Iron - is the main mineral of which is present in the body in a small amount: 4 g in men and 2.5 g in women. For good health you need to eat to eat foods rich in iron and vitamins.

Types of iron

You should know that there are two types of iron:

• geminicheskoe iron is present in animal products and is well absorbed by the body.
• not geminicheskoe iron is mainly found in plant foods (cereals, fruit, vegetables, dried vegetables), dairy products and eggs. This type of iron is poorly absorbed by the body: from 1 to 5%.

Deficiency of iron in the body

In the body, iron plays an important role. Iron deficiency can cause serious consequences, in particular, cause anemia Anemia - when you do not have enough blood   (oxygen starvation of the body).

Basic foods that contain iron

• Nutritional yeast, blood sausage (14-22 mg per 100 g of product)
• Cocoa powder without sugar, raw shellfish Cockerel, boiled L. obtusata, rabbit, boiled poultry liver, soya flour, toasts, wheat germ (13-19 mg per 100 g of product).
• Boiled calf's liver, dry lentils, mussels Mussels: the benefits and harms of seafood , Boiled beef heart, pistachios, fresh oysters, foie gras (6-8 mg per 100g).
• Egg yolk, fried Beef Flap, fresh parsley, dried apricots, roast beef (4-6 mg per 100g).
• Hazelnuts, pate of pig liver, coconut milk, boiled lentils, tomato paste, vegetable soup, chocolate (2-4 mg per 100g).

The rate of acceptance

But one ingestion of iron-containing products is not enough. To iron is better absorbed, it is necessary to take vitamins, in particular vitamin C, which is why it is important to take in food fruits and vegetables. Vitamin C is found mainly in citrus fruits (lemon, grapefruit, clementine, pomelo, orange), broccoli, guava, parsley Parsley Health and Beauty , Sweet pepper.

The demand for iron depends on the age, occupation, sex.

The daily rate of iron (in milligrams)

• Children from 1 year to 12 years: 7-10 mg
• Teens 13-19 years: 13-16 mg
• Man 9 mg
• Women: 16 mg
• Pregnant woman (3rd semester): 30 mg
• Women who are breastfeeding: 10 mg

For pregnant women, the need for iron is much higher, and just good food is not enough. Therefore, the doctors prescribed in this period, additional intake of iron-containing preparations.

Eating these foods should be restricted in the case of iron deficiency or inadequate intake of foods rich in iron.

Are there any cases of excess iron in the body?

Hemochromatosis - a genetically caused disease in which there is an excessive accumulation of iron in the body. If left untreated the disease can have serious consequences.

Iron in spinach: Myth or Reality?

To the statement that spinach contains a large amount of iron came two researchers who made a mistake by analyzing the percentage of iron. In fact, this conclusion is erroneous, the iron in spinach contains no more than other vegetables.

This myth lies at the heart of the cartoon sailor Popaye, by virtue of which adds a box of spinach. From generation to generation of children forced to eat spinach, in which "a lot of iron," but it's just a myth that lives to this day.

Pamper yourself with exquisite desserts without compromising figure - is it possible? Yes, if you use sugar substitutes. Benefits and harms of these additives cause a lot of controversy among both doctors and consumers. However, every day there are more products to which sweet taste is given no sugar, and other compounds.

Terminological confusion

From the standpoint of the layman, sugar and sweeteners - are one and the same, but scientists believe otherwise.

They also calories as sugar - one gram of a sweetener gives the body 4 kilocalories, but may have more intense flavor, thereby used in smaller amounts. This group includes fructose, sorbitol and xylitol.

Sweeteners - a group of substances that do not participate in metabolism and calorie have zero. Such substances include sucralose, saccharin, cyclamate, and others.

Case history

Open sweeteners were accidentally: legend has it that one day a chemist by the name of Falberg forgot to wash his hands, returned from the lab, and was surprised to find that the bread that he took these hands, has a sweet taste. Now it's hard to say, it all was, but the fact remains that in a short time has been synthesized the first artificial sweeteners - saccharin. Application found him already during the First World War, when the regular sugar has become inaccessible and expensive product.

In peacetime, sweeteners intended primarily for diabetes Diabetes - threatening and incurable disease . But eventually, when the fashion came in a healthy lifestyle, and sugar was the main culprit for the appearance of an ad extra kilos, the ratio changed to sugar substitutes. These additives they used not only diabetics, but also all those who want to lose weight, but I could not deny myself the pleasure to eat sweet food.

It would seem that way to combat obesity has been found, but sugar substitutes have not been able to fully replace sugar. In the 70-ies of the last century, scientists have found that saccharin is carcinogenic and provokes cancer in laboratory animals. Over time, the sweetener justified - it turned out that in small doses, it is safe. However, in Canada, for example, it is banned to this day.

Not all simply and with other sweeteners. For example, it was found that the popular sugar substitute aspartame increases the appetite and increases the thirst. This successful producers of soft drinks are aspartame helps them increase sales.

Many questions is the fact that, despite the huge popularity of sugar substitutes in the last 50 years, the number of obese people is not reduced, but rather increased. This suggests that sweeteners do not help you lose weight, and may even cause weight gain.

Natural Sweetener

Natural sweeteners are intended especially for people with diabetes. Caloric their relatively high, but they are, unlike sugar safe for pancreas Diabetes and pancreas - the things you need to know .

• Fructose is a third less calories than sucrose. This sweetener can be used in cooking, and bakery products with fruit for a long time remain fresh. Also, fructose is used in the preparation of jams and preserves diabetes because it has preservative properties. However, large quantities of this agent promotes cardiovascular diseases. A safe dose is 30-40 grams per day.
• Sorbitol improves the intestinal microflora and is a good choleretic agent. For losing weight, he does not fit, because more calories than sugar. At night you can use a maximum of 30-40 grams.
• Xylitol is almost as sweet and caloric as regular sugar, but unlike the latter does not damage teeth. It has a choleretic effect and improves blood sugar Blood sugar - a very important indicator . A greater amount acts as a laxative. The maximum daily dose - 50 grams.

Zero calories

Artificial sweeteners are not well understood, so their use is not recommended for pregnant and lactating women and children under 18 years. Suffering from chronic diseases should use these substances only after consultation with the doctor.

• Sweet as sugar Saccharin 300 times, but nekalorien. It is this substance codenamed E954 and to this day is a part of the set of alternatives. The main drawback of saccharin - metallic taste. In addition, there are suspicions that it may adversely affect the condition of the liver. At night you can eat no more than 0, 2 grams of saccharin, and better not do it on an empty stomach.
• Cyclamate (E952) is prohibited in many countries, as in the human body turns into a not well investigated substance - tsiklageksilamin. Cyclamate 30-50 times sweeter than sugar, it has no unpleasant aftertaste. A safe dose - up to 0, 8 g per day, but suffering from kidney problems it is better not to use.
• Aspartame (E951) - one of the most popular sugar substitutes. Contraindications suffering from phenylketonuria. According to some reports, it improves appetite and increases thirst. Not resistant to high temperatures, it becomes toxic. Maximum Dose - 3, 5 grams per day.
• Acesulfame potassium (E950). Modern inexpensive sweetener which is 200 times sweeter than sugar. Acesulfame bad for the cardiovascular and nervous system, and can also be addictive. A safe dose - up to 1 gram per day.
• Sucralose (E955) is today considered the safest artificial sweetener. Advertising claims that sucralose is shown for everybody, including babies. Yet this substance is not recommended to use regularly. It is better to abandon the use of sucralose for children under 14 years of age and pregnant and lactating women.

Maria Bykov