Iron Intake

enchantedgardener

I've been using MFP to track my calcium and iron intakes over the last few months. I know that these are the two essential minerals that are most often lacking in women's diets. Since I've occasionally had my blood iron levels test 'low', I figured it would be good to see what my usual intakes of these two minerals are.

As I suspected, my calcium intake was a bit low, so I've made it a habit to eat Greek yogourt or cottage cheese every day. As it now stands, I'm usually between 75%-125% of my recommended daily intake for calcium. I think that averages out perfectly.

My iron intake, on the other hand, usually falls around 50% of my recommended daily intake. I eat a variety of iron-rich foods every day, and still I can't seem to meet the RDI. I could eat 12 oz of beef tenderloin every day and still only reach 32% of my recommended iron (yet consuming nearly 800 calories and 40 grams of fat. yikes!). So how does one meet the RDI for iron when even 'iron-rich' foods only contain small amounts of iron? Other than taking a daily multivitamin/mineral supplement, I don't see how it's possible.

BinaryPulsar

I have found that most of the entries on mfp are not accurate in the iron count. So, you are probably getting more iron than you realize.

If your iron is low, you could add iron fortified cereals such as cream of wheat for example (that's an easy option). Red cross has a list of iron rich foods.

But, not everyone needs to get the 100% RDA of iron. Too much iron is toxic.

For best absorption don't eat iron along with calcium. Do eat iron with vitamin C foods. Coffee, tea, chocolate, and other antioxidant rich foods can also inhibit absorption, so don't eat them at the same time. These rules only apply to non-heme iron. And it only matters if you are low in iron.

tlou5

I struggle with this as well and do take iron supplements which are very hard on the stomach, but do keep me from being too fatigued etc. I cook with a cast iron pan which helps (but you can't get credit for that on MFP). Beans, spinach, squash, lentils, fortified breads and cereals are all good sources of iron as well.
http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/food-sources-of-iron.php

tarascooby

I recently joined MFP. When I typed in my food for the day into my food diary, I was happy to see the tally of calories, protein, and fat, etc. What disappointed me was that I did not see a tally or iron and calcium. I have also had low iron in the past and suspect I do not get enough calcium. Where does MFP show you the iron and calcium that you take in daily? I would love to track it.....thanks!

tavenne323

I have been anemic all my life...doesn't matter what I eat. I'm not low enough for them not to take my blood when I donate, but it's still below the normal. I've downed a bag of spinach before an appointment and it hasn't made a difference, probably doesn't help that I don't eat a lot of red meat. Although doc said any kind of meat is a good source, doesn't have to be red. I know you said you didn't want to take a supplement, but that's the only way I've found to get my iron levels up. Even then they aren't that high...something to do with the way my body processes the iron, so my doctor says. I was told to just take a multi that has iron in it. Well, the multis that I like to take aren't specific to women, so iron isn't in them. I take a separate iron-only supplement.


There are some cereals that comes iron-fortified. In fact, ( I did this as a school experiment) if you soak the cereal, mash it up, then run a magnet inside the cereal, it will pick up flakes of iron. Kinda gross, I think.

TheBaileyHunter

I found upping my seafood really helped with that (I'm always on the low side when tested as well). A seafood soup with scallops and prawns is pretty iron rich. Check out which ones have a high iron count the next time you do a grocery shop and try to incorporate it into your regular meals if you can.

enchantedgardener

@tarascooby I sent you a message explaining how to change your settings so that you can track calcium and iron.

@everyone Thanks for your advice and input.
I don't eat a lot of grains in general, though I have considered adding breads and/or cereals that are iron-fortified to my diet. I need to look into this some more.
I eat a very healthy, balanced diet overall. I'd rather not take vitamins or mineral supplements unless I felt I really needed to. At this point I haven't been diagnosed as anemic, though my iron has tested too low to donate blood in the past and my annual blood tests also report low iron.

vienna_h

I think MFP may under estimate iron content.

Iron from iron sources is absorbed much better than other sources of iron. Red meat has the most iron. The iron is spinach is poorly absorbed.

Vitamin C helps absorb iron. Calcium inhibits it. This is why you shouldn't rely on fortified cereals if you have them with milk.

Don't have calcium and iron at the same time. Have vitamin C and iron together instead.

I use high iron protein shakes to get 125% of my daily iron. This has worked as well as iron supplements for me (which I no longer take).