA agrees are unsubstantiated. The industry’s most recent claim that milk products aid weight loss has also proven unmerited.

In conclusion, treat dairy products like you would any indulgence – use in moderation. Don’t expect to reap any health benefits.

When wheat is milled and bleached to make white flour, it is stripped of two of its healthiest structures, the germ and the bran. What is left has negligible health value – all the vitamins and minerals have been thrown out with the bran and germ. Once it was discovered that such brutal dissection of wheat caused nutritional deficiencies to become more prevalent, vitamins and minerals were added back to make bleached enriched white flour. Unfortunately, even adding the lost nutrients back cannot reverse all the damage done, as the original minerals were in a more absorbable form, but further, antioxidants were associated with the bran and germ portion. In fact, bran and germ contain 83% of whole wheat’s antioxidants, even though they make up only about 16% of the wheat structure.

The new white whole wheat is milled just like whole wheat. This wheat is an albino variety, so it has a natural white color and also a less bitter flavor. The compounds that make whole wheat bitter, in the regular red variety of wheat, are absent in the white variety. This is good news for any of you who have children, because children’s taste buds are more sensitive to the bitterness of whole wheat flour. So go ahead and sneak the new white whole wheat into your cookies, no one will notice and your health very well may benefit.

There are many benefits to eating fruits and vegetables raw. So the raw food diet sparked my curiosity. After all, many vitamins are destroyed in foods when we cook them, so it seems natural to assume a raw food diet would be most advantageous. Often times I wonder if eating vegetarian offers enough of the recommended fruits and vegetables for optimum nutrition, since the majority of the plant-based foods that I eat have been cooked. While the 5-a-day website claims that those five servings of fruits and vegetables need not be fresh, I have heard from other sources that foods plucked freshly from your own garden offer the highest nutritional value. Raw foodists further claim that the enzymes (which are easily destroyed by cooking) of raw foods help us avoid degenerative diseases. However, following anything strictly can get you into trouble. Some vitamins are actually more bio-available upon cooking, particularly beta-carotene. The raw food diet also does not provide sufficient Vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 is a funny sort of vitamin, in that it is only produced by microbial life. Plants do not produce it and animal products only contain it because of animal associations with microscopic life forms. Good sources of Vitamin B12 are animal products and foods that have been fermented or cultured, such as yogurt and cheeses. So it seems that in order to benefit most from raw foods, we should eat them in moderation or eat them in association with other foods.

The following recipe is quick and easy to chop up, contains vibrant, mostly raw ingredients (the majority of which are easily grown in a modest kitchen garden), and contains feta cheese – a good source of vitamin B12. Whether you want to refer to it as a salad, salsa, relish or chutney is your call, but the classic Grecian flavors are unmistakable. I prefer to pair this with pita bread and hummus for an easy and healthy lunch.

Grecian Relish

1 clove of garlic, minced finely
4 fresh roma tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
1/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted and thinly sliced
2-3 Tablespoons feta cheese, crumbled

Combine all ingredients in a suitably sized bowl. Serves 2 or more.

Please note that this recipe is a rough guideline, as I usually just throw it together without measuring. Feel free to proportion it to your own tastes.

*Nearly Raw because of the feta and the olives. The milk in store-bought feta is pasteurized and most store-bought olives are canned. Both unpasteurized feta and uncanned olives are available.

Tips to Increase Calcium Absorption

Get sufficient vitamin D (either from sunlight or supplement)

Get your daily recommended intake of magnesium

Eat yogurt (plain with active cultures is best, also look for added inulin and fructooligosaccharides)

Take a calcium supplement (preferably a liquid solution), but don’t take more than 500 mg at a time. Evening is the best time to take your supplement.

Tips to Decrease Calcium Loss

Exercise

Don’t smoke

Don’t consume excess sodium (avoid processed foods)

Limit soft drink intake (avoid phosphoric acid)

Limit sugar intake

Limit caffeine intake

Reduce meat intake

It has been shown that vegetarians and vegans require less calcium consumption for calcium maintenance, due to their avoidance of animal proteins, their low total protein consumption, and their low sodium intake. Vegetarians and vegans are less likely to need calcium supplementation, which is a good thing because over-consumption of calcium can interfere with the body’s ability to absorb magnesium. This presents a catch-22, because magnesium is necessary for proper absorption and utilization of calcium.

