In comparison to red meat, which is among the best sources of iron, spinach is a fair source of  iron. The recommended daily intake for iron is 8 milligrams for men and 18 milligrams for women. A half-cup serving of cooked spinach contains about 2 milligrams of iron. Because cooking has minimal effect upon the iron content in spinach, the equivalent amount of uncooked spinach offers the same amount of iron. (That is, you need to eat about 2 cups of raw spinach to equate to 1/2 cup of cooked spinach)

Due to the presence of oxylates (organic acids that naturally occur in foods), the iron in both raw and cooked spinach tends to be poorly absorbed by the body. However, if you eat spinach with some type of animal protein, such as putting turkey in a spinach salad or serving cooked spinach along with a chicken dinner, your body can better absorb the iron.

To boost your iron intake, I also recommend you eat a source of vitamin C at each meal, such as —

-drink orange juice with breakfast

-adding tomato slices to your lunch-time sandwich

-and enjoying broccoli with dinner.

Cooking in a cast iron skillet can also boost your iron intake--especially if you cook an acidic food, such as tomato sauce, in the skillet. Another option is to choose iron-enriched breakfast cereals, such as Wheaties. Non-meat eaters have many ways to consume adequate iron, and reduce their risk of developing iron-deficiency anemia.

Perhaps more remarkable than it’s iron content (of which only 3% is absorbable), spinach is an excellent source of vitamins A, C, folic acid, magnesium, potassium and several other nutrients that are an important part of your sports diet. Pop-eye was strong to the finish for several reasons--the least of which was the iron in spinach! Yet, I do encourage you to keep eating your spinach for the other nutrients is contains.

Nancy, is eliminating all sugar (except for natural sugar in fruits) from your diet safe? In normal grocery stores, it's almost impossible to find anything outside of the vegetable section that doesn't have sugar. I switched to soy milk but even that still has sugar….

Answer: Why would you want to eliminate all sugar? Sugar is a source of fuel for active muscles. All fruits, veggies and grains digest into sugar, the fuel that feeds your muscles as well as your brain. Milk also naturally contains sugar (lactose).

The concern should  not be "sugar" but the source of the sugar. For example, sugar in soda pop is "empty calories" -- with no nutritional value. Sugar in oranges comes along with lots of vitamin C, potassium, folate and other health-promoting nutrients. Enjoying sweet oranges is a smart food choice, nutritionally preferable to drinking orange soda.

Processed foods often have a little sugar added. For example,  the sugar in jarred spaghetti sauce adds to an enjoyable taste -- but it does not negate the nutrient content of the sauce. Don’t worry about it! Nutrition guidelines say that 10% of calories can appropriately come from refined sugar. As an active person, you likely need at least 2,000 calories a day. That means, you could enjoy 200 calories of refined sugar, if desired. That's 50 grams -- a quart of Gatorade, or a ton of spaghetti sauce!

Rather than getting hung up on sugar, look at the balance of your whole diet. You want to eat a diet with 85 to 90% nutrient-dense foods. But you need not eat a "perfect diet" (for you, this sounds like a sugar-free diet) to have a good diet.

Nancy Clark MS RD CSSD

"I am a bad evening eater even though I do quite well during the day. I'm trying to keep busy in the evenings so I'm not sitting around and snacking which is my downfall!"

When my clients report their eating is "good by day but bad by night", I notice they are  "too good" by day-- that is, they are eating way too few calories. That is why they are starving at the end of the day and "being bad" in terms of snacking and overeating. The solution is to fuel by day (so you have the energy to exercise) and then eat just a little bit less at night.

Theoretically, if you create a small calorie deficit by knocking off 100 calories at the end of the day, you'll lose 10 pounds of body fat a year. If you create a 200 calorie defict at the end of the day, you'll lose 20 pounds of fat. To their demise, too many active people knock off 500 to 800 calories during the day, and then get too hungry, overeat at night, and then end up gaining weight. I recommend their eating be "bad" by day and "good" by night! That is, that they eat enough during the day to feel satiated, and then eat just a little bit less at night ... not to the point of being too hungry to sleep, but just enought so they are not quite full.

My Sports Nutrition Guidebook has a strong section on how to lose weight without starving yourself. The information teaches active people:

- how many calories are OK to eat,

- how to maintain energy to enjoy exercise while losing undesired body fat,

- how to manage snack attacks, and

- how to find peace with food.

In addition, you might want to meet with a sports nutritionist for personalized advice. This food expert can help you create a personalized food plan that's sustainable and will help you reach your goals. Use the referral network at www.SCANdpg.org to find a local sports nutritionist.

Eat wisely and well,

Nancy Clark MS RD CSSD

Recently, I was asked to bring skinfold calipers to a social gathering.  Ann (not her real name), a young mother who had succeeeded in losing 50 pounds by diet and exercise, wanted me to measure her body fat. She wanted to lose 10 more pounds, but her mother and other relatives had been making comments she was tooo thin.

The calipers provided unbiased data and Ann was actually shocked to learn she was a very lean 16% body fat. Because her physique had always been on the heavier side, she still saw herself as being bigger than she was. She ascribed to the belief “I’ll always be too fat, and never be too thin”. Not the case. She now was thin-enough and had no need to be thinner-yet.

Body fat measurements can be a helpful tool to give dieters the data they need so they know when to stop dieting. Ann could now believe her weight was indeed low and she could focus more on building muscle than on losing fat.

