Monday, November 16, 2009

Too much vitamin A?

Ha. Not enough iron, too much vitamin A...

Yesterday, I met my iron goals! In my attempts to find the nutrition facts for Healthforce Nutritionals Vitamineral green supplement to accurately log it in my food journal at Nutridiary.com, I discovered that one tablespoon of Vitamineral green contains 12 - 20 mg of non-toxic iron. That ends up being about 50% of my daily intake.  Just by taking two tablespoons of this amazing food, I get my entire daily allowance of iron plus 100% of my calcium plus 200% of my b12, plus probiotics. It's good stuff. Highly recommended. And it gets me so amped!



But now I'm worried that I get too much vitamin A. I think I read somewhere that getting too many IUs of vitamin A could be toxic.

Results: Since the majority of the vitamin A I consume is in the form of beta-carotene from fresh fruits and vegetables, the body will convert what it needs into vitamin A and eliminate the rest.

Conclusion: Our bodies are brilliant.

What's new in My World of Raw:

1) Yesterday, I went to the gym. I dropped another 2 lbs! Granted, I'm not being very consistent when I step on the scale. I weigh myself at different times of the day and I wear different clothing. For example, I got to the gym and weighed myself before I exercised and had only dropped half a pound. Then I weighed myself again at the end of my workout (minus the sweatshirt I had donned earlier) and was 1.5 lbs lighter.

so, 5.5 lbs down, 4.5 to go to reach my goal by January 1st. I can totally do this.

2) Here's my breakfast from yesterday that I was so excited about the night before (persimmons, oranges, medjool dates, bananas, romaine lettuce, and fennel):




I ended up peeling my orange with a vegetable peeler. Odd, right? I find it's the best way to keep that coveted white pith in tact, which is where the majority of the calcium in oranges is found.

I couldn't really taste the fennel that I sprinkled on top. Perhaps, I will try juicing fennel and making some kind of dressing to drizzle over the top of my fruit salad next time.

I added the romaine lettuce in there to counter-balance the sugars in the fruits in an effort to give my teeth and gums a break. Occasionally, I'll wrap a few pieces of fruit inside a romaine lettuce leaf. Some raw foodists are prone to dental issues due to all the sugary fruits and smoothies one consumes. I'm trying to avoid that by getting enough greens. I have noticed my gums have become a lot more sensitive since switching to a predominantly raw food diet. Tooth sensitivity and even receding gum line has proven a bit concerning, but I'm trying different things to combat the issue (greens, MSM powder, swishing with water after eating sugary fruits or desserts, etc). I'll devote a post to my experience with tooth and gum sensitivity one of these days.

I really need to make those scones and bean dips! The ingredients are begging to be reincarnated into something lovely and delicious, but I'm having a bit of a struggle finding the time to do it. Soon. Very soon.

Gym time for me. <3

Yesterday's report:

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