Liberal Arts Colleges

Anemia is a blood disorder that is attributed to the deficiency of iron, folic acid and Vitamin B12. Iron-deficient anemia is the most common type, and occurs when your body does not have the required iron content to produce hemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen to all parts of your body and provides energy for you to carry out your daily activities.

Anemia causes dizziness and makes you feel tired even during non-strenuous activities. Iron is of two types – heme which is easily absorbed by the human body and non heme which is not. While non-vegetarian foods like red meat and eggs are a rich source of the former, vegetarians have to augment their intake of iron from foods like beetroot, blackstrap molasses and green leafy vegetables with foods rich in Vitamin C. Citrus fruits and other food laden with Vitamin C help in the absorption of non-heme iron.

I’ve included two recipes – one vegetarian and the other non-vegetarian – for dishes that are rich in iron.

Beetroot Fruit Cocktail

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 beetroot of medium size
• 2 ripe pears
• 1 small lime
• ½ a red bell pepper
• 1 handful of basil leaves

1. Wash the beetroot and the pears
2. Peel and chop them into small pieces
3. Squeeze the juice from the lime
4. Wash, deseed and chop the bell pepper
5. Wash and chop basil leaves
6. Add all ingredients to a blender and juice

This juice must be consumed within an hour or so after preparation. It’s a good recipe for those prone to anemia because it contains beetroot juice which is rich in both iron and folic acid, and lime which is rich in Vitamin C, the catalyst that helps the body absorb iron from non-heme sources.

Ham and Beans

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs smoked ham
• 2 lbs Great Northern beans
• 2 dried peppers
• 2 onions
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp black pepper
• ½ cup blackstrap molasses
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup mustard

1. Rinse and dry beans
2. Fill Dutch oven with water and cook beans
3. Add the ham and all the other ingredients when the beans and half-cooked and cook till ready

This dish contains both red meat (ham) and blackstrap molasses, both of which are rich in iron and help enrich the hemoglobin content in your blood.

Besides these recipes, there are other concoctions that help in preventing and combating anemia:

• Eat a ripe banana combined with 1 tbsp of honey twice a day
• Drink a mixture of beetroot juice and apple juice with a tbsp of honey once a day
• Soak currants overnight, deseed and eat in the morning
• Drink a mixture of apple and tomato juice once a day.