Living Without Meat

Shortly after putting together my dietary iron research for you last week, I noticed a link on my personalized Google home page (iGoogle … I’ve fallen in love with it and highly recommend that you check it out!) talking about vegetarian iron sources, specifically the common leafy green spinach.

The exact iron-related question that was brought up in knitting class, that I didn’t mention previously, was: “I eat spinach practically every day, so how can I possibly be anemic?”

Now, I know that a basic answer would be: you always, for any diet, need to vary what you eat in order to intake and absorb an ideal amount of nutrients and vitamins. And being the non-scientific person that I am, this was about all that I could offer on the spot.

However, the Vegetarian LifeTips link that I saw on on my iGoogle was titled Iron in Spinach.

*Click!* You’ve got my attention.

Here’s what the editors at LifeTips had to say:

Iron in Spinach
Don´t rely strictly on spinach to get your iron. Your body can´t absorb enough iron from spinach to justify its reputation as a major source of that mineral. The best way to get iron from vegetables is to make a meatless stew such as chili with beans. The vitamin C in the tomatoes and bell peppers helps release iron from the beans.

Great info, LifeTips! Thanks!

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