Dietary
Sources Of Iron And Folic Acid
by ©Kevin Pederson
Folic
acid is a collective term for pteroylglutamic acids and
their oligoglutamic acid conjugates. Folic acid deficiency
results in macrocytic anemia due to impairment of erythrocyte
synthesis and is associated with elevation of plasma homocysteine
levels, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, including
coronary atherosclerosis, stroke, and thromboembolism.
While
the dietary sources of folic acid are in abundance proper
care should be taken while cooking. The more you burn the
gas the less the nutrients so just try to steam the vegetables.
One other way to save the folic acid content is through
heating them with as little water as possible. Natural sources
of folic acid include whole-grain breads and cereals, orange
juice, kidney beans, yeast, liver, and dark green leafy
vegetables such as broccoli, kale, and spinach. Folic acid
and cobalamin (vitamin B12) serve as components of coenzymes
in 1-carbon reactions such as the methylation of homocysteine
to methionine. Other sources would include citrus fruits
and juices, dried beans and peas, fortified breads, cereals,
lentils, legumes, peanuts, whole grain products, beef, chicken,
cabbage, Brussels sprouts, spring greens, kale, okra and
fresh peas and the pulses are chickpeas, black-eyed beans,
and lentils.
Iron
is a metallic element that occurs in the heme of hemoglobin,
myoglobin, transferrin, ferritin, and iron-containing porphyrins,
and is an essential component of enzymes such as catalase,
peroxidase, and the various cytochromes. Its salts are used
medicinally.
Iron
deficiency can result in anemia. Iron supplements form an
important part of the diet in women during the pregnancy
period. It is for a fact that the iron stores could be stabilized
in the body easily by ingesting meat products than the vegetables,
but still there are a lot number of iron resources than
one could imagine in the vegan part too. Natural dietary
sources of iron would include beef, meat, fish, poultry,
liver, eggs, pork, red meat, and turkey. To see it in a
vegetarian way it would be whole meal breads, apricots,
kidney beans, and spinach. Other sources of iron would include
fortified greens, tomato, potato, green and red chillies,
fortified breads, cereals, beans, and legumes. The following
have the much-needed iron extracts to fill the iron reserves
in human body and they include shellfish, shrimp, clams,
mussels, oysters, lean meats, beef, and liver, ready-to-eat
cereals with added iron, turkey dark meat, sardines, cooked
dry beans, pinto beans, peas, black-eyed peas, seaweed,
dried fruits, pulses, wheat germ, bran, yeast, nuts, seeds,
parsley, molasses, jaggery, and enriched and whole grain
breads.
Warning:
The reader of this article should exercise all precautionary
measures while following instructions on the home remedies
from this article. Avoid using any of these products if
you are allergic to it. The responsibility lies with the
reader and not with the site or the writer.
| About
the Author: Kevin Pederson authors content for http://www.home-remedies-for-you.com.
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