Commercials for a famous tonic that addressed “iron-poor blood” started appearing in the mid-twentieth century. That tonic, Geritol, still exists today, which tells you that a lot of people must be having problems with anemia — a blood disorder attributed to the deficiency of iron, folic acid and vitamin B12.

No wonder people search out a tonic if they have anemia: The disease causes dizziness and fatigue, even during non-strenuous activities. Iron-deficient anemia is the most common type, and occurs when your body doesn’t 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.

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 rich sources of the heme form, vegetarians have to augment their intake of iron from foods like beets (also known as beetroots), blackstrap molasses and green leafy vegetables. It’s important to also include foods rich in vitamin C, such as citrus fruits, because they help in the absorption of non-heme iron.

Here are two recipes – one vegetarian and the other non-vegetarian – for dishes that are rich in iron and can help keep anemia at bay:

Beetroot-Fruit Cocktail
Serves 2

• 1 medium-sized beet
• 2 ripe pears
• 1 small lime
• ½ red bell pepper
• 1 handful of basil leaves

1. Wash the beet and the pears.
2. Peel them and then chop them into small pieces, and place them in a blender.
3. Squeeze the juice from the lime into the blender.
4. Wash, de-seed and chop the bell pepper, and place the pieces in the blender.
5. Wash and use a course chop on the basil leaves, and place them in the blender.
6. Run the blender until you get the consistency juice of juice you want. You can also use the same ingredients in a juicer.

The juice has to be consumed within an hour or so after preparation to ensure you get all the nutrients. It’s a good recipe for those prone to anemia because beet juice is rich in both iron and folic acid, and lime is rich in vitamin C, which is the catalyst that helps the body absorb iron from non-heme sources.

Ham and Beans
Serves 6

• 3 lbs smoked ham
• 2 lbs dried 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 the beans.
2. Fill a Dutch oven with the amount of water indicated on the package directions for the beans, and then add the beans. Cover and cook at the temperature indicated in the directions.
3. Add the ham and remaining ingredients when the beans are cooked half-way, based on the time in the package directions.
4. Cook for the remaining indicated time.

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.

And here are some quick concoctions that can also help prevent anemia or address it if you already have it:

• Twice a day: eat a ripe banana dipped in 1 tbs. honey.
• Once a day: drink a mixture of beet juice, apple juice and one tbs. honey.
• Once a day: drink a mixture of apple juice and tomato juice.
• Soak currants overnight, de-seed and eat in the morning.

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