anemia

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Fighting Anemia with Food – Recipes for Health. An Iron Rich Pesto!


Iron rich pesto

Iron rich pesto

Yesterday I explained that my wife and were increasing the amount of iron in our diet as she is undergoing tests for anemia.

In that blog post I mentioned that I was preparing a pesto for yesterday evening’s meal.

As it was based upon that day’s research I thought I would share it with you. While I’m not a food blogger I am a health blogger so I felt it would be suitable to share this recipe. I should mention that Mrs PatientTalk.Org described the meal as “very tasty”.

This recipe can be vegan or vegetarian according to taste.

Ingredients (serves 4)

a) 400g of Cavolo nero (also called Tuscan kale) – full of iron but also vitamin A, calcium, vitamin K and manganese.
b) 150g of water cress – again iron rich.
c) 10 Brazil nuts – a read source of antioxidants
d) Chopped garlic – to taste really but I used 2 cloves. An antibiotic often used as a folk treatment for the common cold.
e) Juice of one lemon – a great way of getting vitamin C.
f) Olive oil to taste. Olive oil is a way of lowering cholesterol.
g) Salt and pepper again to taste but go for more pepper than salt.
h) Optional but you can use a hard cheese such as Parmesan.


How to do it.

1) Strip the leafy green parts of the Cavolo nero away from any tough stalks.
2) Steam the green leafy parts for five minutes.
3) Please in your blender along side all the ingredients except for the brazil nuts.
4) Blend the ingredients till they become just a bit thicker then the consistency you like.
5) Add the brazil nuts and blend for 30 seconds.

Serve with whole grain pasta and a green salad.

If you have tried this at home please tell us what you think in the comments box. Please do feel free to

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Iron deficiency- some great sources of iron and why you need it to stay healthy.


For the last few weeks my wife has been suffering from a rather nasty cough.

A great source of iron

A great source of iron


A course of antibiotics failed to shift it so a couple of days ago she returned to the Doctors after an all clear from the x-ray machine. Greeting her at the door (I’m paranoid rather than doting) I asked what was wrong.

She patiently explained that the Doctor was not sure. But that she was run down and that it could be Iron deficiency anemia. So they gave her a full battery of blood tests and we should find out in due course.

Iron deficiency anemia means that a lack of iron in the body means a reduction in the number of red blood cells. Because these red blood cells carry oxygen around the body this means that we don’t get enough of it. In turn this cause fatigue, shortness of breath and a pale complexion.


Just in passing he UK’s NHS recommend that the amount of iron you need is 8.7mg a day for men and 14.8mg a day for women. They also say that this should be available through diet rather than supplements.

So this is where I come in. One of my duties as household chief bottle washer is that I do the shopping and cooking. So treating anemia with diet has come my mission for the week. If we can start a small foundry by Sunday I’ll not be to blame!

So I’ve decided to plan this weeks meals by using produce which I know is high in iron. The results of my research have been rather useful so far and the iron sources recommended are:-

a) Liver. Now I love liver but my wife does not. Her exception to this is pate which she found, rather to her surprise on her breakfast plate this morning.
b) Meat. A bit of a generic you’ll agree. But beef is considered very good. This is lucky as I served steak yesterday evening.
c) Green leafy vegetables such as kale and watercress. Shades of Popeye here but good news as we are fond of salad.
d) Beans. Flatulence aside this is a great opportunity to delve into the Mexican larder and knock up some refried beans.
e) Nuts. To be honest I find peanut butter too sweet for my taste.
f) Whole grains. In particular brown rice is recommended.

Which make this evening’s meal rather simple. I’m planning a kale pesto (with pecan nuts) on brown rice pasta.

But does anyone have any high in iron and high in taste recipes they would like to share. If so please feel free to do so in the comments section below.

PS By the way liver is not recommended for pregnant women as it also contains large amounts of vitamin A. Vitamin A could damage your baby.

PPS Have you heard of iron overload. You can find out more about haemochromatosis here.

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National Cord Blood Awareness Month is July 2014. Would you bank your child’s cord blood?


Stem cell therapy -

Stem cell therapy –

As many readers will know this blogs a great interest in both new ways of treating medical conditions and the new types of medical technology which make these treatments possible.

In particular we have looked at the area of stem cells in particular as a treatment for multiple sclerosis. You can check out our recent blog here.

Interestingly cord blood ( ie from the newly born’s umbilical cord). I would strongly recommend you pop round to the Parent’s Guide to Cord Blood Foundation which gives , for my money, the best overview , of cord blood and cord blood banking. They say “The term “cord blood” is used to describe the blood that remains in the umbilical cord and the placenta after the birth of a baby. Up until recently this blood was discarded as medical waste. Cord blood contains stem cells that may be cryopreserved for later use in medical therapies, such as stem cell transplantation or new emerging therapies.”

The site useful gives a list of cord blood banks not just in America.

Indeed they mention that over 80 different medical conditions could be treated with stem cells from cord blood. These include types of Leukemia , some anemias, Lymphoma, Thrombocytopenia, Bone Marrow Cancers and some solid tumours. That being said it is currently under going clinical trials for such diverse conditions as autism, rheumatoid arthritis, Cerebral Palsy and some types of motor neurone disease.

So it all looks very promising.

As well as raising awareness of Cord Blood Awareness Month we are also interested in your views ion the subject. It would be great if you could share your responses to the following questions using the comment box below:-

a) Have you “banked” your childs cord blood? If so why and how did you go about the process of doing so?
b) Would you consider it in the future.

Any aspect of your cord cell story will be of great interest so feel free to tell us below.


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Vitamin B12 – uses, sources and the effect of deficiency


Vitamin b12Thanks for dropping round to the latest in our series on vitamins and their impact upon our health.  Currently we plan on adding a series on minerals which are vital to our health.  Some of these future articles may surprise you.  So please visit PatientTalk on a regular basis!

In this blog we will be looking in a bit more detail at Vitamin B12.   In particular problems associated with a deficiency.

What does Vitamin B12 do?  Well its primary purpose is to promote normal functioning in the brain and nervous system. It also helps with the formation of blood.  So pretty important!

It is normally found in animal products such as meat or cheese.  Especially liver (good news for pate lovers like me).  But this does mean that people on a vegan diet will need to use supplements.

But what happens when we do not get enough Vitamin B12?

If untreated Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause permanent damage to the nervous system.

Pernicious anemia (also known as Biermer’s anemia, Addison’s anaemia, or Addison–Biermer anemia) occurs when the body has difficulty absorbing vitamin B12.  Typical symptoms include:-

  • Fatigue.
  • Fevers.
  • Depression.
  • Neuropathic pain (for more information please see our recent blog https://patienttalk.org/?p=281).
  • Problems with the intestines which may present as diarrhoea and indigestion.
  • Brain fog may occur if the nervous system gets damaged.  ( Again we have a recent blog on brain fog which you might find useful https://patienttalk.org/?p=563).

As with any anemia there is a decrease in red blood cells.

If you are in anyway concerned about Vitamin B12 deficiency please visit a healthcare professional as soon as possible.

PS  Many yeast extracts such as Marmite contain Vitamin B12.  So you might want to consider spreading some on your breakfast toast!