IRON ISSUES / girl problems / Anaemia / weight loss/ energy levels / Cast Iron Cooking

i use a cast iron pan and it seems to be helping. i also read that eating chestnuts helps with anemia. they have them roasted and peeled at the store or else fresh chestnut season is coming up. my iron hasn't been low since doing these two things.

TeresaB12345 wrote: »

I try eating some fortified cereals for iron - frosted mini wheats and checks have a lot added

I do this^

Cheerios Multigrain has 100%

I struggle to eat enough iron, the dr has me on ferrous fumerate twice daily - the best thing I’ve learnt is to drink less tea! Apparently it intefers with how much iron your body can take in, also non animal sources are more difficult to absorb but all can be helped along by having enough vitamin c

Everything Bagels - One has around 20% DV.

Even adding a reusable cast iron ornament to cook along with your food in steel, aluminum, glass, or ceramic pots can help up your iron intake.

Healthy_Libby wrote: »

zyxst wrote: »

The prescription for my low iron is "eat clams". I was told to get 27 mg iron a day. The best food calories:iron ratio I've found is smoked mussels in sunflower oil (160 cals, 80% iron in 43 g). I eat fortified cereals, crackers, breads, and a little bit of animal products. I still have to get iron shots because I'm sick of taking the iron pills due to the super bad constipation, though it's a side effect of iron shots/pills, so I'm not avoiding anything but it's what my doctor made an appointment for. I also have to go on birth control again (something else I don't want).

Low iron isn't really impacting me like it's supposed to because I have depression on top of it.

EDIT: Low iron and anemia aren't interchangeable. Stupidity on my part.

I feel for you. InTOTAL agreement about the pills, my insides where in pain. Clams would (historically) have been a huge part of the diet here (in Ireland), so I will try to find some and see if I can make em tasty. Mussels are a big thing here too, but again, not something I would eat with any regularity. I dont eat anything (really) processed, no breads, cereals etc...

I know this is something I have dealt with with regularity in my life, every time I feel like *kitten*... it hits me... I havnt been eating any iron.

I know its something alot of women cope with, and I think MFP should let us track it. Even since I rearranged my "top 5" to protein, carbs, fat, iron and fibre at least its there and im more mindful of it.... instead of whatever the default is.... sodium and something else...

What's hilarious to me is when I weighed 320# 7 years ago, my only health problem was high blood pressure!

I first learned I was anemic when I was turned away from donating blood. I wish I had taken it more seriously over the years. It wasn't until I got written up at work for my inattention at the same time that my housemate was complaining about all the hair I was shedding that I started taking it seriously again.

I can't manage it through food alone. I need almost 400% of the RDA of iron between food and supplements to stay in Low Normal.

And while I have been using cast iron pans all my life (because I like it) I wouldn't consider that a serious option for managing a serious medical condition.

• Step 1: get a blood test so you have a base line for your iron levels
• Step 2: start supplementing
• Step 3: get reevaluated in a few months to see if that form of iron is increasing both your iron and energy levels (or whatever symptom you are having - I have crippling fatigue and a lot of hair loss when my anemia in uncontrolled. Also heart palpitations the last time I slipped into Anemic.)

I'm with the VA and they gave me first one than another form of iron that did not increase my energy levels. I am currently taking iron bisglycinate. This doesn't give me the constipation or upset stomach side effects that other forms of iron can cause.

Other forms of iron did not work as well to get my iron and energy levels back up. I discount foods that were fortified with iron as presumably the food manufacturers use cheap and potentially ineffective forms of iron.

When I'm menstruating I eat Wellshire Liverwurst; 2 oz = 35% RDA iron. If I can't make it to Whole Foods I get Boar's Head Liverwurst, 2 oz = 25% RDA iron.

(For people who want more iron but don't like liver - neither do I; can't stand the stuff, but I do like liverwurst. Wellshire also has turkey LW. Less iron, but also less fat and calories.)

I have had quite a lot of improvement by taking a medication to reduce heavy bleeding on the worst days of my period.

I can't take the contraceptive pill due to migraines, and supplements give me horrible stomach issues, so this felt like my last resort - so pleased I talked to my doctor about it. Between that and some other medical issues being sorted, I finally have energy to focus on food and exercise.

I also have a set of cheap cast iron pans - not really sure if they have had much impact on my iron levels, but they are great non stick pans when well seasoned I originally thought I would use them for a while and if they were any good I would get some fancier ones. Ten years on and they are still going strong.

Francl27 wrote: »

You can find totally tasteless iron supplements at the local CVS. Just regular pills. One of those is 18mg.