Some nutritionists advise that fresh fruits, vegetables, and grains ought to be sufficient sources of calcium. Not all vegetables are good sources of calcium, because they contain oxalate, a compound that interferes with calcium availability. Meanwhile, with whole grains and soybeans, phytates present a similar problem for calcium absorption. Both oxalates and phytates bind tightly to calcium, rendering the calcium useless to the body. A study worth noting has shown that whole wheat bread may actually provide more useful calcium than a serving of milk (when both are equivalently rationed for calcium content), but that the same whole wheat in cereal form offers less bio-available calcium than milk. With regard to calcium availability, whole wheat is probably more nutritious in bread form because the yeast enzyme, phytase, breaks down phytate during bread rising.

Meanwhile the benefits of yogurt are not only that it presents a source of calcium, but that it affords at least two other important factors which make its calcium more useful to the body. Yogurt contains lactoferin – a protein that aids bone building while also discouraging bone loss. Furthermore, the beneficial bacteria found in active cultured yogurt assist the body’s uptake of calcium during digestion. Recently it has been found that adding inulin and fructooligosaccharides to the diet increases calcium absorption. Yogurt that includes these naturally derived additives is an even better option.

You know, as citizens of developed countries we really do eat too much salt. Our appetites for processed foods, with all the added sodium, have detrimentally affected our health. But those who shed the standard western diet ought to take a peek behind the nutritional convention curtains. You can endanger your life by not eating enough salt because salt by its more rosy name is electrolyte. I don’t think you need a lecture on the importance of electrolytes. But in light of all the salt bashing, maybe we should brush up on a few facts.

The human body needs a proper balance of electrolytes for good health. The primary elements we need the most in these salts are potassium, sodium and chloride. Our body requires about three times as much potassium as sodium. Other necessary electrolytes are calcium, magnesium, and zinc, followed by trace minerals. Good sources of potassium are plant-based foods, while meat is a natural source of sodium. Again, the western diet is typically high in sodium, while low in potassium. However, the reverse is true of a plant-based diet. If you simultaneously restrict sodium on a vegetarian or vegan diet you have a recipe for disaster, because plants, while bountiful in potassium, are poor sources of sodium.

A few symptoms of sodium deficiency to watch for, while following a strict vegetarian or vegan diet, are propensity to dehydration, dizziness, fatigue, heart palpitations, muscular weakness, nausea and vomiting, poor coordination, and recurrent infections. All of these symptoms are, of course, more pronounced in those who are physically active. Summer temperatures can aggravate otherwise masked symptoms. Older people are also more susceptible to dehydration because they lose salt at a faster rate.

Proper re-hydration is a practical skill everyone should learn. Once you become thirsty, you are already dehydrated. Water actually becomes harder to absorb into the body once dehydration sets in, and instead it passes right through you. It has been shown that if the proper concentrations of salt and carbohydrate are drank with water, that the body can efficiently absorb more water, as well as electrolytes. This is the root of all the hydration science you hear about with sports drinks.

In a pinch, grocery stores sell Emergen C, a product that among other things contains electrolytes and can help you re-hydrate quickly. This is a good option, though it contains more minerals than you probably need in most dehydration cases, and some would argue that those extra electrolytes won’t even be absorbed by your body anyway. Gatorade is a simpler hydration option.

If you don’t want all the additives of Gatorade, which includes coloring, flavoring, and even hydrogenated oils in some flavors, or if you just need a handy drink to help you re-hydrate at home, you can make your own simple mix with the same basic advantages. In my opinion it tastes better, as Gatorade reminds me of Kool Aid, a drink I have never acquired a taste for. This recipe is based upon the World Health Organization’s recommendation for home oral re-hydration therapy (ORT), but with the twist of added lime.

In a pint glass add:

1/3 teaspoon salt (I recommend sea salt)
2 1/2 teaspoons sugar
squeeze of lime or lemon
1 3/4 cups of water

Stir until everything dissolves.

Yogurt-based smoothies are not merely a modern health fad, they are a reincarnation of a drink that has probably been around for thousands of years – what those in India know as lassi (pronounced luh-see). Lassi is a simple concoction based upon blending yogurt with water plus various flavoring agents. Typical additions, depending upon the type of lassi, are salt, cumin, sugar, rosewater, and mango pulp. I recall sampling salty lassi (plenty of salt added), sweet lassi (sugar and rosewater added), and mango lassi (a variation of sweet lassi) at the Indian restaurant where I once worked, before deciding that mango lassi was a delicacy while the other two were oddities. This, of course, was merely my westernized opinion.

