What types of food should I eat for low iron deficiency?

AshlynnHH

For most of my life I suffered with low iron. I wanted to start buying some stuff at the grocery store so I could have iron enrich foods at hand. But, online lists are not that helpful as they have only a small selection of food. I had been put on pills before in the past. But, I try staying away from pills if I could help it. If you can find a huge list of iron foods, I would appreciate that too.

Alatariel75

Just take the pills.

kommodevaran

Don't look for enriched foods, look for foods naturally high in iron. It is good for a number of reasons to eat varied. Food will aslo not give you the unpleasant side effects (constipation), and you won't "forget" to eat like you might "forget" to take your pills.

Foods rich in iron is red meat, brightly green vegetables, whole grains, seafoods like mussels, liver and other organ meats. For optimal absorbsion of the iron, eat it with foods rich in vitamin C, like fruit.

Cooking in iron pots will increase iron in your diet. If doing so is inconvenient, you can buy "the lucky iron fish" and cook with that in your normal pots.

Juliafitness1

Combine iron rich foods with citrus / vitamin C to increase your iron absorption.

Packerjohn

Alatariel75 wrote: »

Just take the pills.

Get a doctor's direction before taking an iron supplement.

Sunna_W

Also, have you had your gut health checked? Often times people with IBS, chronic gastritis, undiagnosed spru or celiac will have malabsorbtion issues. Once the gut is healed they are no longer anemic.

Another cause could be lack of Vitamin B-12 needed to make iron and can be affiliated with autoimmune issues like Diabetes (Type 1); Graves’ Disease (Hyperthyroidism); Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis (Hypothyroidism); Multiple Sclerosis; Psoriasis; and Vitiligo.

Ref: https://bodyecology.com/articles/are-you-anemic-going-beyond-iron-supplements

rmgnow

The iron super food is Liver.
So chop into some Liver, if you're so inclined

TeaBea

Juliafitness1 wrote: »

Combine iron rich foods with citrus / vitamin C to increase your iron absorption.

This^
.......and calcium can prevent your body from absorbing iron.

I struggle with this too. Prepared cereals often have a good amount of iron (added). Cheerios MultiGrain is the highest I've seen at 45% (I think it used to be higher).

earlnabby

Juliafitness1 wrote: »

Combine iron rich foods with citrus / vitamin C to increase your iron absorption.

And avoid calcium rich foods which can prevent iron absorption. Also, if you take an acid reducer or proton pump inhibitor (like Prilosec) don't take that close to the time you take any medication or iron rich foods. It prevents absorption also.

Fitnessgirl0913

Alatariel75 wrote: »

Just take the pills.

That is not an option for everyone, speaking as someone whose doctor directed to take an iron supplement which then caused some rather unpleasant side effects.

Yes Vitamin C is great for helping absorb iron, I had low ferritin a few years back which is having enough iron but not absorbing all the iron causing weakness and fatigue.

Steel cut oats are higher in iron as well as spinach (blended into a smoothies or soup), lean red meat (to keep calories lower) I personally like the 90% lean ground beef, certain kinds of canned beans are higher in iron.

johnwelk

Sunna_W wrote: »

Also, have you had your gut health checked? Often times people with IBS, chronic gastritis, undiagnosed spru or celiac will have malabsorbtion issues. Once the gut is healed they are no longer anemic.

Another cause could be lack of Vitamin B-12 needed to make iron and can be affiliated with autoimmune issues like Diabetes (Type 1); Graves’ Disease (Hyperthyroidism); Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis (Hypothyroidism); Multiple Sclerosis; Psoriasis; and Vitiligo.

Ref: https://bodyecology.com/articles/are-you-anemic-going-beyond-iron-supplements

OP, Ignore this poster, she is a wealth of useless nonsense. The website linked is complete pseudoscienctific garbage.

crackpotbaby

Chicken liver pâté.

CSARdiver

If you have a medically diagnosed deficiency take the medically recommended supplement.

jgnatca

Consider that the list of iron rich foods is pretty short. Even eating a variety of these foods may not give you the therapeutic levels of iron that you need. This is because the pills contain several times above the daily RDA of iron, in the hopes that some of it will get through. Foods are not a complete replacement if your iron levels are too low.

I see you have lots of suggestions above. Raisins also are a surprising source.

earlnabby

One more thing to think about if you choose to try and get more iron in your food. Iron comes in two forms: heme (meat based) and non heme (plant based). It is a good idea to try and get some from both sources for the most effective and balanced iron intake.

ETA: re: supplements. If you choose to go the supplement route, it is really helpful to take it with a decent sized meal that does not contain a lot of calcium. That really helps prevent the nausea some get. As far as constipation, making sure you get enough fluids, fat, and especially fiber will go far towards preventing that. I needed to take a high potency iron for about 9 months (hemoglobin was 5.3 and ferritin was 3 which required transfusions plus IV iron) and didn't have an issue as long as I took it with my breakfast which usually was a bowl of oatmeal.