I encouraged Ann to allow her body a 5 pound weight range, to account for muscular growth. I offered to do repeated body fat measurements, to help her through the after-the-diet stage when the scale goes up as muscles get rebuilt.

If you, too, have lost a lot of weight, you might want to seek a sport dietitian who can measure your body fat, to give you data regarding a good weight for your body. The referral network at www.SCANdpg.org can help you find a local sports dietitian.

Nancy, I’m trying to lose about 20 pounds and I want to know how to burn the most fat. I’ve heard I should 1) exercise on an empty stomach, because that results in more fat burning, and 2) do low intensity “fat burning” exercise rather than push my self very hard.  What do you suggest?

Answer: Burning fat differs from losing body fat. Burning fat occurs with low level activity. Two perfect examples of fat burning exercise are sitting and sleeping––but I doubt if those are the most conducive way to lose body fat! 

In order to lose undesired body fat, you have to create a calorie deficit. Any type of exercise can contribute towards this deficit. If, by the end of the day, you have burned more calories than you have eaten, this calorie deficit will contribute to loss of body fat.

I vote against exercising on an empty stomach. I suggest you fuel yourself with 100 to 300 calories of a pre-exercise snack. This fuel will boost your blood sugar, energize your workout, and help you enjoy your exercise program. The snack will help you have energy to exercise longer and harder, and you’ll end up burning more calories than if you were to work out “on empty.” The pre-exercise snack will also curb your appetite so that, after the workout, you will be less likely to reward yourself with 400 calories of treats that you rationalize you “deserve” to eat.

The “E” in exercise should stanf for Enjoyment. You should be exercising because it helps you feel good, feel good about yourself, relieve stress, enhance fitness and improve your health. Please don’t use exercise as a form of punishment for having excess body fat.

For additional help with exercise and weight management, please see Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook.

Nancy Clark MS RD CSSD

NUTRITION & EXERCISE:  An intensive workshop is your chance to learn more about nutrition and exercise.

Exercise physiologist William Evans PhD and I will be offering a 1.5 day program that is designed to help serious athletes, coaches, athletic trainers, exercise physiologists, sports nutritionists, and sports medicine professionals find answers to their questions about--

-eating for health, enhanced performance and longevity

-balancing carbs, protein and sports supplements

-managing weight and eating disorders.

MINNEAPOLIS     Dec 5-6, 2008 

DALLAS                Jan 16-17, 2009

St. LOUIS          Jan 23-24

HOUSTON          Feb 6-7                                           

ONLINE             Anytime!

If you cannot attend in person, the workshop can come to you. Simply enjoy the course online course at[www.sportsnutritionworkshop.com|http://www.www.sportsnutritionworkshop.com].

Health professionals who need continuting education credits can get 10 hours of education for ADA, ACSM, AFAA, ACE, NATA, NSCA, and  CHES.

We hope you can come. As most participants agree—you’ll get what you want, plus more!

Nancy

For more information and to register: www.sportsnutritionworkshop.com

“Nancy, in your Sports Nutrition Guidebook, you mention that athletes can eat within 5 to 30 minutes of exercise and get results. It has always been my understanding that it takes quite a bit of time before food can be digested.  I have been taught that food doesn't leave the stomach for about 2 hours.  I also was under the impression that physical activity, such as running, drew blood away from the stomach thusly slowing down the digestion. Thanks for helping me better understand how to eat pre-exercise.”

Yes, believe it or not, 100 to 200 calories of carbs eaten even 5 minutes pre-exercise can enhance your performance (assuming you can tolerate the light snack). If you were to eat a heavy high protein/high fat meal such as a cheese omelet or cheeseburger, the protein and fat would linger in the stomach and possibly talk back to you. But carbs are readily available, as witnessed when a person with diabetes has low blood sugar and is given some orange juice or cola. That sugar gets into the system within three minutes. The same goes for athletes.

As for blood flow, if you are exercising at a pace you can maintain for more than 30 minutes, you can both digest the food and use it to enhance performance. The trick is to practice pre-exercise fueling, so you learn what foods, and how much of them, will contribute to better performance for your body.

I just returned from the American Dietetic Association’s Food and Nutrition Conference and Exposition. While standing near Eggland’s Best booth, I overheard the egg representative explaining to another dietitian “People who eat just the egg whites are missing out on the most nutritious part of the egg: the yolk. Egg yolks are important sources of life-sustaining nutrients; they contain the vitamins and minerals!”

I agree with him. Too many athletes are throwing the baby out with the bath water when then toss the yolk and eat only the white.  I invite you to rethink your egg white omelet.

--True, egg whites are “fat free protein,” but a little bit of fat is an important part of each sports meal and is used to absorb vitamins A, D, E, and K. The 5 grams of fat in the yolk will help absorb the vitamins in the berries you eat as a part of your breakfast. Of those 5 grams of fat, only 1.5 grams are saturated (bad-for-you) fat. Most athletes can consume 20 to 30 grams of saturated fat a day and still stay within recommended dietary guidelines.

--True, the egg yolk is a rich source of cholesterol, but the impact of cholesterol on heart health is now considered to be very low, less than 1% of causes of heart disease. The impact of saturated fat, however, is the real culprit. Hence, you do want to limit your intake of the bacon, butter and cheese that commonly accompany the eggs.

Eating eggs for breakfast can keep you feeling fuller for longer; this helps with hunger-management and weight-management.  The key to egg consumption is to nix the bacon, butter and cheese but keep the nutrient-rich yolks. Here’s to poached eggs on whole grain toast!