Calcium & iron

aud82
aud82 Posts: 30 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
It appears I need to up my calcium and iron... I don't like milk... And cheese eats up my calories... What about the iron? Any suggestions? ( I'd tear up some ice cream to help with calcium... But I think I might kick my own *kitten* over that...lol!)

Replies

  • aud82
    aud82 Posts: 30 Member
    Lol that's an interesting "autocorrect"...
  • Pam_Shebamm
    Pam_Shebamm Posts: 167 Member
    I suck at getting both of those in so if you're looking to get these in through actual food I can't help you.

    I take a calcium supplement daily and an iron supplement every other day. No shame.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    aud82 wrote: »
    Lol that's an interesting "autocorrect"...

    Yup, gotta love the filth filter.

    For calcium:

    http://www.dietitians.ca/Downloads/Factsheets/Food-Sources-of-Calcium.aspx

    For iron:

    http://www.dietitians.ca/Your-Health/Nutrition-A-Z/Minerals/Food-Sources-of-Iron.aspx

    There are plenty of sites with lists of foods high in each of these. Spinach and kale are on both of those. Two birds with one stone (or leaf).
  • Hamsibian
    Hamsibian Posts: 1,388 Member
    I am low in both as well, and I can't have milk products!! I miss cheese, but oh well. Anyway, here's some foods that help me.

    Iron: Any meat or poultry, offal like liver (If you hate the taste, it's really easy to hide it in dishes like homemade meatloaf or meatballs), Darker greens like spinach, all sorts of beans and lentils.

    Calcium: Salmon w/skin, sardines and canned salmon both have bones that are soft enough to eat, bone broth, prunes, leafy greens, broccoli, sweet potato. Also bearing your weight (strength training, carrying grocery carts, walking with weights, etc) helps. :smile:
  • aud82
    aud82 Posts: 30 Member
    Thanks Guys!!! Definitely won't be eating liver any time soon (my parents forced me to eat that nastiness when I was young... But everything else seems doable!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I'm anemic and in addition to eating foods with iron I need to supplement aggressively in order to keep my levels in Low Normal. I get tested regularly.

    I tried a variety of supplements before I found one that worked for me. I'm taking Iron Bisglycinate now.

    The VA had given me two presumably cheap forms of iron that did not prevent hair loss and fatigue.
  • PlantBasedRnr
    PlantBasedRnr Posts: 129 Member
    Don't overdo it with the Iron supplements - they have a tendency to " back you up " if you know what I mean.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Do you dislike all milk or are plant milks an option? Soy, cashew, almond, rice, hemp, hazelnut, and coconut milks are typically fortified with protein and can be a good source for people who dislike dairy milk or choose not to drink it. Tofu is a source of calcium, as well as greens.

    I get iron from beans/lentils, fortified flour, and protein powder.
  • PlantBasedRnr
    PlantBasedRnr Posts: 129 Member
    You probably want to take Vitamin C when taking Iron - it will aid in absorption.
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
    If possible, try to have your "iron rich foods" at a different time from you "calcium rich foods" and, if possible, have something with Vitamin C in it along with the iron rich foods. Vitamin C helps with iron absorption, and calcium and iron compete for absorption.

    So, chili (with meat and/or beans) that has tomatoes in it (for the Vitamin C) is a good way to get iron, for example.

    Yogurt could be a good lower calorie source of calcium and, of course, many veggies have calcium too.

    I also struggle with both so I take a multivitamin primarily for the iron and calcium.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Can you eat dry cereal without milk? Lots of prepared cereals are iron fortified. 1 cup of Multigrain Cheerios...gives you 100% RDA. Vitamin C will help you absorb iron. Lots of calcium inhibits absorption of iron, so if you take a calcium supplement.....take it at a different time of day. Iron supplements (I was prescribed by a Dr.) ....be careful. Many dosages are just huge.

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    edited August 2016
    brhollifield wrote: »
    Don't overdo it with the Iron supplements - they have a tendency to " back you up " if you know what I mean.
    I've never had constipation while taking iron supplements...
    brhollifield wrote: »
    You probably want to take Vitamin C when taking Iron - it will aid in absorption.
    ...probably because I take vitamin C to "bowel tolerance."
  • cee134
    cee134 Posts: 33,711 Member
    Spinach contains a substance called oxalate, which binds to calcium and makes it unavailable for absorption.

    I take a supplement for calcium because I do not eat a diet high in calcium.

    Iron is much easier:
    Legumes: lentils, soybeans, tofu, tempeh, lima beans.
    Grains: quinoa, fortified cereals, brown rice, oatmeal.
    Nuts and seeds: pumpkin, squash, pine, pistacio, sunflower, cashews, unhulled sesame.
  • chapiano
    chapiano Posts: 331 Member
    Iron, red meat. particularly sirloin steak

    Calcium, leafy greens like Kale, broccoli and spinach

  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    MeganMoroz89 wrote: »
    aud82 wrote: »
    It appears I need to up my calcium and iron... I don't like milk... And cheese eats up my calories... What about the iron? Any suggestions? ( I'd tear up some ice cream to help with calcium... But I think I might kick my own *kitten* over that...lol!)

    I say this every time I see someone posting about iron.

    Before taking any kind of supplement please get your iron and ferritin tested. I have haemochromatosis (high iron) and the symptoms are the same as anemia and if left untreated it can have devastating effects. It is so important to not overdo it on iron.

    I say this too, or would have if you hadn't first! My mother has hemochromatosis, which has done some damage in her case since they didn't find out early enough.

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