Ironandwine69

As a anemic I am bff with chicken liver.
Pills are awful

Ck103084

I'm low on Iron as well. I have to take the pills because I don't eat a lot of the stuff with Iron in it. So, my vote is for the pills Good luck!!

ChiChiDoesStuff

I would suggest taking a food sensitivity test. My mom dealt with the same thing, and she took the test for other reasons, and discovered a lot of sensitivities and allergies she wasn't aware of which messed up her gut and iron levels.

jo_nz

Other than the meat & leafy greens already mentioned, I was recommended beans and dried fruits (not too many - high in sugar and not great for teeth).

And combining high-iron with foods or drinks containing vitC (the tablets I had were actually combined iron + vitamin C).

counting_kilojoules

When I had very low iron I was recommended pate (because it's made from liver but people tend to like it better). I was also told to eat meat (or pate) for at least two meals a day.

ilijap

This article explains most you need to know about iron: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3999603/

Briefly, animal sourced iron (heme iron) is very bioavailable. 15%-35% of heme iron content is absorbed. Plant sourced iron (non heme iron) less so, at 2%-20%. Other substances can positively (like vitamin C) or negatively (calcium, polyphenols) impact your ability to absorb iron from food.

You're likely female. WHO recommends around 1mg of absorbed iron per day, or 2.4mg of absorbed iron when menstruating (publication is freely available at http://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/micronutrients/anaemia_iron_deficiency/9241542497.pdf).

Once you read it and understand that about your needs and how iron is absorbed, you can find lists of iron rich foods from reputable sources, like dieticians (for example https://www.dietitians.ca/Your-Health/Nutrition-A-Z/Minerals/Food-Sources-of-Iron.aspx).

Spinach (suggested in some post above) has ~3 mg of iron/100g, similar to beef. However, it's absorbed at 2% because it also contains substances that block iron absorption, so you're looking at measly 0.06 mg/100g of absorbed iron.

Liver has ~18 (pork) / 10 (poultry, lamb) / 6.5 (beef) mg of iron/100g, but it should be absorbed at ~25%, which means that it's sufficient to eat 50g/90g/140g per day while menstruating, even if you are not getting any other iron at all. Duck meat would be around 6.5 mg/100g as well. Octopus is high as well, as are oysters and clams.

Of non-heme iron sources, various legumes (beans, peas, chickpeas, lentils, lima beans) and seeds would give around 2 mg/100g of absorbed iron, which is ~0.2 mg of absorbed iron. Dried fruit (raisins, apricots) also gives some. If you are in America or Canada, cereal products (like flour) are usually iron fortified (meaning that additional iron is added to the product). It's not very bioavailable (not a lot of it is absorbed), but there's usually a high amount of it.

You have good amount of choices. For example:
- some iron fortified cereal for breakfast (some brands are 50mg/100g, absorbed at perhaps 5% to yield 0.75 mg of absorbed iron/30g)
- nuts with dried fruit as a snack (2mg/100g, absorbed at 10% to yield 0.1mg of absorbed iron/50g)
- a cut of iron-rich meat (3.5 mg/100g, 30% to yield 1.05mg absorbed iron/100g) with side of leafy green vegetables and potatoes for lunch (2.5 mg/100g, 10% to yield 0.5mg/200g)
- lettuce wraps with legumes for dinner (~2 mg/100g, 10% to yield 0.6mg/300g)

Total: 0.75 + 0.1 + 1.05 + 0.5 + 0.6 = 3 mg per day, over your requirements even when menstruating (but just 50% of what's required in last two trimesters of pregnancy).

Learning and creating a balanced diet for yourself that includes meats high in iron, and plant sourced foods for vitamins and minerals required to absorb iron will likely be healthier for you in the long run than pills.

estherdragonbat

I'm a vegetarian. My main sources of iron are

Beans and legumes
Quaker Corn Squares cereal (1 30g serving gives me 30% of my iron RDA)
Yves veggie dogs (15% of my iron RDA)

In addition, potatoes contain iron. I had 285g at lunch and got another 11% of my RDA

And various vegetables have small (1-5% of the RDA) amounts but they add up.

I track iron instead of sugar on my diary page, so it's easier to see.

