mother dear emotionally blackmailed me into getting the yearly check up done while i was visiting her this time, and pulled me out of the house where i had been busy cleaning: my favorite passion. surprisingly, we met a very cheerful, out of the box doctor.
'your hemoglobin count is far too low.' the doc says, reading my reports.
'yes, but all other tests are fine, right?' i defend my body's self-esteem.
'well, what is the use of a perfect system that has no energy to function?'
'well, doc, with due respect, during the last few days, i have washed eight curtains, by hand, not in the machine, swabbed the floor of the apartment, washed a huge carpet, washed the terrace... now if not with energy then god must have come to help out, right? ' (ok, i added the last bit here, but the doc got the picture).
'well, even the laborers who work on construction sites do a lot of mehanat, with low iron count, and they suddenly collapse. You want to collapse too?'
'nope. ok, doc, tell me which iron pills i need to swallow.'
'iron pills are quite useless. you will have to change your diet.'
'oh, ' i am flabbergasted.
'the only answer is in nutrition'
'you mean you are not going to prescribe any pills?'
'nope.'
'this is very surprising. doctors usually never talk about nutrition.' i say.
'if they did, who would come to them? they also have to look after their stomachs, na?' says the doc.
'i am so glad to meet a doc without a stomach, doc. tell me, what should i eat?'
Anna Hazare, India has hidden talent.
'All this in one day, every single day
* two badams, 2 dates, 2 anjeer (figs) soaked overnight.
* one apple, with skin, per day, plus other fruits of your choice.
*steamed sprouts one bowl
* green leafy veggies
* one tomato, one beetroot, and one carrot.
* two glasses of milk
* most important, one lemon per day, as without vitamin C, iron is not absorbed.
additional tips: don't keep yourself hungry for long, keep snacks ready with you at all times, eat different grains, eat bhakri (roti made from jowar), snack on jaggery and peanut chikki. for one month, don't count calories.
After one month, test your blood count again. If you have followed this diet to the T , and your count does not increase, mera naam bhi doctor nahin.'
P. S. : Just remembered Kushuaji, my grandmother, used to cook in iron pots for the iron to go into our tummies. Now where do I get an iron pot from?
6 comments:
Wow! perfect diet plan, thanks! Even I have low blood count, but my doc did have a stomach!
He prescribed some iron pills n asked as a side if I have constipation...the fact is (I read online later) that iron pills cause constipation.
Do green leafy vegetables still have iron after cooking?
Btw jaggery (or gud in hindi) and chicken liver are also good sources of iron.
Wow, that's cool!
Yes, 7 dayholiday, (what an optimistic name), greens retain their iron content after cooking, but its best if you can have them raw. coriander leaves, lettuce, all are good in iron.
And dont touch those iron pills with a ten foot pole! if you are in a place where you cannot have beetroot juice, etc, and if you feel that some medicine might be good, try this ayurvedic tonic, MAHA DRAKSHADI RASAYANA. One spoon in the morning and one at night.
Apple with skin? With all those pesticides and other stuff they sprinkle on them these days, I am not too sure! I used to bite into apple in my childhood, skin and all, but now I make it a point to peel off before I give any to my son.
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