Iron and Chlorophyll

I've gotten into a discussion with my friend about iron and how important it is to the body. She insists that because I am a vegetarian and do not eat meat, that I cannot be getting enough iron. She also insists that I should take a supplement to give myself more iron. So, I did a little research. This is what I discovered:

- Iron transports oxygen from the lungs to the cells.

- How much iron do we need? (And please note that these are approximations)
infants: 11 milligrams per day,
children: 10,
males: 8-11,
females: 8-18

- There are two forms of iron in the diet: heme and nonheme. Heme comes from meat sources,
nonheme comes from plants, dairy, etc. It is easier to absorb heme iron than nonheme.

Now, here's where the argument begins. Because heme iron comes from meat, and heme is easier to digest, people tend to say that vegetarians cannot be absorbing enough iron. However, this is not true!

It is possible to absorb enough iron even if it is entirely nonheme. How is it done? Vegetarian diets are high in vitamin C, and research shows that when you consume vitamin C along with nonheme iron, the body is able to absorb it.

So, at the end of the day, meat-eaters and vegetarians may both have iron deficiencies, but for different reasons.

I found this website during my search, which was very helpful: http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/iron.htm

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We were also discussing the details and health benefit of chlorophyll. I explained to her that it is molecularly similar to human blood, and she then figured I might be able to consume chlorophyll in order to get my iron up. This is not the case.

Chlorophyll, as most of you probably know, is the green pigment in plants. It is pretty much the "blood" of plants. The difference between human blood and plant "blood" is, well, not much. The central atom in chlorophyll is magnesium. The central atom in blood is iron. That's it; that's the difference. (So far as we know, anyway.) So, to those that have ever wondered if chlorophyll gives your body iron: no, it doesn't. It doesn't even contain iron.

However, that's not to say that it isn't beneficial. Click here for some benefits of chlorophyll and some more information: http://www.nutritional-supplements-health-guide.com/chlorophyll-benefits.html

I also picked up some acidophilus - beneficial bacteria to help with digestion. Here's a link to that, too, since I'm in a link-giving mood. :) http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-acidophilus.htm

In keeping with my cleanse, dinner tonight was tofu and brown rice. Nothing fancy. I did make lunch for tomorrow, though. I'll post it now because I probably won't have time tomorrow.

Juice of 3 peaches, 2 plums, and 2 tangerines.
Juice of 2 green apples and 1 large bunch of parsley, added 1 tablespoon of liquid chlorophyll.
Salad consisting of romaine lettuce, tomato, and a sunflower-oil based dressing.
2 bananas.
Left-over brown rice and tofu.
Lots of water.

I may get hungry even after all that, but luckily there's a publix nearby and I can just run and grab some more produce. Oy, I'm so tired and tomorrow will be a very long day. I'm going to head off to bed.

Goodnight world! :)
(The image is my own.)