RamboKitty87

I used to suffer with iron deficiency a long time ago how much caffeine do you drink as caffeine does strip vitamins especially the vitamin that helps absorb iron 2 posts for you: http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/vitamins-minerals/the-effect-of-caffeine-on-vitamin-absorption.html
and: https://draxe.com/top-10-iron-rich-foods/

Sometimes its not always about putting iron back into the system its about making sure other vitamins are not being wiped out too... I had to cut back on my caffeine intake big time and found foods rich in vitamin b12 to help (marmite helped me back then)

ilijap

estherdragonbat wrote: »

Quaker Corn Squares cereal (1 30g serving gives me 30% of my iron RDA)

RDA is defined as "average daily level of intake sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all (97%–98%) healthy individuals" (see https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iron-HealthProfessional/).

However, a) those needs vary, sometimes quite significantly, b) they are specifically stated for nonvegetarians. The second part is important because eating animal based food helps your body to absorb plant-based food as well (and the other way around, because plants also provide important substances).

The table listed on the website states (snipped the relevant portion):
(male/female/pregnancy/lactation)
14–18 years: 11 mg / 15 mg / 27 mg / 10 mg
19–50 years 8 mg / 18 mg / 27 mg / 9 mg

First, note that what's stated is just iron, not absorbed iron. That's because the table carries an implicit assumption that the person will eat a varied diet, and absorption rate won't matter much. It usually does.

Second, what does 30% mean? 30% of 8 or 27 mg?

Iron fortified cereal usually have ~50-60 mg/100 g or iron, so 15-18 mg/30g. However, it is not very bioavailable so just a couple of percent will be absorbed. Furthermore, milk prevents iron absorption, and cereal are usually eaten with milk, so this drives the absorption further down. At 5%, this could be 0.75-0.9 mg of absorbed iron. At 2%, it could be 0.3 mg-0.36mg. If no animal-based products are available in the diet, it might be even less.

Menstruating women require around 2.4 mg of absorbed iron. So 30% suddenly becomes 12.5% of required daily intake. People with iron deficiency have no iron stores.

ilijap

RamboKitty87 wrote: »

I used to suffer with iron deficiency a long time ago how much caffeine do you drink

Even small amounts of coffee can significantly reduce iron absorption.

A cup of coffee reduced iron absorption from a hamburger meal by 39% as compared to a 64% decrease with tea, which is known to be a potent inhibitor of iron absorption. When a cup of drip coffee or instant coffee was ingested with a meal composed of semipurified ingredients, absorption was reduced from 5.88% to 1.64% and 0.97%, respectively, and when the strength of the instant coffee was doubled, percentage iron absorption fell to 0.53%. No decrease in iron absorption occurred when coffee was consumed 1 h before a meal, but the same degree of inhibition as with simultaneous ingestion was seen when coffee was taken 1 h later.

(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6402915)

In other words, a single cup of double strength coffee taken during lunch or 1 h later could reduce iron absorption tenfold.

Nikso2

Eat meat. All of it.
Case closed.

ToriMalt

Wow. Some of these answers are in-depth. Quick & easy answer: beans, greens like spinach, collard greens, turnip greens, broccoli, etc, red meat, rice, eggs, and some dairy products.

RamboKitty87

ToriMalt wrote: »

Wow. Some of these answers are in-depth. Quick & easy answer: beans, greens like spinach, collard greens, turnip greens, broccoli, etc, red meat, rice, eggs, and some dairy products.

Sometimes it has to be more in depth because you could eat all the iron rich products you like but if you're drinking too much caffeine it's not going to solve anything and the OP is going to go round and round in circles, its better to make sure other vitamins are not too low either, the ones that help the body absorb iron.. also go see your doctor.

barbp7

A tablespoon of black strap molasses can provide 20% of daily iron. And is vegan.

ilijap

barbp7 wrote: »

A tablespoon of black strap molasses can provide 20% of daily iron. And is vegan.

Nutritional tables list around 5-13 mg iron/100g, so a tablespoon (15g) would have 0.75 mg-2mg. Since it's plant based (remains after extracting sugar from raw sugar cane), it would be absorbed at 2%-20%, so anywhere between 0.015mg and 0.4mg of absorbed iron, which can be less than 20%.

You also lose absorption support from animal based food.

ilijap

RamboKitty87 wrote: »

ToriMalt wrote: »

Wow. Some of these answers are in-depth. Quick & easy answer: beans, greens like spinach, collard greens, turnip greens, broccoli, etc, red meat, rice, eggs, and some dairy products.

Sometimes it has to be more in depth because you could eat all the iron rich products you like but if you're drinking too much caffeine it's not going to solve anything and the OP is going to go round and round in circles, its better to make sure other vitamins are not too low either, the ones that help the body absorb iron.. also go see your doctor.

Correct! Anemia is a symptom of many different conditions, including vitamin deficiencies (C, B12, folic acid), chronic diseases, blood diseases, blood loss, autoimmune disorders, medication interactions.

Talk to a good doctor, invest time in reading about anemia and what can you change in your diet to help yourself as much as you can. Take "simple" answers with a grain of salt.