Calcium & iron

I suck at getting both of those in so if you're looking to get these in through actual food I can't help you.

I take a calcium supplement daily and an iron supplement every other day. No shame.

I am low in both as well, and I can't have milk products!! I miss cheese, but oh well. Anyway, here's some foods that help me.

Iron: Any meat or poultry, offal like liver (If you hate the taste, it's really easy to hide it in dishes like homemade meatloaf or meatballs), Darker greens like spinach, all sorts of beans and lentils.

Calcium: Salmon w/skin, sardines and canned salmon both have bones that are soft enough to eat, bone broth, prunes, leafy greens, broccoli, sweet potato. Also bearing your weight (strength training, carrying grocery carts, walking with weights, etc) helps.

I'm anemic and in addition to eating foods with iron I need to supplement aggressively in order to keep my levels in Low Normal. I get tested regularly.

I tried a variety of supplements before I found one that worked for me. I'm taking Iron Bisglycinate now.

The VA had given me two presumably cheap forms of iron that did not prevent hair loss and fatigue.

Do you dislike all milk or are plant milks an option? Soy, cashew, almond, rice, hemp, hazelnut, and coconut milks are typically fortified with protein and can be a good source for people who dislike dairy milk or choose not to drink it. Tofu is a source of calcium, as well as greens.

I get iron from beans/lentils, fortified flour, and protein powder.

If possible, try to have your "iron rich foods" at a different time from you "calcium rich foods" and, if possible, have something with Vitamin C in it along with the iron rich foods. Vitamin C helps with iron absorption, and calcium and iron compete for absorption.

So, chili (with meat and/or beans) that has tomatoes in it (for the Vitamin C) is a good way to get iron, for example.

Yogurt could be a good lower calorie source of calcium and, of course, many veggies have calcium too.

I also struggle with both so I take a multivitamin primarily for the iron and calcium.

brhollifield wrote: »

Don't overdo it with the Iron supplements - they have a tendency to " back you up " if you know what I mean.

I've never had constipation while taking iron supplements...

brhollifield wrote: »

You probably want to take Vitamin C when taking Iron - it will aid in absorption.

...probably because I take vitamin C to "bowel tolerance."

Iron, red meat. particularly sirloin steak

Calcium, leafy greens like Kale, broccoli and spinach