Dr. Pankaj Chhabra wrote in Oct 2015
Iron deficiency
Iron is an active element for the normal physiological functions of the body. It is an important component or cofactor for hundreds of proteins including the heam of hemoglobin, myoglobin, transferin, iron containing porphyrins besides being an essential component of enzymes such as catalase, peroxydase and various cytochromes. Iron deficiency is defined as the Loss of quality and quantity of hemoglobin in the blood. The impact of IDA always concerns on the physiological, physical, psychological and economic aspect of the individual. Poverty, faulty dietary habits due to lack of nutrition education, poor environmental sanitation, tropical weather and large prevalence of intestinal worm infestation are some of the reasons of iron deficiency anaemia. Presently 2/3rd of Indian female population is suffering from Iron deficiency Anemia which is the leading course of morbidity among the unborn fetuses, the infants and the young children. So they need iron supplementation.
Calcium deficiency
In addition to its major function in building and maintaining bones and teeth, calcium is important in the activity of many enzymes in the body, contraction of muscles, release of neurotransmitters, release of hormones regulation of heartbeat and clotting of blood etc. Hypocalcemia is defined as total serum calcium of <8.5 mg/dl or ionized calcium levels <4.6 mg/dl. Risk factor of osteoporosis are lack of calcium intake, deficiency of phosphorus,deficiency of magnesium, concentration of PTH, deficiency of Vitamin D, lactation in multi para and lack of exercise. There was significant association between BMD and serum calcium levels in postmenopausal women (Khatake &Jadhav, 2014). Post menopausal women are more sensitive to osteoporosis. Total affected population would be 25 million in India (WHO, 2005).Proper level of calcium in the body over a lifetime can help prevent osteoporosis.
List of vegetables rich in Iron and calcium
| Vegetables | Iron content mg(ICMR statistics) | Calcium content mg (ICMR statistics) |
| Bathua | 4.2 | 150 |
| Beet green | 16.2 | 380 |
| Turnip Green | 28.4 | 710 |
| Bengal gram green | 23.8 | 340 |
| Cow pea green | 20.1 | 290 |
| Mustard Green | 16.3 | 155 |
| Cauliflower greens | 40.0 | 626 |
| Colocasia leaves(Indian) | 10.0 | 227 |
| Curry leaves | .93 | 830 |
Current report from media says that 65% of lower middle income groups can’t afford on proper amount of vegetables. These home grown organic vegetable can give regular supply of iron and calcium. They are superior in nutritional content of iron and calcium. They save money from the load of tablets supplementation. It benefits gentries to escape from medical emergencies. Females can easily adopt their own kitchen garden to grow in organic way.
Ecological Living 
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