Iron is an important nutrient that is essential for us to feed to our body. Yes, I purposefully italicized “feed”.
Synthetic vs. Organic Nutrients (vitamins and minerals)
Straight to the point: Synthetic nutrients are shitty. Organic nutrients (from real, whole food) are good.
My language is obviously less than eloquent so I’ll let Dr. Mercola expand on this:
“Synthetic alternatives to whole foods are known as “isolates”. Your body will only absorb a small percentage of an isolate form of vitamins and minerals – and utilize even less (Your body absorbs much more of the whole food form.) On top of that, there may be side effects, depending on the quality of the isolate.”
Why Iron?
Iron helps to create red blood cells which carry oxygen throughout your body. Not getting enough oxygen will fatigue your body. Not just feeling tired.. but it fatigues many parts of your body including brain and immune system function. The condition of not having enough red blood cells (commonly caused by excessive bleeding) is called anemia. To help our body maintain proper production of healthy red blood cells… we need iron.
Why snacks?
Why not? I love snacks. Although, some of these things are things you could rather make a snack from. Snack’s a snack’s a snack!
How much you need?
That depends.. but here’s a chart from the CDC’s website to break it down:
9 Sources of Organic Iron
Sesame seeds: 1/4 C = 5.24 mg
Blackstrap molasses: 2 tsp = 2.39 mg
Pumpkin seeds: 1/4 C = 2.84 mg
Cocoa powder: 1 C = 17 mg
Dried apricots: 1 C = 7.5 mg
Prunes: 1 C = 4.7 mg
Seedless raisins: 1 C = 3.1 mg
Walnuts: 1/2 C = 4 mg
Dried peaches: 6 halves = 3.1 mg
REFERENCES:
“Best Foods For Iron: 20 Foods Packed With Iron.” The Huffington Post. Web. 05 Aug. 2013. <http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/11/15/best-foods-for-iron_n_2130411.html>.
“Dr. Mercola on Natural Vs. Synthetic Multivitamins.” Organic Consumers Association, Dec. 2007. Web. 05 Aug. 2013. <http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_8865.cfm>.
“Foods to Eat If You Have Low Iron.” LIVESTRONG.COM. Web. 05 Aug. 2013. <http://www.livestrong.com/article/34772-top-foods-iron/>.
“Iron and Iron Deficiency.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 23 Feb. 2011. Web. 05 Aug. 2013. <http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/basics/vitamins/iron.html>.
“Iron: What You Need to Know.” WebMD. Web. 05 Aug. 2013. <http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/lifestyle-guide-11/iron-supplements>.
“Iron.” World’s Healthiest Foods. Web. 05 Aug. 2013. <http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient>.
Basic Home Medicine 