Tired of being anemic. Ba dum dum!

Um, no. it is not usual for any young menstruating woman to get anemic if not taking an iron supplement.

Any young menstruating woman will get anemic without taking a multivitamin with iron.

Check out nutritiondata.com, and search by nutrient, this is an easy way to get more of a certain nutrient.

Lack of iron is not the only thing that will make you anemic. Lack of B vitamins will do that too. So, get yourself a one-a-day with iron.

Also, Post grapenuts or Total cereal are great sources of both B vitamins and iron. Have strawberries on your cereal, or kiwi, for vitamin C, which will increase absorption. Nothing yummier than a bowl of yogurt, strawberries or kiwi, and grapenuts!!!! Mmm!

Eat red meat, unless you need to avoid it for some reason. Spaghetti sauce with tomatoes and beef, good choice.

Thanks for the ideas. I have heard having vitamin C can help. Does it count if put some lemon or lime juice in my water whenever I eat meals? Because I usually already do that.

I don't want to take the supplements because I think it's better to eat your vitamins naturally whenever possible. Also I'm afraid of the iron supplements messing up my digestion-- I've heard they do that. Anyone have experience with that?

Well eating the vitamins you need obiviously is not working. You are just going to be doing the same thing you all ready were. So I don't get why you bothered asking for help if your not going to take the advice given to you.

Get B12 levels checked.
Get checked for celiac disease.
Exchange at least a portion of the spinach for other dark greens. Spinach contains oxalates, which block the absorption of iron.
Cook in cast iron.
Combine vitamin C and iron rich foods.
Don't take calcium or other minerals at the same time as iron.

I was actually anemic until I went vegetarian; meat is certainly not the cure for everyone!

Google other iron rich foods, like seafood, tomatoes, and other iron fortified foods, like pasta or cereal.

I donate plasma, and in addition to the vitamin C, as others mentioned, I eat Total Cereal. One serving has 100% of the daily value. I like to eat a half serving on yogurt.

I have Hemochromatiosis. Basically I absorb a crap load of iron from my food (near 3x normal amount) but I cannot use it. Just floats around blocking up all the important bits like my liver and heart. So I understand not wanting to use suppliments as it tends to make my particular problem worst. I am a high iron anemic.

There are times that I do become properly anemic when all I do eat is spinach and white meat etc for months and then the only solution is to take in a hit of iron. I can't take much or risk damaging organs I'd rather be healthy.
1)I eat a steak - I know you don't want to do this, thats your choice
2)take a few iron pills over the course of a week until I steady out
3)ignore it to the point my doctor has to step in with an iron injection

You aren't going to up your iron levels easily with just spinach and beans. You need to get ahead of your low iron and then you can maintain with spinach and beans. I just went over 8 months before having to eat a steak, and that was just because I wanted to. My baby sister (18yrs) is the same and as far as I'm aware the only red meat she gets is the mince in spagetti once every 3 months or so and she has yet to need to change anything about her diet. Thats because I was diagnosed first and we were able to watch out for her before she hit puberty.

Do yourself a favour. Go see your doctor and work out how much iron you actually need or go buy an iron suppliment/multi with iron and take it for a week. You'll feel so much better and will be able to continue your current diet without changing your intake.

Thanks for the ideas! I know I can see a doctor but I wanted to know if any one else struggles with this and what they've done or if there is a simple solution that I'm not seeing-- other than taking a pill.

Again, for those of you that eat iron-fortified cereals, is it not canceled out when you eat it with milk or yogurt? Just curious how that works.

It's not fully cancelled out. It's not like you eat a little bit of calcium and suddenly your body says it can't take in any iron. It pretty much all works out by concentration. Typically speaking, if you eat a serving of grape nuts (90% DV Fe) with half a cup of milk (15% DV Ca), you're going to absorb at least some of the iron.

But if you're really worried about it, eat it dry. I happen to love the taste of grape nuts in water! Adding just 2 tbsp a day will give you a really good iron boost.

As far as I'm concerned, when your doctor tells you to take some, they stop being supplements and start being medication. I'm like this with iron and vitamin D, my body just does not seem to retain these at all, so I take supplements.

I'd agree that it's best coming from food, but can you fathom the sheer amount of food you'd have to eat each day to get all the nutrients you need?

Definitely see a doctor... Angular chelitis can also be caused by a vitiman B deficiency.

I'm anemic, and take a daily iron supplement with a vitamin C supplement. I started on a "high" dose, and have gradually been decreasing my iron dosage under my doctor's supervision. Watch your caffeine intake with iron; caffeine can sometimes slow the absorption. As can calcium and other minerals. I usually take my iron and C first thing in the morning with a glass of water, and then have my coffee an hour or two later.

There are TONS of foods that are high in iron, if you're not interested in taking a supplement... But honestly, taking a supplement is often the easiest way to get the iron your body needs. Fresh veggies often lose some of their nutrient content as soon as they are picked... Factor in travel time and time on the shelf, and you may not be getting as much iron from your spinach as you think you are.