00:00We've all heard of the saying that you are what you eat but I think there's a
00:04lot more to that. You are what you absorb. In this episode of the Little List
00:09Project we're going to talk about how you can boost absorption from the foods
00:13that you eat and all the things that I'm talking about today are simple and easy.
00:18So easy that you could get started this week. So let's get into it. The first tip
00:23is to grind flax seeds before you eat them. Now if you're someone who loves to
00:28add flax seeds to your baked goods or to your breakfast I have a little advice.
00:33Grind them first. When you eat flax seeds whole they pretty much come out the
00:38same way they went in and it's really hard to get the most nutrition out of
00:43them. Now they can definitely work as a fiber but you're not going to be able to
00:47absorb much of the goodness inside. So if you want to absorb more from flax seeds
00:52it's a good idea to grind them to break down that hard exterior and that way you
00:58can absorb much of the nutrients inside. And for this you don't need a fancy
01:04grinder. Anything simple will do such as a magic bullet or your regular coffee
01:09grinder. So the next time you add flax seeds to your meal just remember to
01:13grind them first. The second tip is to eat iron and vitamin C together. If
01:19you're anemic or if you're someone who's struggling to get enough iron in your
01:24diet you probably know how hard it is to absorb from your food especially plant
01:28foods. Plant foods have a source of iron known as non heme iron and this can be a
01:34little bit difficult to absorb. So what can you do to boost absorption? You could
01:39eat iron with vitamin C rich foods and when you do this you are boosting the
01:46absorption by quite a bit. By pairing vitamin C and iron together the boost in
01:52absorption is roughly three times as much. So let me give you an example. If
01:56you had dark chocolate with an orange that would be an ideal combination. The
02:03dark chocolate has iron and the vitamin C comes from the orange and when you
02:07have them together you get a big boost in absorption. Another example would be
02:12something like having black beans with tomato salsa. The black beans have iron
02:17and the tomato has vitamin C. So the next time you're eating plant based foods
02:23that have iron make sure that you have a source of vitamin C with that food.
02:28Number three is to eat your carrots cooked if you want to absorb the beta
02:33carotene. Now I'm a big believer in having both raw and cooked veggies but
02:38when it comes to carrots and beta carotene which is what your body will
02:42convert to vitamin A, cooked is better. When you cook the carrots you boost the
02:47absorption significantly and this applies not only to carrots but also
02:52other veggies such as pumpkin. Tip number four is to eat your veggies with enough
02:57fat. Now I'm not saying it needs to be loads of fat but just enough fat for you
03:03to actually absorb the fat soluble vitamins. Now when you eat vegetables
03:08without fat it's hard to absorb these fat soluble vitamins such as vitamin A,
03:12E and K. So here's an example if you were to eat a salad let's say it's an
03:18arugula salad has quite a bit of vitamin A and K and you didn't have any fat
03:24source to go along with it you'd have a hard time absorbing that vitamin A and K.
03:28A quick thing that you could do is add some nuts or seeds, a little bit of nut
03:33butter, maybe an avocado or a little bit of dressing and you will be able to
03:39absorb a lot more of the nutrients from your salad. Tip number five is to avoid
03:44coffee and tea with mealtimes. I love having tea but not during mealtimes and
03:50the reason for this is that having coffee or tea along with your meals can
03:55block the absorption of iron and if you are struggling to get enough iron in
04:00your diet the best thing you can do is to avoid coffee and tea with your meals.
04:05The stronger the coffee or tea the less iron you absorb from your meal. So stick
04:11to herbal teas if you need to have something with your meal or have your
04:15coffee and tea well before your meal or well after your meal. Tip number six is
04:20to eat turmeric with black pepper and fat. Turmeric has a compound known as
04:25curcumin which is responsible for a lot of the health benefits but it is hard to
04:30absorb. So what can you do to absorb it better? Add a little bit of black pepper
04:35and some fat whenever you're having something with turmeric. So as an example
04:39if I was having a turmeric curry I could add a little bit of black pepper, add a
04:44little bit of coconut milk and that would help me absorb the turmeric better.
04:49Same thing with a turmeric latte I could add a pinch of black pepper to it. So the
04:54next time you're having some turmeric make sure you have a little bit of fat
04:58and black pepper with it. Tip number seven is to cook tomatoes to absorb more
05:03of the antioxidants. So one of the most well-known antioxidant is lycopene and
05:09you guessed it tomatoes have lycopene. When you eat tomatoes raw did you know
05:14that you don't absorb much of the lycopene? So if you are trying to get the
05:18most out of tomatoes, you're trying to absorb the most antioxidants, it is a
05:22good idea to cook your tomatoes before you eat them. Now I'm not saying that you
05:27can't have any raw tomatoes. We all love tomatoes in the salad, well most of us
05:31do, but it is a good idea to cook them if you are trying to absorb more of the
05:37antioxidants. I think both cooked and raw foods have certain benefits so it's a
05:42good idea to have a balance of both raw and cooked veggies in your diet. If you
05:48enjoyed this video and you learned something new give it a thumbs up and
05:51don't forget to subscribe. Bye!
Comments