More iron!

Fortified cereals, lentils, quinoa, dark greens like spinach.

Honestly, the easiest thing to do is take an iron supplement (if you don't already). I'm a big fan of the slow release version, as the regular ones tend to cause some... Unpleasant digestive issues.

Get a supplement. If your iron is low, a change of diet will make it take years to fix what can be done in a few months of supplements. That's assuming that you can increase your iron intake through diet alone given your allergies.

Menstruating women need to consume 18 mg of iron a day to MAINTAIN their current levels of iron and ferritin. If your iron is low, you need way more than that to actually increase it. If you can only eat plant sources of iron, your body can only absorb 1/3 of the iron you eat. Which means you need to eat more than 54 mg of iron a day to increase your blood iron levels (assuming 100% of your iron intake is from plants).

Most nutrition labels are based on 14 mg of iron. So you essentially have to eat 386% DV iron per day... to maintain. That's why many female vegans struggle to maintain their iron. I'm sure some do figure out how to maintain it, but it would not be easy, and might also depend on the person's physiology.

Many supplements come in 150 mg levels. Your doctor really should have told you your blood levels and made a recommendation of either what/how much/how often to eat or which supplement to take and for how long, given your circumstances. Did they tell you these things?

Low ferritin is something I've been struggling with for a while. The healthy range for that is 20-200 (or something on that high end). It took me 3 months of taking 150 mg (~1000% DV) of iron a day to get my levels from 14 to 25, so I was in the range. And then I stopped taking them and my levels dropped again. So I'm at a total of 4 months now and things seem to be going well. I'm in the range, but trying to get a bit higher, since it's a pain in the butt to drop out of it so easily. And I do eat red meat at least twice a week.

I agree with @PeachyPlum on the slow release. Look for brands FeraMax or PolyRide. They're expensive though. But more comfortable. And some pharmacies have bigger bottles that are more bang for your buck. I buy the bottle of 100 pills for $50ish (Canadian though. Don't know US prices).

Chicken livers and mollusks are some of the highest non-red meat sources of iron in food. Grains are very low unless fortified, and your body can only extract a 1/3 of what's in plant sources (including spinach and other green veggies). Nutrition labels list total iron in plants, not absorb-able iron.

Cook them mollusks (clams, oysters, scallops, mussels, etc. - you might need to check which species) in a buttery wine sauce for something tasty I have no idea how to make chicken livers tasty. I have not brought myself to try them yet... and I do eat meat lol.

JustAnotherOneOfThoseGirls wrote: »

yeah, a multivitamin with iron/minerals is the easiest way, unless you want to gorge on leaves (about 500g spinach etc)

This^

A good multivitamin (check ALL labels) will likely have around 40%, while others may have none. Stand alone iron supplements can have as much as 360%! I cut these pills into quarters.

Spinach. My sister eats a lot of spinach and is able to give blood often as her iron is always good. She is also vegetarian. Beans are also a good source

guinevere96 wrote: »

My doc said I could benefit from a higher iron intake but im having a bit of a hard time reaching my iron goal. I have an allergy to red meat and eat mostly vegetarian aside from fish and seafood. What are some yummy ideas for an iron rich diet?

Add cumin spice to everything. So high in iron and tastes like curry win win

Vitamin C will help with the absorption rate of iron. The iron in vegetable sources is different than that in red meats, and many vegetable/legume iron sources have other nutrients that hinder absorption.. so while you are consuming things with higher iron levels, like spinach and beans, your body is not able to actually use much of it. The supplements will be your best bet since you don't consume red meat. Ask your doctor what dosage would be best for you at your iron level.

Erfw7471 wrote: »

guinevere96 wrote: »

These were all super helpful suggestions, thanks so much! Definitely gonna go out and get a multivitamin or supplement shortly, and I guess this means I need to eat more spinach as well lol.

Calcium prohibits the absorption of iron, so a supplement will do better than a multi. And make sure to take the iron at least 2 hours away from any calcium-rich food.

it's also best to take it on an empty stomach and with vitamin c as it increases absorption.

Note: many people have bad side effects with iron supplements.

This is why i take Spatone Iron-Enriched Water. I just pour a little sachet into a small glass of OJ first thing in the morning a few hours before i eat. Causes 0 stomach issues and helps me tremendously. And believe me, i've tried and spent hundreds on iron supplements before i found this one.