Low Iron

Do you mean your blood levels are low? Or do you mean the numbers in your MFP diary are low?

If your blood levels are low, talk to your doctor about it. If they're very low, sometimes there's an underlying medical issue causing it that would need to be addressed (for example, some sort of tear that's causing blood loss). If you've ruled out anything like that and it's just low, in some cases, your doctor may prescribe iron supplements.

Of course, it is better to get your iron from food, if possible. The best sources are heme (animal) sources like liver, oysters, clams, beef, sardines, etc. Most meat has iron, so it's pretty rare for a healthy person who eats meat regularly to be iron-deficient.

If you're vegetarian, plant sources of iron exist, like spinach, lentils, beans, and fortified cereals and bread, but be aware that they aren't absorbed as easily by the body.

If the iron is too low, a supplement may be the only thing that will get it up to decent levels. That is what I am doing right now.

Liver was the fab food of the seventies for keeping iron levels high when I had my babies. The nurse at the hospital swore I needed liver once a week; no substitutions. I hate liver.

Keep your protein/red meats high and you will get the most iron possible from diet.

If you've been low on iron (anemic) your entire life I'm sure you've talked to a doctor about it by now, right? What does he or she suggest?

Here's a list:
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/iron-deficiency-anemia/basics/prevention/con-20019327

Choose what you want to eat and make them fit into your day.

I become anemic often, so I understand. I felt awful and got constipated often when taking the iron pills. For me, I took a low dose of iron every other day... I haven't been anemic in a couple years now, knock on wood.

But foods that can help are meat, spinach, beans, and some cereals have extra iron added too.

Spinach and leafy greens are thrown out as iron-rich foods, but they really aren't all that rich in iron. Some great sources of iron:

Clams/Mussels/Oysters
Packaged (enriched) Breakfast Cereal
Dark Chocolate/Cocoa Powder
Pumpkin Seeds
Beef
Lamb
Liver

The Red Cross has some info regarding low hemoglobin levels, which is usually associated with low iron levels. The following page lists iron rich foods: http://www.redcrossblood.org/learn-about-blood/health-and-wellness/iron-rich-foods

As sated in the paragraph at the bottom, it is also important to know that Vitamin C helps the absorption of iron into the system. From the website: "Foods high in vitamin C, like tomatoes, citrus fruits and red, yellow and orange peppers can also help with the absorption of non-heme iron."

I was regularly deferred from donating due to my hemoglobin levels. I take a daily iron supplement, but make sure to eat vegetables with my food to help with the iron absorption. I also made little adjustments like adding Grape Nuts to my daily yogurt, as they are very iron rich (45% RDA in 1/4 cup), and adding raisins, beans & spinach to my salads.

Edit:
When I donate platelets, I start "tank-up" on iron rich foods 1 week prior to my donation for 3 days. It seems to take quite a few days for the iron to be absorbed. Just doing it the 2 days leading up to my donation made no impact.

Aside from the previously mentioned red meat and leafy greens, another easy way to add iron to your daily meals is to cook in a cast iron skillet.

I also want to suggest black strap molasses - the one I use (Plantation) has 20% RDA in one tablespoon, which I add to my oatmeal in the morning.

The daily numbers on my MFP list are low, but I've been tested and am not anemic, so I don't worry about it.