This same restaurant also cultured their own yogurt, which is an economical way to ensure that you obtain maximum nutritional value from yogurt. Yogurt is considered a probiotic, meaning that eating it can bestow you with a positive balance of beneficial bacteria that can help you ward off harmful bacteria, yeast, and even viruses. This probiotic effect can be very beneficial to the immune system and one strain of bacteria, in particular, can actually protect against pneumonia. Commercial processing often decreases the numbers of these healthy bacteria in yogurt, so some (but not all) yogurt manufacturers will add extra cultures after processing. Try to buy yogurt with a “live” or “active cultures” label. When you make yogurt at home you do not risk losing beneficial bacteria. Furthermore, you have the option of starting with organic milk as well as a choice of fat content – you can use anything from whole milk to nonfat.

To further my case for the superiority of the mango lassi, mangoes have many healthful properties that add to the mix. Mangoes contain lactase – the enzyme which digests lactose, and which is often lacking in those who are lactose intolerant – along with other enzymes beneficial to digestion. Mangoes contain vitamin A, C, and several Bs, as well as important minerals such as calcium, iron, and zinc. Levels of potassium, an important electrolyte which is required in higher amounts for those eating a diet rich in processed foods (and thereby a diet also rich in sodium), are also appreciable – about 323 mg for a medium sized mango. Even better, mangoes offer a source of tryptophan, which the body can convert to serotonin in the brain. Within the brain, serotonin acts as an important neurotransmitter associated with feelings of contentment. Unlike most other neurotransmitters, serotonin levels in the brain correlate closely with dietary choices. Serotonin levels are often below normal in depressed individuals, while high levels have been linked to appetite suppression. A mango lassi before lunch might not just put a smile on your face, it may also help you keep your portion sizes under control.

Mango Lassi

1 fresh and ripe mango (soft to the touch and yellow to red in color)
1-2 cups plain yogurt
1 Tbsp sugar
dash of salt
1/2 cup of ice, crushed or cubed

Peel the skin from your mango with a paring knife. If your mango is verging on over-ripe, discard any darkened patches of flesh. Slice and/or squeeze fruit away from the central stone (mango is a stone fruit – it has a large inner “pit” like a peach). Do this over your blender, as ripe mangoes are quite juicy and messy. Add 1 cup of yogurt, sugar, salt, and ice. Blend until smooth. Add more yogurt to taste.

As summer heats up, there are few more congenial places to while away a day in the greater Seattle area than Vashon Island. Perhaps it is the influence of Puget Sound pooling at its feet and the lavish peppering of verdant woods that make the ambiance much more chill. And I’m not just describing the relative temperature, as the inhabitants also contribute to this laid-back atmosphere. For those who’d like to get away from Seattle for a day trip, I can’t think of a better destination, especially if you’d like to ditch your vehicle. As far as mass transit goes, there’s nothing quite as refreshing as a ferry ride on a long hot day.

My interest in attending the Vashon Farmer’s Market was framed by the hope of purchasing organic strawberries, but I probably chose the worst weekend for that particular agenda. Next weekend – July 7-9 – will be Vashon’s annual Strawberry Festival. There won’t be a farmer’s market that weekend, but there promises to be complete strawberry saturation. In the mean time, there appears to be an unspoken, anticipatory hoarding of strawberries, even by the fresh organic berry vendor. Regardless of my disappointment, I couldn’t resist the plump organic blueberries nestled among organic tayberries*, and red and golden raspberries. You can expect a summer-long supply of blueberries, since these folks grow a number of different varieties, bearing at different times throughout the season.

Unequipped with a cooler, I had to skip over the eggs and milk products. But I didn’t let that stop me from picking up a fresh salad mix. I was willing to take my chances, because it was just too beautiful to pass over, what with the added touch of nasturtium flowers. The greens are cut the night before market day, washed, and spun dry, so they are much fresher than those you pull off a store’s shelf. Consequently they can survive a little more abuse on your way home. Indeed, they made it home with me in fine condition – a feat I would never successfully repeat with store-bought salad mix in July.

Just when I thought I had seen it all – from tomatillo starts to the lady purveying her freshly grown sprout mixes – I managed to fall into the lair of the chocolatier. I sent my husband off on an errand, because things had just gotten serious. Her sign was reassuring, if not calculated, in disclosing her use of premium chocolate, organic cream, etc. The range of truffle flavors was sufficient (not overwhelming) and they had every semblance of emerging from a reputable chocolate shop. I believe, though, that I could discern a freshness that is often lacking at larger establishments. I enjoyed her “potpourri” truffle, which contained a combination of different flavors, dressed up with an artistic molded impression on top. The flavors were subtle, but I did discern coffee and something herbal – perhaps lavender?

