Yeah dudes, I totally used Nirvana lyrics for a title. It's cool, I do live in Seattle and it's so fitting cuz I am anemic in a major way! Phew! Kind of glad that's the deal because I have been feeling so damn weird! Super tired (plus insomnia!), depressed, paranoid, tingly fingers/toes, dizzy spells, etc... I should've realized the signs sooner (I was vegan-and a pretty terrible eater-from age 10-23 and was anemic pretty much the whole time) and then I started freaking out because my lips and self seemed paler than usual (I am pretty pale anyways...) and nearly talked myself out of my wonderful island getaway... I went to the Dr. yesterday and ended up crying and telling him "I'm so stressed out! I'm pretty sure I have anemia or maybe diabetes or my thyroid is acting up or something cuz I feel awful!" and I got a total blood panel done and everything looks good but I am soooo anemic and I have been eating vegan (and not being the most healthful about it) for at least the last 6 months or so. It's hard juggling all the food sensitivities (plus my own ethics about eating animals) and things I should avoid and still end up with a nutritionally balanced diet. I am working on it. And I am swigging molasses out of the bottle w/ sips of Floradix and drinking Catnip/Nettle tea. Please, my herbal sisters, lend me your advice about natural iron boosting ways!
So let me talk more about my happy weekend, still dreaming about my magical overnight vacation! It was dark on the journey over...
I love this! These little conks (I think that's what they're called...) growing on this stump, look like steps up to the fairy tower.
See! Proof. I do have another child! But he's a teenager and either at school, with his friends or doesn't wanna be photographed much. He loves nature (and peering over semi-dangerous cliffs and running on hillsides).
In the evening the sunset was huge and crazy beautiful. It looked like the sky was a golden, pink and blue explosion.
Today, I felt so impatient and bored listening to a few different city folk go on about this person or that job or some other yuppie b.s. today. I just kept thinking "I went to a wonderful island and it was amazing!! I don't care about all this junk!" sigh...
Tomorrow the sun will be shining and I'll be attempting more chicken introductions. Part one of flock expansion did not go well. Sadie (the big bully) pecked rather soundly on my favorite chick, Raven's, head. Raven stuck her head close to the fence and Sadie's beak snuck through the fence in a flash! I'll be putting up a temporary divider in the chicken run for the little ones to be in. They are so naive though and I'm afraid they'll stick their little heads through the chicken wire and get whacked... I guess they'll learn not to do that. I also think I might need to get a dog kennel for Sadie in case she needs to spend some time alone getting used to the idea of four new sister hens... Oh chickens. xo m
So let me talk more about my happy weekend, still dreaming about my magical overnight vacation! It was dark on the journey over...
Tomorrow the sun will be shining and I'll be attempting more chicken introductions. Part one of flock expansion did not go well. Sadie (the big bully) pecked rather soundly on my favorite chick, Raven's, head. Raven stuck her head close to the fence and Sadie's beak snuck through the fence in a flash! I'll be putting up a temporary divider in the chicken run for the little ones to be in. They are so naive though and I'm afraid they'll stick their little heads through the chicken wire and get whacked... I guess they'll learn not to do that. I also think I might need to get a dog kennel for Sadie in case she needs to spend some time alone getting used to the idea of four new sister hens... Oh chickens. xo m
Oh noes! beets! parsley! lots of it! Nettles! Hugs!
ReplyDeleteHi Mindy Sue, I became really anaemic a couple of years ago, and I don't even know why...i eat meat! Just not alot. I took the iron supplement route, which is not really all that pleasant if you know what i mean...i do know that red kidney beans are supposed to be good. Good luck. I only went to the dr because my hair was falling out badly....i thought i was tired and cranky because i had children...hahaha.
ReplyDeletehi mindy! i have yet to read this post but i had to respond to what you wrote on my blog...did you grow up near redding? did we know that about each other? and YEAH i know cal's books! he's still there and we try to stop in when we visit. wild! i love that we are connected in this way!
ReplyDeleteaaaand...i will be able to catch up with you and your doings later on today. xo
hello again! so sorry to hear about the stress/anemia, and good to hear you have medical care and are looking into it. also, i SO hear you on the balancing animal ethics/food sensitivities/ real nutrition thing. it's a struggle for me too.
ReplyDeleteso here are my two tricks for getting iron. 1. use a cast iron pan, and make sure you occasionally cook something slightly acidic in it (tomatoes, add a little apple cider vinegar to your broth, etc)...you will naturally get a lot of iron that way. the other thing...keep doing your nettles and kale and beets etc...but eat it with LEMON. or take a vit. c tablet...you need the vit. c to absorb the iron!
keep us posted on how it goes, and thank you for sharing your perspective on your magical island visit. i hope you can use the memories to tune out from city nonsense. xo
Mary, thanks for all the good info. ooooooh balance... and I did not grow up in Redding (I hail from n. san diego county-vista to be exact) but my high school/college sweetie lived there for a time and his family lived there so we visited a lot and spent summers there. Also, I was raised by my grandparents who had an aversion to flying so our family outings/vacations consisted of driving ALL OVER california and the west coast. back to drinking my nettle tea! xo
ReplyDeletei have a bff in portland who is a nutritional therapist (and wonderful amazing woman) and she would probably be down to do a session over the phone with you in trade foe some vintage/teas! let me know if you want to be introduced. i am an omnivore, so i don't really have any good tips. xoxo
ReplyDeleteYES!! Sadie, I would love that! I am no longer vegetarian... I've been dreaming of meat for months! xo
ReplyDeleteHi! I found you through The Girl Who Married Bear. I have also experienced anemia because of my veg diet and it is horrible. I once fell asleep during a meeting at work!
ReplyDeleteI've taken some nutrition courses in College and picked up a few tricks about getting enough non-heme Iron:
-Cook with Iron cookware, this will add iron deposits to your food
-COOKED spinach is the highest vegetable iron source and should be paired with citrus for better absorption (sprinkle some lemon juice on it; delicious!)
-Lentils Lentils Lentils! Best bean source of iron and super versatile recipe-wise.
-Oatmeal is the best grain source for iron
-Blackstrap molasses is also an excellent source
Good luck!
hi Alisha, well I can't eat any lentils/beans, since allergy testing I realized that all beans make me super sick (I think I overdid it being vegan age 10-23 and ate only beans!) and I do use only cast iron and eat tons of spinach etc... My body has a difficult time absorbing non-heme iron. It's frustrating but at least after a week of taking floradix and ionic iron my lips have a little color and I'm feeling a tiny bit more human/not crazy :)
ReplyDelete