Iron and calcium

suki_j

I always seem to be well below recommended intakes for calcium and iron. Does anyone have tips on what foods I could add to keep these up, other than fatty things like cheese?

WBB55

Personally, my doctor recommended a simple multivitamin for me while I'm cutting calories. I just use the Walmart brand one-a-day for women. Guarantees I at least get all my folate, calcium and iron.

I didn't take a multivitamin the first time when I lost most of my weight, and I'm still paying the price for the lack of calcium.

mdawson47

Green leafy veg is good for Iron, or lean meat.
Some examples are:
dark-green leafy vegetables, such as watercress and curly kale
iron-fortified cereals
wholegrains, such as brown rice
beans
nuts
meat
apricots
prunes
raisins
For foods rich in calcium try:
milk, cheese and other dairy foods
green leafy vegetables, such as broccoli, cabbage and okra, but not spinach
soya beans
tofu
soya drinks with added calcium
nuts
bread and anything made with fortified flour
fish where you eat the bones, such as sardines and pilchards
I hope that this helps and thank you for the add.:happy:

TheDevastator

unhulled sesame seeds have a lot of calcium

RedHotRunner

I take a supplement. Trader Joes has a women's formula that contains both calcium and iron.

Other than that, string cheese and yogurt are my daily go-tos.

And a good steak for the iron!

paygep

I do sesame bagels and cream cheese for calcium, as well as low fat milk, almond milk and coconut milk yogurt. For iron I do fortified cereal, and what I call my "iron chocolate", it's 'Equal Exchange' brand 'organic very dark chocolate' 35% daily value per serving!

suki_j

Thanks for the help guys especially your comprehensive list mdawson! I'll try some green leafy salads, nuts and sesame seeds

SRHelicity

You can also just chew a tablet or two of Tums. I have a bottle of Tums Smoothie 750, from which I may chew a tablet or two on a given day depending upon my calcium intake from food. I try to take this with my daily multivitamin since the Tums don't have vitamin D (which helps with calcium absorption).

pumalama

There are many delicious low fat cheese, they are not all skinny versions like the 4% cheddar, some are regular low fat cheese to dip or spread on vegetable or crackers. Look at the labels, you may discover new products too
Another option is to eat sardines with bones for a very rich source of calcium, iron and protein in the same box. Pick them in water or drain them if they are in oil and voilà!

yamsteroo

I take an Iron supplement as I really don't like the dark green veg which is highest in iron (my husband keeps putting spinach on my plate every few days which I'll eat, but we're months down the line and it doesn't taste any less like *kitten* that when he started!).

For calcium, we get a calcium fortified bread (Warburtons in the UK) as I've had to cut down on my beloved cheese for a while and I take my tea black.

Seems to meet my requirements on paper but I'll be honest, I didn't realise I was missing anything vital before I started all this and apart from being fat, I didn't feel at all unwell so it's hard to say if it's made a difference!

JesterMFP

I get my calcium from milk, cheese, almond/hazelnut milk, and fortified cereals. I get my iron mostly from red meat, fortified cereals, dark chocolate, pumpkin seeds, lentils etc. Eating a range of fruit & veg helps (especially dark green veg for iron) but they tend to give smaller amounts. I get a bit of both in my multivitamin/mineral and if I'm very low in both, and have calories to spare, I'll have a mug of horlick's or ovaltine, both of which are fortified with micronutrients. For calcium - dairy is a rich source. Unless you have a medical condition that means you should avoid fat - don't be afraid of fat. It is good for you, and is needed for absorption of many micronutrients.

For calcium absorption, make sure you're getting enough vitamin D, and for iron, make sure you're getting enough vitamin C. High levels of polyphenols (found in coffee, tea, chocolate) can affect absorption of iron.

If you go to http://nutritiondata.self.com/ you can search for foods by nutrient, to find foods that you like that have high levels of each nutrient.

monty619

spinach has good amounts of both

jonnythan

Take a calcium citrate supplement and a women's multivitamin.

kimmymayhall

Calcium actually interferes with iron absorption, as does coffee and tea. Having Vitamin C with youe high iron foods will help with absorption. It doesn't always work out, but I'd do something like a big spinach salad with peppers and tomatoes (iron +C) for lunch and snack on cottage cheese a couple hours later. Iron from meat is much more easily absorbed than vegetarian sorces and I don't think the calcium and vitamin c timing matters as much with meat.