All in all, I spent more than I thought I would (especially considering the lack of strawberries), but I walked off the ferry richer for the experience.

Market Hours and Location:

Saturdays 9-2
1/2 block north of SW Bank Road on Vashon Highway SW, in the park on the West side of the highway.

Getting There From Downtown Seattle:

Take the Fauntleroy to Vashon ferry (see schedule here). Ferries run about every 1/2 hour. Make sure you consult the weekend schedule (lower on the page).

From downtown Seattle, bus #54 takes you to the Fauntleroy ferry terminal. From the Vashon ferry terminal take bus #118 and take the SW Bank Road stop. Bus #118 will be your limiting transportation factor. Consult the METRO bus schedule here and plan your trip around the limited options of bus #118.

*Tayberries are a cross between blackberries and raspberries – they look like large, dark raspberries and they are very juicy and somewhat generically berry flavored. You will notice them in the foreground of my photo.

My hummus was rendered inhospitable to simple life forms by sodium benzoate (less than 0.1% according to the label). After a little research, I think even I can agree that sodium benzoate is probably not disruptive to the human body in the quantities likely to be consumed in food products, even though it does cause toxicity in cats in relatively small amounts. At the most, a 2004 study showed that sodium benzoate, along with artificial colorings, may contribute to behavioral problems in children. According to Dr. Alan Greene, these results were powerful enough to suggest that simple avoidance of chemical additives in foods can be as alleviating for children suffering from ADHD as commonly prescribed drugs.

More note-worthy is the brewing scandal over the use of sodium benzoate in beverages. Apparently when sodium benzoate combines with ascorbic acid, a frequent combination in fruit juices and tart carbonated beverages, benzene — a known carcinogen — may form. Benzene levels in some drinks exceed the highest levels permissible in drinking water, as set by the World Health Organization, by as much as five times.

The lessons I take away from all this are that even food additives that are generally recognized as safe (GRAS) can present health risks in specific circumstances, and that maybe I should clean my fridge out more thoroughly in the future.

Arguably, the thyroid gland is one of the most important organs in the human body. The thyroid controls the metabolism of every cell in the body, so an imbalance can lead to dysfunction of other organ systems. There are two forms of imbalance — hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism. Hyperthyroidism, or overactive thyroid, results in symptoms such as high metabolism, increased heart rate, mental fogginess, and anxiety. Extreme hyperthyroidism can lead to heart failure. Hyothyroidism, or under-active thyroid, results in a general lack of energy, slow metabolism, memory loss, depression, and moodiness. In a severe state it can lead to heart failure or coma. One study suggests that nearly 12% of Americans have a thyroid imbalance, yet many are unaware of it.

Iodine is necessary for thyroid function, as it is a raw material incorporated into two of the thyroid hormones. Reliable dietary sources of iodine are seafood, sea vegetables, and iodized salt. As most vegetarians and vegans shun seafood, and often times manufactured salt, and since few incorporate sea vegetables in their diets, this group is vulnerable to iodine deficiency. In the absence of iodine, hypothyroidism usually follows, potentially with impaired mental acuity and/or an enlarged thyroid – a condition known as goiter.

Soy foods magnify the impact of low iodine diets or of latent hypothyroidism on thyroid hormone production. Soy isoflavones, genistein and daidzein, appear to interfere with thyroid peroxidase (TPO), the enzyme responsible for incorporating iodine into thyroid hormones. Genistein and diadzein bind and inactivate TPO, and they will only release TPO in the presence of iodine. There is also speculation that this conglomeration of TPO with genistein could incite the immune system to form antibodies, leading to autoimmune thyroiditis – a condition where the body attacks healthy thyroid cells. In adults without histories of thyroid conditions, one study found that as little as 2 tablespoons of soybeans per day, that is 30 grams, can impair thyroid function. 30 grams of soybeans translates to a daily dose of about 65 mg of isoflavones, which would be the equivalent of consuming about two servings of soymilk, tofu, tempeh, or miso.* As further evidence of soy’s anti-thyroid potential, soy consumption antagonizes administered synthetic thyroid hormone.

Unfortunately finding processed foods without added soy is becoming difficult. We are all being regularly bombarded by soy through the foods we eat. Long term vegetarians and vegans may wish to ask their doctor to check their iodine status and thyroid function, especially if they feel low on energy or have a family history of thyroid troubles.

* Calculated from information provided here.