A native of Nicaragua, Oscar is nearing his completion of a degree at CSU, and has a plot of land in North Fort Collins where he is successfully growing a variety of vegetables organically. They graciously invited us over to pick some vegetables and see the farm. He has experimented with some natural ways of increasing nitrogen and decreasing salinity of the soil, and protecting some of the leafy vegetables with natural pesticides. We can barely grow anything in pots on our balcony!
But I think the whole place is actually run by their adorable and precocious bilingual 3-year old son, Tait, who showed us all the different vegetables, shared all of them, and happily eats freshly picked carrots:
As someone who is anemic (to the point I actually take iron supplement) you would be better off eating some red meat for iron. You would have to eat a lot of kale to equal one small piece of meat. You also absorb it better - something to do with heme vs non-heme iron. Just my 2 cents:)
ReplyDeleteThanks Nick. Do you eat red meat, and have they suggested that training affects your anemia? I don't eat red meat, so mainly I'm trying to make sure my iron stays normal. Agreed on heme iron bioavailability. Instead, I try to have some vitamin C (citrus, red peppers) in my salads, along with spinach and greens, to help absorption; and cook mostly in my trusty iron skillet. It's more work than a hamburger but so far I've had normal iron levels, though my hemoglobin was very slightly low last time. But I was eating more irregularly being back in school.
ReplyDeleteI agree with nmp...When I have gone to donate blood I have been borderline anemic and they too tell me to eat 6 oz red meat---filet is my choice--on the grill!
ReplyDeleteAt WW I was told to also eat the 6oz red meat for protein since I am not an egg/bread/etc eater. But then we know I am obese so perhaps your choice of iron is best! Aunt J
Kale rules. Wish I knew more about dieting, but I do know that's one of them "super foods" and that farm and family sound super. Keep at it, Mike.
ReplyDeleteI do eat red meat, although I used to rarely eat it. I try now to at least have some once a week or so. If you don't eat red meat you may want to consider eating some of the other animal sources that are relatively high in iron because of the heme vs. non-heme issue.
ReplyDeleteTalked about training some with my doctor. Apparently runners tend to be more anemic for some reason - I guess some think there is small blood loss in the feet due to the impact and maybe some through the intestines. There can also be some effect due to high training, but my levels have been very low even when not running much. Probably worth getting tested again in a several months at a point when you are not running as much.
Veggie since about '85, I've often re-evaluated that lifestyle choice. Last night -- a bit insomniac -- was looking into L-Carnitine -- yet another of the "4Kg of leafy greens, or a cheeseburger" sort of chemicals.
ReplyDeleteLately, we've pushed a LOT of greens through the juicer, but ... when my blood work is back ... I'll be re-evaluating that same old thing.
Meanwhile, great pic, and ... we were VERY blessed to take part in some of that culinary bounty !