Iron: Your Vitality Depends on It!

Iron is an essential mineral for health and vitality.  Iron keeps the blood rich in oxygen.  A deficiency in iron leads to exhaustion, fatigue and edginess, which all contribute to a poor resistance to stress.  An iron deficiency leads to a weakened immune system.

Women take care
to iron deficiencies.  Women who experience heavy menstrual cycles lose iron and may become deficient.  Iron is depleted during pregnancy so most pregnant women need to take iron supplements at this time.

Tired of feeling tired?
If you are experiencing a lot of fatigue, are pale in the face, find yourself easily susceptible to viruses and other illnesses and generally are feeling overwhelmed by minor stresses, you may want to have your iron levels checked out.

Taking the time to build-up
Once iron is depleted, it takes a while to build-up the levels in our body.  You support yourself by eating iron-rich foods, taking an iron herbal tonic or supplement and by eating foods rich in vitamin C.  Vitamin C helps your body absorb iron.  "Floradix" is a herbal formula by a company called Salus.  This iron tonic is quite popular.  However, if your iron is really low or in the deficient zone, you will want to choose something which will supply you with a higher dosage of elemental iron.  "Spa Tone," is a liquid iron that comes in little pouches.  It is water that is rich in iron from rocks.  You can take the homeopathic tissue salt #4, "Pherrum Phos," which increases the body's absorb ability of the iron.

Sources of Iron
alfalfa, apricots, beets and beet greens, blackstrap molasses, bran, cereal grains, (especially oats), comfrey, eggs, horsetail, nettle, parsley, raisins, seaweeds, spinach, sunflower seeds, tofu, watercress, wheat germ, whole grains and yellow dock root.
 
Herbal Iron Syrup
(taken from Rosemary Gladstar's book: "Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health")

This tasty formula abounds in vitamins and minerals, especially iron. 
3 parts dandelion leaf
3 parts dandelion root
3 parts nettle
3 parts raspberry leaf
2 parts alfalfa leaf
2 parts yellow dock root
1 part hawthron berry
Honey.
1. combine all the herbs.  With the honey, prepare as a syrup, (see below for syrup recipe).
2. Remove the syrup from the heat.  For every 2 cups of syrup, add the following.
1 cup brandy
1/4 cup fruit concentrate, (make sure it's concentrate, not juice)
2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses
2 teaspoons nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons spirulina powder
3. Stir well, then bottle, seal, and label.  Store in the refrigerator, where the syrup will keep for several months.  Take 4-6 tablespoons daily.

Preparing the Syrup
1. Use 2 ounces of herb mixture to one quart of water.  Over low heat, simmer the liquid down to 1 pint.  this will give you a very concentrated tea.
2. Strain the herbs from the liquid.  Poor the liquid back into the pot.
3.To each pint of liquid, add I cup of honey. 
4. Warm the honey and the liquid together only enough to mix well.  If honey is heated too high, the natural enzymes are destroyed and honey also becomes toxic at this point. 
5. Continue with step 2 in iron syrup recipe.

May you be healthy, vital and present to the celebration of your life!

Blessed be...

Satkiana
Dream Roots
www.dreamroots1.blogspot.com
(613) 230-0254