calcium

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Smooth

May 26, 2010 in Recipes, Seasonal Eating by bursty | 2 comments

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So last night I came up with another great “humidity food” — and as we were sipping them, we realized just how much nutrition you can pack into one of these babies — SMOOTHIES!  We were blessed with a kickass blender as a wedding gift which makes ALL the difference.  Last night we went the banana / blueberry route, added a little Rice Dream, berry juice, and green kale.  It was so tasty!  And, with all of those goodies, it was packed with calcium, B-12, vitamin C, iron, folate, potassium, fiber, and antioxidants.  I promptly declared 2010 the “summer of smoothies”.  What are some of your favorite smoothie combinations!?

Calcify?

March 26, 2010 in Female Macro by bursty | 5 comments

At my annual exam a couple of weeks ago, the 4th-year-medical student that met with me to go through my concerns prior to seeing my doctor encouraged me “since I don’t eat meat or dairy” to supplement my diet with calcium.  She gave me an ominous look and informed me that I have about 2.5 years to “pack in all the calcium [you] can, because when we [women] turn 30, it just goes down from there”.  I nodded obediently, and the conversation went elsewhere.

But here’s what I wanted to say:  “The average bone loss for a vegetarian woman at age 65 is 18 percent; for non-vegetarian women, it’s double that. Researchers attribute this to the consumption of excess protein–the average meat-eating American woman eats 144 percent over the recommended daily allowance; the average man eats 175 percent more.  Excess protein interferes with the absorption and retention of calcium and actually prompts the body to excrete calcium, laying the ground for the brittle bone disease osteoporosis. Animal proteins, including milk, make the blood acidic, and to balance that condition, the body pulls calcium from bones. So rather than rely on milk for calcium, vegetarians turn to dark green leafy vegetables, such as broccoli and legumes, which, calorie for calorie, are superior sources.”  (see here)  I also know that a consistent practice of yoga incorporating weight-bearing poses stimulates the body to retain calcium.  (here)

What are your thoughts on calcium, and for that matter, on supplements in general — do you feel the need to take them??

Got Kale? Calcium-rich eating, the macro way

November 1, 2008 in Personal Health by Nicole Gurgel, B.A. | 8 comments

 

This weekend’s Halloween / Dia de los Muertos festivities – and the ubiquitos displays of skeletons that accompany them – have me thinking about my own set of bones. It’s common knowledge that the health of our bones and teeth is linked to calcium. And most of us, from a young age, have learned that the superhero of calcium delivery is milk, followed closely by cheese, yogurt and ice cream. My upbringing in Wisconsin (“America’s Dairyland”, in case you haven’t seen the license plates) did nothing to dispel this half-truth.

Fast forward to this past summer. I am macro-curious and reading through The Hip Chick when Jessica Porter drops a bomb: dairy is bad for me. Oh…okay…wait – REALLY? I was totally suspicious but decided to test it out. For 2 weeks I avoided dairy and then ate some cheese. Almost immediately my throat got all phlegmy. Not wanting to believe that my beloved mozzarella could do this to me, I tried it again. Another 2 weeks without dairy, another encounter with it and the same results: an instanteous thick throat. Only this time, it felt like my throat was actually constricting and I was having trouble breathing. That was enough proof for me. Read the rest of this entry »

The Female Macro: Women’s Nutritional Needs

August 5, 2008 in Female Macro, Personal Health by bursty | 1 comment

Last week, as I flipped through the newest addition to our macro-library, Kristina Turner’s The Self-Healing Cookbook, finding all sorts of valuable information (more to come on that later), Jacob and I entered into an interesting conversation. Kristina’s book takes you on a self-guided tour of symptoms, remedies, and ideas regarding the yin/yang balance that we macros crave. As we went through the symptoms, Jacob was pacing the floor, eyes darting, and I could tell that he was not focusing as much on the conversation as I would have preferred. It turns out that it was indicative of his current energy stage — very yin, having been eating more baked goods & drinking more alcohol than is probably good for maintaining balance. He determined to eat more yang-based foods the next day, including miso soup, and more whole grains. His report the next evening was much more cohesive and his demeanor much more relaxed, after balancing out some of that intense yin energy with some good solid yang.

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Could Popeye Go Macro?

June 25, 2008 in Personal Health by bursty | 1 comment

So, my question is, “Could Popeye go macrobiotic?” and would he stay the strong, fit, spinach-eating gentleman that he is, if he were to take that dietary route? Well, I’m sure that he could… but he would have to find some alternative methods of getting the vitamins and minerals that he gets from Spinach (as spinach is very acidic and thus discouraged as a regular part of the macrobiotic diet).

I’ve spent most of my time on this blog touting the benefits of a macrobiotic lifestyle. I feel great: my body feels light, I am more focused on life activities than before, and I am truly becoming tuned to what my body needs to feel healthy.

However, I can’t help but be concerned about articles that I have read cautioning the strict macrobiotic to find ways of getting B12, calcium, and iron, thus to avoid mineral and vitamin deficiencies.

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