Hmm... I need to find out myself. I don't know what is the answer to that question. I'll do some poking around and get back to you if I got an answer. You should email the people at Medifast as they probably can help you..

Well 34 is only 1 away from 35! So I think you're normal. Do you feel tired? What is your typical Medifast diet now?.

But I have no actual advise for you, but I'm sure others will be able to accomodate that..

...I think dates are high in iron....most dried fruits...which makes me think fruits in general would be. Maybe you just need to eat more fruit. Sorry...not being much help here...

Dark leafy greens!!!.

Raisins!!!.

Mullberries.

Sea veggies!!!.

And dulse tastes GREAT, by the way! I don't take it in flakes, I buy it before it's cut up and add it to my salads...

Yes, can't you make a raw mock tuna salad with dulse? Mmmm...*smacks lips* I'll be eating that ALL the time, once I get some yummy sea stuff..

Sorry, that's all I've got, but good luck!..

I hide half a teaspoon of powdered kelp in my smoothies. Don't even taste it. Every little bit helps...

My doctor told me that donating blood is not a good idea for many, especially woman of child-bearing years. I used to donate consistently and it weakened me until I stopped and focused on mutrition. God bless you for donating, though.....

Here's what NOT to eat....

Spinach.

Cacao.

Why? Both contain a compound called oxalic acid, which actually inhibits iron absorption. Yes, both cacao and spinach contain iron, but your body isn't going to absorb it. In fact, it will be less likely to absorb iron in general, because of the oxalic acid...

Thanks y'all!! My doctor did want me to supplement, as I expected..

JenJena great big super thanks about the chocolate!! I did not know that! And I LO-O-O-OVE Chocolate! What does 10 cacao beans translate to?? How many nibs or cocoa powder?.

I have been eating lots of dark, leafy greens (esp spinach and parsley, and to a lesser extent kale, collards, swiss chard, romaine, etc.), dates, and some raisins..

Stina, I will be brave and try adding a little bit of kelp to my green smoothies..

Thanks all for your advice. I would like to try to eat my way up again before I resort to artificial supplementation. (Are there any natural supplements?).

Okay, now I'm confused...I just saw before I submitted that Iamacranberry says NOT to eat spinach and chocolate...

Just as I said, although spinach and chocolate have high iron contents, they are not good sources because of the absorbtion-inhibiting oxalic acid that both contain. This was a point that surfaced when I did a paper, years back, on superior vegetarian nutrition for a course at uni....don't think I've still got it, though. I had to mention that although many plant sources for iron exist, that spinach and chocolate should not be relied upon, as the iron is not very absorbable. Like it or not, the iron in meat is very absorbable...but, as a hardcore vegan, I also quickly learned that a variety of beans, seeds, nuts, and grains are also good sources of iron. All of the above can be soaked and/or sprouted...

Howdy,.

So it's 10-12 raw cacao beans = 314% of the rda of a person who needs 2,000 cals/day... so in other words a couple a day does me..

Or.

2 tbsp of the raw cacao powder = 22%.

I have read alot on the oxalic acid issue. what I have found is that there are studies that show that in raw chocolate and raw spinach, the oxalic acid is not active and only heat activates it. therefore is not at all a problem..

I tried to find out if the studies that prohibited the use of spinach, ect where gathering their info from cooked spinach, ect or raw and I could never get an answer. my experience with studies done on nutrients that have been regulated by the government is that the info is old, often times tests done on the way they thought people ate a particular Medifast food (think 1950's, who ate raw spinach salad then? they generally only cooked it)..

I'm still waiting for concrete evidence that the studies where not actually done on cooked spinach, ect..

I don't think you can have too much so long as it's raw. Here is a quote from Gabriel Cousin's book, Conscious Eating:.

Organic oxalic acid, defined as that which occurs in nature in it's raw form, can actually be beneficial to the system. Once foods containing oxalic acid are cooked, according to the dean of juice therapy and author of Raw Vegetable Juices, Dr. Norman Walker, the oxalic acid becomes dead and irritating substance to the system. He feels that in it's cooked form it binds irreversibly with the calcium and prevents calcium absorption. An excess of cooked oxalic acid may also form oxalic acid crystals in the kidney. In the live organic form of oxalic acid, Dr.

According to Dr. Walker, oxalic acid in it's raw form is one of the important minerals needed to maintain tone and peristalsis of the bowel..

He also says no to worry about phytates in raw food. The body produces an enzyme called phytase that frees minerals from phytates. This does not work for cooked phytates because it has been denatured and the enzyme no longer fits it well enough to do it's job..

Did you know that many other raw foods naturally contain oxalic acid? Foods like sesame seeds, nuts, citrus fruit, tomatoes, asparagus, beets, Swiss chard, dandelion greens and cranberries. So if you haven't been worrying about the oxalic acid content in these foods, I don't think you need to worry about it...

I have not seen any reliable references stating that oxalic acid significantly changes in composition upon being heated..

The formula for oxalic acid is H2C2O4...and so it can easily combine with calcium, iron, sodium, magnesium, or potassium. Yes, it may be found in other foods...but it does not make sense to source iron from a Medifast food that contains something that will aid in the prevention of it's absorption. There are even people out there who advertise a low oxalic acid diet...I don't know anything about it, though (other than that it probably advises that people eat a low oxalate Medifast diet and gives advice on how to do so.)..

Kelp cannot be tasted at all in a greem smoothie... So try it... I put 1 tablespoon of it, I never taste it!..

If in the future you do decide to donate again discuss with your doctor what would be low value for iron. Say 50 or 60 ( I am just picking random numbers) So on the presceen to donate tell them that you will not donate if before a certain floor. I assume as far as the Red Cross is concerned as long as you are above 35 they take your donatation. But maybe for you that is too low...