Craving Iron Isn’t So Bad
Posted on Tuesday, October 21st, 2008
A little piece of information they forget to tell you when you go on a low-glycemic diet, like the South Beach Diet, is that you’ll start to crave iron. The reason is simple. When you cut out pasta, bread, and cereal from your diet, you are eliminating one of your key sources of iron. Read almost any package of flour, pasta, or cereal and you’ll see words like “fortified with iron”, and if you read the nutritional panel, there it is again. This is a tricky one because you need iron in your diet to make healthy blood cells, otherwise your energy level will get droopy and you may even become anemic. You can’t afford to be skipping your iron.
So, if you are following a low-glycemic diet, and have eliminated or reduced these iron-enriched carbohydrates from your meals, how do you know if you are getting enough iron into your system? The answer is, you’ll crave it. Your body is a very wise machine. If your diet consisted of mass quantities of bread and pasta, and your belly fat was becoming an issue, you were probably getting a large portion of the iron you needed from the carbohydrates you were eating. And, when that iron is no longer available to your body, watch out! The intense cravings will begin and there won’t be a question in your mind that you need iron and you need it NOW!
My cravings came in the form of spinach. As cravings go, this one isn’t so bad. I have found that I can use fresh spinach anytime I would have used pasta or rice. I make a marinara sauce and put it over fresh spinach. I have chicken and spinach instead of chicken and rice. The list goes on and on, but I thought I’d share one of my really quick “Gotta Have Spinach Now” recipes. When the craving hits, I’m in and out of the grocery store in five minutes and on my way to a quick, satisfying meal.
Ten Minute Spinach Soup
1 6 oz bag fresh baby spinach
1 14 oz can chicken broth (use low sodium if you need to)
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (use fire roasted, or some of the other seasoned diced tomatoes)
sprinkle red pepper flakes (optional)
salt and black pepper to taste
Put fresh spinach in big pot.
Add chicken broth.
Add diced tomatoes.
Simmer over low to medium-low heat for about ten minutes.
Adjust your seasonings.
I build on this basic recipe by adding fresh fish to the soup. Just add small pieces of fresh fish during the last few minutes, mix in gently, and serve when the fish is cooked through. Without the fish, this pot of soup will cost around $6.00 and feed a couple people. Serve with salads if you’d like to make a more complete meal for two.
Okay now, get out there and play, and when you get home, restore yourself with a big bowl of soup.
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I’m reading Belly Fat To Belly Flat at the moment. Its about the relationship of hormonal imbalance and belly fat and that alot of us in these mature years are estrogen dominant, because our progesterone is dwindling. I see in myself that the year my hot flashes started (@ 51) is when my waistline started expanding. Maybe there is something to it, do you think?
I hear ya Gal! That whole belly fat after 50ish stuff is a tough one. I started a strenuous bike riding schedule and it’s helping. Also, I have to get much more serious and committed to my exercise program. There is still some debate over the whole hormonal change affects on our waistline. Even the Mayo Clinic on their site MayoClinic.com has differing opinions of the role hormones play in our increasing fat accumulation, but they stress the importance of getting rid of it for our health. I’m going to check out the book you’re reading “Belly Fat To Belly Flat” and see what it says. Thanks for the comment! Come back and see me again soon!