Iron deficient - and I'm TIRED of supplements!

lwhitman4

Yeah, so... iron supplements have unpleasant side effects. I'm tired of having to take them. I'm highly anemic (I have a PCV of 10-12 normally) and am tired of taking extra pills. I try so hard to eat more red meat and leafy greens but on a normal day I get about 30-40% of my RDA of iron.

Just putting it out there in case anyone knows of any DOABLE recipes that are high-iron. I won't eat liver so that's out of the question. Just wanting to know if anyone has high-iron recipes they can share. Please and thanks

withchaco

Clams, clams, CLAMS. Anything with clams.

(Not oysters or mussels though, as far as I know.)

lwhitman4

Clams, clams, CLAMS. Anything with clams.

(Not oysters or mussels though, as far as I know.)

Really??? Who'd'a thunk it?

silkysly

I slow cook spinach & onions with a dash of garlic & a pinch of salt. (maybe add a TBSP of butter for good measures.)

MamaDee2

Liver and spinach

lwhitman4

I slow cook spinach & onions with a dash of garlic & a pinch of salt. (maybe add a TBSP of butter for good measures.)

I try to eat fresh baby spinach at least every other day. I wonder if cooking it does anything to the nutrients?

fadeddreamz58

I have very low iron, my go to.
I take light cream sauce, clams, spinach, garlic and onions in a slow cooker and done!

Jorra

I would like to know this as well. I remember my doctor prescribed iron supplements that wouldn't give me "AS MUCH" constipation. Needless to say, I never took those babies.

Try looking on this website, I always use it when looking for nutritious foods
http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=70

Forensic

Pumpkin seeds!

Also, Turkey, a lot of breakfast cereals, tofu, beans... clams (mollusks and oysters are good too, per webmd...)

lwhitman4

I have very low iron, my go to.
I take light cream sauce, clams, spinach, garlic and onions in a slow cooker and done!

Clams and spinach in one recipe? Good idea.

lwhitman4

Pumpkin seeds? Soooo awesome, I love those. Thank you!!!!!!

agulledge32

Take a look at this link...looked like some tasty recipes!

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/recipe_slideshows/iron_rich_recipes?slide=1#leaderboardad


Amy

lwhitman4

I would like to know this as well. I remember my doctor prescribed iron supplements that wouldn't give me "AS MUCH" constipation. Needless to say, I never took those babies.

Yeah, I take Slow FE and still, no likey.

withchaco

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinach

Apparently, spinach can not only hinder your body's ability to absorb iron, it can also REMOVE iron from your body. It may not be an issue for some people, but if you're already iron deficient, limiting your spinach consumption seems like a good idea.

lwhitman4

Amy, thank you SO much! I'll be checking out that link you posted for quite a while. Who knew veggie taco salad would be high in iron? Appreciated greatly!

MizzDoc

Excellent thread. I stopped taking my prescribed supplements as the constipation was too severe. I try to increase my red meat. But the clams sounds interesting.

@Faded-- do you have a recipe you can share? That slow cooker dish sounds yummy!

Fayve

I second all of these suggestions for food. My iron usually settles around 8, and i've been on 2 iron supplement pills a day. They do suck a bit I've been getting iron injectons into my hiney for a bit though, as well as an IV iron infusion - I think it's up over 10 now, yippee!! Good luck!

cmriverside

It's actually better nutritionally to eat lightly cooked spinach as opposed to raw.

lwhitman4

It's actually better nutritionally to eat lightly cooked spinach as opposed to raw.

Wonder what happens in the cooking process that makes that possible. Amazing!

Thanks everyone for all your input, I love getting new ideas from my MFP friends.

lwhitman4

I wish chocolate and wine were high in iron.

shepar79

What about cereal - it's fortified with iron quite frequently - the only time I am near my iron requirement is when I eat cereal.