Dedications & Special Thanks
“…being slightly iron deficient is advantageous.”
Eugene Weinberg, PhD. Professor Emeritus Microbiology, Indiana University
For—my son David, my daughter-in-law Nan Thein Shwe, my granddaughter Jennifer, and my husband Clyde.
Greatly appreciated—recipe testers, page editing contributors, estimators of recipes heme and non-heme content, beta readers, and recipe “samplers”. These include: Rachel Meyer, Clyde Garrett, David Garrison, Nan Garrison, Jennifer Garrison, Rebecca Lantz, Kim Wiles, and Members of the Brookwood Church Monday & Tuesday Morning Women’s Bible Study Groups. Also, I wish to point out that in the review process, I used Grok, Elon Musk’s AI (artificial intelligence) tool to double check the iron content in these recipes. I was delighted to find how close our painstaking manual calculations agreed with Grok. With that said, the iron content in recipes contained in this cookbook are approximates. If one wishes to calculate the amount of iron in a recipe that they have created, one invaluable resource is the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), FoodData Central. This is a comprehensive source of food composition data with multiple distinct data types. This database is free to the public.
Table of Contents
Section One—The Basics
One: The difference between iron deficiency and anemia?..........
Two: When we eat iron, where does it go? ..................................
Three: How do I know I’m iron deficient? .....................................
Four: What type of doctor do I need? ..........................................
Five: Therapies to replenish iron ..................................................
Six: Boost Your Iron Savings Account .........................................
The Healthy Iron Replenishment Approach
Section Two—Tools to Help You Organize
Worksheet to Calculate Iron (blank) ..............................................
Menu Planner (blank) ...................................................................
Shopping List (To be created) ......................................................
Section Three—Let’s Cook!
Introduction (to Let’s Cook)...........................................................
Meals
Sides, Sauces, Salads, & Spreads ..............................................
Soups, Stews & Chowders ...........................................................
Snacks, Smoothies, & Beverages ................................................
Sweets & Breads ..........................................................................
Section Four— Diet Success Stories
Story One: Ronnetta Griffin former Miss South Carolina; former Mrs. South Carolina ........................................................
Story Two: One Family, Three Different Iron Challenges: The Garrison family David, Nan, and Jennifer ................................
Dietary Iron Pioneers
Ray Glahn (absorption artificial gut; yellow bean) .....................
John Beard (iron deficiency in children) ...................................
Mary Frances Picciano (dietary supplements) ...........................
Disclaimer: The Anemia Cookbook is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended to replace the advice given by a patient’s physician. Reviewers, contributors, and advisors who contributed text, images, or remarks for portions of this book are not responsible for errors, omissions, or overall content.
Preface
In 1994, I knew very little about the dangers of iron. I owned and operated a restaurant that was open seven days a week and employed as many as 28 people. I was fortunate to have good help, which included my teenaged son David. In the restaurant we cooked in cast iron skillets and in my medicine cabinet I had a bottle of liquid iron, recommended to me by a health food store operator as a cure for my fatigue.
In late 1995 David got ill, but the reason for his illness was a mystery until late 1997. A family doctor, who happened to be a regular customer in my restaurant had noticed my son’s dramatic weight loss and offered to run some tests. At that time physicians could order a “bundled” set of tests, which in this case, included serum iron, total iron binding capacity, and serum ferritin. Results of these tests provided important clues and in my son’s case it was the notation of “elevated iron”. In fact, the laboratory technician noted on the report that David’s iron was “wildly high”. Also notable was David’s blood sugar; it too was elevated. I was concerned about this because I knew that juvenile diabetes was a serious matter but I was intrigued by the “wildly high” iron and asked the doctor about the sugar and the iron. He told me that elevated iron is often seen in diabetic patients.
The Internet was in its infancy and foolishly, desperate for answers, I listened to someone who urged me to get genetic tests. This I regret… because the genetic test although helpful, tells you nothing about iron levels and the damage excess iron can do to vital organs. Needing trustworthy sources for information I purchased the Merck Manual. In this book, I read that iron poisoning could be fatal. Reading those words were
sobering—because David’s iron was “wildly high”, I believed that he was going to die. Feeling helpless and scared, I knew that worry would get me nowhere. I lacked the credentials necessary to get into a university-based medical library, but thanks to Howell Clyborne I was given access to a hospital-based medical library.
Here I found the writings of Thomas Bothwell and Eugene Weinberg. What I discovered helped me structure a treatment strategy for David, which initially was met with mild reluctance by his doctor who was concerned about my son’s elevated blood sugar. I knew a little bit about diabetes because of restaurant customers who needed special meals. David had some symptoms common to diabetes like rapid weight loss and fatigue, but not the excessive thirst or frequent urination. From what I read about excess iron, I believed that with phlebotomies, the sugar would come down along with the iron. After discussing this with David’s doctor, it was agreed that if the phlebotomies did not bring down the sugar, David would have a glucose tolerance test and we would have a diagnosis of juvenile diabetes.
During my pursuit for answers, I contacted Dr. Eugene Weinberg, a microbiologist at Indiana University. He talked with me for long hours and eventually directed me to an epidemiologist at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Sharon McDonnell told me that I was in “uncharted waters”; but she listened to my crude protocol and agreed that it had merit.
My son benefited from this protocol, which is described in his story. Today he is careful about his diet and periodically checks his iron levels. What he has learned through this experience has helped him take care of his wife and daughter. Their story is told in a later chapter entitled One Family, Three Different Iron Issues: The Garrison family.
Compiling the Anemia Cookbook has been a fifteen-year journey of creating, testing and analyzing recipes. All that appear in this publication are my own creations, although you might find similar ones on the Internet. I have gained knowledge about the iron we consume from nutrition experts Dr. Ray Glahn, Dr. Patrick MacPhail, and from my
Preface
earlier writings, which were inspired and supported by my mentors, microbiologist Eugene Weinberg, cancer specialist hematologist Leo Zacharski, nutrition experts Dr. John Beard and Dr. Thomas Bothwell, hematologists Dr. Gordon McLaren, Dr. Barry Skikne, Dr. Robert Means, Jr., and Dr. Prad Phatak, and metabolic experts Dr. Herbert Bonkovsky and Dr. Bruce Bacon.
The Hemochromatosis Cookbook which was formerly entitled “Cooking with Less Iron” published in 2001 still garners comments that I deeply appreciate. If I were to change anything in the HH Cookbook, I would emphasize the importance of polyphenols, particularly catechins like epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which are abundant in green tea. Excessive consumption of EGCG especially in supplemental capsule form can harm the liver.
To quote my dear friend and colleague Gerald (Gerry) Koenig, “It’s not the bad stuff that’s going to kill us; it’s not eating the good stuff [that will do us harm].” Gerry was referring to the importance of the daily consumption of whole fruits and vegetables.
It is my hope that this book and others that I have written will become useful tools in the homes and kitchens of many.
Take care,
Cheryl Garrison Garrett
Co-Founder, Iron Disorders Institute
Certified Lay Iron Educator
Bachelor of Science degree Indiana University, Bloomington
Author, The Hemochromatosis Cookbook
Contributor Guide to Hemochromatosis
Contributor Guide to Anemia
Contributor Exposing the Hidden Dangers of Iron