I hate cast irons pans so I'm not much help there. Remember though some foods prevent iron absorption too... I mean, I can eat two servings of rice crispies for 100% of my daily iron, but the milk I eat it with probably negates a big chunk of it.

youngmomtaz wrote: »

Best thing I have been told to correct my chronically low ferritin levels(at Times undetectable): remove uterus. Now, just to find someone to do it. Sigh. I have taken iron up to 3 times daily, in all varieties available, cook in cast iron, vit c with iron rich food, no coffee/tea/things high in tannins when consuming iron products, liver and red meat consumed regularly, etc. Anemia and severely low ferritin sucks and I feel for all of you. If I could remove my uterus myself I so would. And I should not be so flip about it, but I am so over this!!

You don't have to do anything so drastic... get a uterine ablation. It's a much smaller procedure... and probably my next step if Mirena doesn't help (my GYN asked me to try that first, and said that it should help with bleeding - have you tried it?). Of course... you got to be sure that you don't want (more) children first, and you'll still have to be on birth control if you do that..

Fibroids the size I have make an ablation pretty much useless. It won’t get at all the spaces and just risks infection. I can’t do any bc pills or Mirena due to migraines so my husband has a vascectomy for B.C. so we are set there. I am just not a good candidate for that procedure. Injecting the blood supply to the fibroids is another option not often done by surgeons in my area I am told, but at almost 38, with my first child in college, bleeding enough to come close to needing a transfusion every month, they don’t want to risk my reproductive health by taking away my uterus. My sisters GP is 4 hours away and also a surgeon who did her hyster due to severe Endo. I am going to book time off to go talk to him. She was denied a hysterectomy for years by a handful of doctors and when he finally went in and took it he found her pain was because she actually had holes in the walls of her uterus! Sorry, I have thrown this thread completely off topic... free health care is wonderful, I just wish I didn’t have to beg not to bleed to death(2litwrs loss each month with highest dosage of tranexamic acid allowed).

youngmomtaz wrote: »

Francl27 wrote: »

You can find totally tasteless iron supplements at the local CVS. Just regular pills. One of those is 18mg.

I hate cast irons pans so I'm not much help there. Remember though some foods prevent iron absorption too... I mean, I can eat two servings of rice crispies for 100% of my daily iron, but the milk I eat it with probably negates a big chunk of it.

youngmomtaz wrote: »

Best thing I have been told to correct my chronically low ferritin levels(at Times undetectable): remove uterus. Now, just to find someone to do it. Sigh. I have taken iron up to 3 times daily, in all varieties available, cook in cast iron, vit c with iron rich food, no coffee/tea/things high in tannins when consuming iron products, liver and red meat consumed regularly, etc. Anemia and severely low ferritin sucks and I feel for all of you. If I could remove my uterus myself I so would. And I should not be so flip about it, but I am so over this!!

You don't have to do anything so drastic... get a uterine ablation. It's a much smaller procedure... and probably my next step if Mirena doesn't help (my GYN asked me to try that first, and said that it should help with bleeding - have you tried it?). Of course... you got to be sure that you don't want (more) children first, and you'll still have to be on birth control if you do that..

Fibroids the size I have make an ablation pretty much useless. It won’t get at all the spaces and just risks infection. I can’t do any bc pills or Mirena due to migraines so my husband has a vascectomy for B.C. so we are set there. I am just not a good candidate for that procedure. Injecting the blood supply to the fibroids is another option not often done by surgeons in my area I am told, but at almost 38, with my first child in college, bleeding enough to come close to needing a transfusion every month, they don’t want to risk my reproductive health by taking away my uterus. My sisters GP is 4 hours away and also a surgeon who did her hyster due to severe Endo. I am going to book time off to go talk to him. She was denied a hysterectomy for years by a handful of doctors and when he finally went in and took it he found her pain was because she actually had holes in the walls of her uterus! Sorry, I have thrown this thread completely off topic... free health care is wonderful, I just wish I didn’t have to beg not to bleed to death(2litwrs loss each month with highest dosage of tranexamic acid allowed).

Isn't there a procedure to get rid of the fibroids? I thought they always did that before an ablation anyway.

Lucky iron fish-reusable. created to be added to soup and such- boiled for 15 minutes- to help prevent iron deficiencies in poverty stricken areas. Studies have shown it works fairly well.

It is basically like the cast iron concept, except it works.

Actual Cast iron pans won’t do much because you have the seasoning coating that is between your food and the iron, so there is little to no iron in contact with your food, so little to no extra iron Added to your food.