Calcium & Iron on 811rv - Are you hitting the mark, and how?

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Permalink Reply by John Coleman on July 31, 2008 at 4:22pm

I think you may find you do okay for iron, but suffer for want of calcium - I did and take supplements now. You need heaps of dark greens to get enough calcium, and then there are still no guarantees.

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Permalink Reply by sprout on July 31, 2008 at 4:33pm

RDAs aside, how do you know whether you are calcium deficient? For e.g., I pay attention to the quality of my nails, hair, teeth, but I've never had a bone density scan, or the likes.

-s

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Permalink Reply by John Coleman on July 31, 2008 at 5:09pm

scans will eventually show low bone density

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Permalink Reply by Pink Lady Apple on July 31, 2008 at 6:06pm

Sprout,

I have all my blood levels checked each year for iron and I am no longer anemic as I once was.
Due to many health factors, I started having a DexScan, which is the bone density scan, done about 4 years ago and have had one each year to monitor my bone denstiy. As you may have guessed I am probably a little older than some on the site. Having said that, four years ago all areas were normal except my spine area which was deteriorating. After almost four years of raw, that number has improved a little and shows no further signs of deterioration.

Calcium is a tricky one because you want to eat the foods that have high calcium but don't have oxalic acid. So, let's say spinach has a good calcium level but it has oxalic acid which inhibits the absorption of the calcium so you don't want to count on spinach for a calcium source but you can count on it for other vitamins and minerals. The food with the best calcium balance is Chinese cabbage (napa cabbage). So, let's say you make a smoothie with spinach and chinese cabbage you are still okay. The reason being is that the oxalic acid in the spinach only affects the absorption of the calcium in the spinach and not the Chinese cabbage. I am hope I am not being too confusing here, I'm just trying to explain some of this. I learned this in a raw nutrition course I took at Living Light a couple months ago.

So, the best foods for calcium absorption are the ones I listed above.
The foods that are not a reliable source for calcium (which have oxalic acid) are parsley, chives, ruhubarb, purslane, amaranth, spinach, mustard greens, leeks, beet greens, swiss chard, lamb's quarters, collard greens, sorrel, buckwheat, star fruit, black pepper, tea leaves, cocoa and chocolate, bell peppers and unsoaked almonds.

Factors that enhance calcium absorption are Vitamin D, C, K , Boron, and Magnesium.

Factors that reduce calcium absorption are sodium, caffeine, excess protein, alcohol, white sugar, and nicotine. The hypothesis is that the RDA is less for people who remove several of these factors from their diet. Recommended dietary intakes of calcium are influence by the diet of the population for which they are set. The US calcium recommendation is higher than less industrialized nations.

I'll stop rambling...

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Permalink Reply by sprout on July 31, 2008 at 7:16pm

Thanks, Pink Lady. I've made note of the best sources!

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Permalink Reply by durianrider on August 1, 2008 at 7:31am

they say meat eaters need more iron cos they bleed more from the bowel and females both bowel and menses.

im a world class endurance athlete. ive monitored my levels. ALL are now within range. im manic about organic. i dont supplement. i make sure i get my sun, fruit, greens, clean water, life purpose etc etc.

a few years ago,10mg of iron in australia is the rda....
ive got mates that inject it..but they are on blood booster drugs and need the extra iron for the drugs to work better..

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Permalink Reply by sprout on August 1, 2008 at 7:54am

Ew as gross as that is, I guess it makes sense. And, certainly nice to hear about the 10mg iron figure. That, and great point about organic! Most of my food source is [at least labeled] organic, and therefore hopefully contain higher levels of these nutrients. It would be nice if Nutridiary's database recognized the distinction.

Durianrider, if I recall correctly, you intake ridiculously more calories than my 2,000 kcal. That being the case, I would expect that it would be somewhat easier for you to meet your requirements. On the other hand, does this also mean that your targets are higher proportionately higher than mine? I believe at least in the States, the RDAs are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Happy bike trails!

-s

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