IRON!

Lady_Yana
Lady_Yana Posts: 8
in Food and Nutrition
While I'm new to MFP I've been on a diet since early March. The last couple of weeks I've been feeling...Off.

My head feels fuzzy, and I can't hardly focus sometimes. I'm tired but I can't sleep. Even after eating the symptoms remain.

My fiance finally suggested anemia, or at least an iron deficiency. So, I ask you, what are some good iron sources? I'm not vegetarian, but I'm really not a big meat eater, and I can't eat wheat (allergy)

Any ideas? Thanks!

Replies

  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    See a doctor.

    Boosting iron is not something you just want to do, because it's just as easy (and deadly) to have too much iron in your system.

    So you definitely want to have confirmation before you do anything. Also make sure you're eating enough, as your symptoms are pretty common in people that are undereating.
  • Lady_Yana
    Lady_Yana Posts: 8
    I have a doctor's appointment this Thursday. Routine physical plus blood work. But in the mean time I'm tired of feeling like garbage!
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  • Lady_Yana
    Lady_Yana Posts: 8
    *Response to Tiger*

    I'd considered that. I hit anywhere between 1200 and 1500 a day, but I've raised my activity level, so maybe I need to readjust....
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  • Lady_Yana
    Lady_Yana Posts: 8
    Yeah, you definitely need to see a Dr. and have bloodwork done to confirm things/rule other things out. Iron supplements will undoubtedly help but aren't something to mess around with. Your Dr. can also tell you what form of iron would be best for you. It does sound like your problems could be from a lack of iron, though. Best of luck!
    As far as food goes, dark leafy vegetables such as spinach have lots of iron, as does red meat, which you don't have to eat a ton of, maybe just increase a little. Vitamin C also helps iron absorb, so it's often recommended that you either take a Vitamin C pill or (better yet) eat foods rich in Vitamin C along with iron rich foods.
    I had iron deficiency as a teenager :)


    I was looking at supplements and I'd wondered why many have vitamin C in them!
  • AlwaysInMotion
    AlwaysInMotion Posts: 409 Member
    Courtesy of WebMD:

    To boost the amount of iron in your diet, try these foods:
    Red meat
    Egg yolks
    Dark, leafy greens (spinach, collards)
    Dried fruit (prunes, raisins)
    Iron-enriched cereals and grains (check the labels)
    Mollusks (oysters, clams, scallops)
    Turkey or chicken giblets
    Beans, lentils, chick peas and soybeans
    Liver
    Artichokes

    Also, if you eat iron-rich foods along with foods that provide plenty of vitamin C, your body can better absorb the iron.
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
    Although I wouldn't blindly supplement, it's really hard to actually overdose on iron with food sources.
    http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/iron-poisoning

    RDA for a woman your age is 18 mg/day. That's 18 total. From WebMD: "The amount of iron ingested may give a clue to potential toxicity. The therapeutic dose for iron deficiency anemia is 3-6 mg/kg/day. Toxic effects begin to occur at doses above 10-20 mg/kg of elemental iron."

    I can't imagine being able to eat enough red meat and spinach to give yourself even 10 mg/kg/day of iron. I think my stomach would explode. Even if you weighed 50 kilos (110 lb) that's 500 mg of iron. That would be about 75 cups of cooked spinach or 30+ pounds of beef. Per day.

    ETA: An easy way to boost iron in your diet slightly is to cook with cast iron.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    The thing with iron is it isn't necessarily "per day." Iron is stored in the body, and can build up over time. If someone has a normal amount of iron, and then takes an iron supplement, that can lead to toxicity. Plus an overload of iron can damage the intestine, which causes the intestine to absorb more iron, which makes the iron overload worse.

    Of all the things you can choose to supplement, I'd put iron as the most dangerous by far.
  • agidavis
    agidavis Posts: 36 Member
    I had the same issue and when they told me my iron is low, I started taking iron pills to find that nothing has changed. Until I went to an alternative doctor who gave me liquid iron supplement so it’s easier for the body to take in the iron, and she combined it with B12 and L-glutamine which is just a supplement. If your iron is low talk to your doctor about quality supplements and how to combine it with other vitamins to help your body digest and use the iron. After 3 months I have never felt better, never napped, and wasn’t `fuzzy` anymore. I don’t take them anymore and still feel fine, after 2 years of taking it. The problem might not be what you are eating, I ate red meat and spinach and iron full foods and it just didn’t work.

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