Feeling run down?  Chances are you need more iron in your diet, but the solution isn’t as easy as popping a pill.  The critical combination is iron + vitamin C for maximum energy impact.

You already know how good vitamin C is for you.  This powerful antioxidant gets plenty of great press coverage.  However, you might not know that pairing iron rich foods with vitamin C can boost your iron absorption up to six times.  (Vitamin C also reduces the absorption of copper!)

Asparagus is one of the best plant based sources for iron and to get the most from this healthy plant you should pair your asparagus with lemon!  The vitamin C helps boost iron absorption.  Here’s a recipe you might want to try:  Grilled Asparagus With Lemon and Garlic.

Other healthy and tasty iron rich/vitamin c rich combinations include:

• Spinach and Mandarin Oranges
• Kidney Beans with Roasted Red Peppers
• Broccoli with lemon juice and olive oil

According to the World’s Healthiest Foods web site, Swiss Chard is THE vegetable valedictorian and with good reason.  One serving of this leafy green vegetable provides 716% of your DV of Vitamin K, 109% of Vitamin A and 52.5% of Vitamin C for only 35 skinny calories!  According to the web site, swiss chard’s charms include:

The combination of traditional nutrients, phytonutrients (particularly anthocyans), plus fiber in this food seems particularly effective in preventing digestive tract cancers.

According to Leslie Beck, RD swiss chard  is also known as spinach beet and is actually an offshoot of the beet family. 

Want to supercharge swiss chard’s bone building properties?  Cook it with garlic to boost calcium absorption by up to 18%.

Gluten a Go-Go provides a great recipe combining these ingredients in Swiss Chard with Garlic Mustard Vinaigrette.  D-life also offers a highly rated recipe, Swiss Chard with Hot-Pepper Sauce

According to Food Navigator.com Full fat helps carotenoid absorption. According to the article:

Recent studies on carotenoids, used extensively in the food industry as a colouring agent, show that these antioxidants may reduce the risk of degenerative diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration. They are also linked to a preventative effect on heart disease and certain cancers.

The study was published in the August 2004 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

"Essentially no absorption of carotenoids was observed when salads with fat-free salad dressing were consumed. A substantially greater absorption of carotenoids was observed when salads were consumed with full-fat than with reduced-fat salad dressing."

The Cairo Dining web site reports that eating greens may save your eyesight.

Eating greens may also save your eyesight, thanks to their two carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin. This antioxidant combo decreases your risk for age-related macular degeneration. "Greens are packed with carotenoids because they sit out in the sun all day, so they need protection from sun-induced damage," says biochemist Dean P. Jones, PhD, of Emory University School of Medicine. "The carotenoids accumulate in the retina and protect your eyes." Dietary guidelines advise at least three cups of greens a week. Frozen or bagged is as good as fresh. 

Be sure to use some full fat dressing on that salad to get the maximum benefit OR you may choose to add an avocado to that salad for a nutrient boost!  Adding avocado to your salad can help you absorb up to 5 times more lutein!  Plus, a medium avocado contains about 66% of your daily folate requirement.