| Great programme this week, on 'Trust Me I'm a Doctor', Several topics giving tips on getting the most iron out of your food and making exercise work for you, to keep your muscle strength and fit into your day easily. Get the Most Iron out of your food |  |
Some iron is more bioavailable than other forms. Best source is heam-iron found in red meat. But there are secrets to optimise iron absorption in other foods:
- Vitamin C helps increase absorption of iron, even in foods we struggle to absorb iron from like breakfast cereals, green vege and bread. In fact Orange juice makes the iron 65% more bioavailable in breakfast cereal than without
- Coffee reduces the absorption of iron from cereal by 65%. Top tip is to drink your coffee 30 mins after you have eaten your cereal or source of iron.
2) Raw cabbage is a good source of available iron as also high in Vit C but steaming reduced it by 20% and boiling by 34%. Kale, watercress, broccoli, cauliflower also are similar. So best to eat it raw or if cooked steam it. I love my cabbage dry-fried with garlic and a splash of lemon juice and water with lid on for a few mins.
- However spinach behaves differently as boiled spinach releases 55% more iron than raw! This is due to it containing oxalates that bind to the iron stopping it releasing the iron. However boiling it releases the oxalates allowing the iron to also be released too.
3) Bread contain phytic acid, which means the iron cannot be released. However, if you choose sourdough the fermentation breaks down the phytic acid, allowing more iron to be released.
So in summary
- Drink Vit C drinks with every meal
- Eat vege raw or lightly steamed, but boil spinach
- Eat sourdough or fermented breads.
Something they didn't cover was the fact if heam-iron is eaten with non-haem iron (non meat based) then the heam iron helps make the non-haem iron more available to the body to be absorbed.
- Coffee reduces the absorption of iron from cereal by 65%. Top tip is to drink your coffee 30 mins after you have eaten your cereal or source of iron.
2) Raw cabbage is a good source of available iron as also high in Vit C but steaming reduced it by 20% and boiling by 34%. Kale, watercress, broccoli, cauliflower also are similar. So best to eat it raw or if cooked steam it. I love my cabbage dry-fried with garlic and a splash of lemon juice and water with lid on for a few mins.
- However spinach behaves differently as boiled spinach releases 55% more iron than raw! This is due to it containing oxalates that bind to the iron stopping it releasing the iron. However boiling it releases the oxalates allowing the iron to also be released too.
3) Bread contain phytic acid, which means the iron cannot be released. However, if you choose sourdough the fermentation breaks down the phytic acid, allowing more iron to be released.
So in summary
- Drink Vit C drinks with every meal
- Eat vege raw or lightly steamed, but boil spinach
- Eat sourdough or fermented breads.
Something they didn't cover was the fact if heam-iron is eaten with non-haem iron (non meat based) then the heam iron helps make the non-haem iron more available to the body to be absorbed.
Exercise Snacking
1) Exercise snacking (short bursts of activity) is just as good for our blood sugars and fats than longer workouts
2) By 50 years old we lose about 1% of our muscle every single year.
And Strength deteriorates at double that rate.
Inactivity accelerates this deterioration. In fact a 10 day hospital stay can reduce our leg muscle by 10% and reduces our strength by 15%!
To prevent this deterioration we need to do strength exercises at least twice a week, especially as we get older. This exercise can be done in the same way as exercise snacking.
- The study showed that over a month of doing this strength exercise snacking the over 65 year old had an increase in strength of 2%. This is amazing as only over 1 month and normally would lose this over the year if not exercising.
- Another study showed that muscle activity in this group was the same for those doing a sitting to standing 'snack' than standard leg exercises in the gym, proving no need to spend money to get fit; you can workout from your sofa!
So no excuse that we can't exercise as we don't have time and shows ever moment we do exercise helps us be healthy.
2) By 50 years old we lose about 1% of our muscle every single year.
And Strength deteriorates at double that rate.
Inactivity accelerates this deterioration. In fact a 10 day hospital stay can reduce our leg muscle by 10% and reduces our strength by 15%!
To prevent this deterioration we need to do strength exercises at least twice a week, especially as we get older. This exercise can be done in the same way as exercise snacking.
- The study showed that over a month of doing this strength exercise snacking the over 65 year old had an increase in strength of 2%. This is amazing as only over 1 month and normally would lose this over the year if not exercising.
- Another study showed that muscle activity in this group was the same for those doing a sitting to standing 'snack' than standard leg exercises in the gym, proving no need to spend money to get fit; you can workout from your sofa!
So no excuse that we can't exercise as we don't have time and shows ever moment we do exercise helps us be healthy.
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