Iron DV

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miss_goodwin
miss_goodwin Posts: 7 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Does anyone else struggle with their iron intake?? I was anemic while pregnant and had to take iron pills, but I’ve noticed as much as I try to eat, I hardly ever hit 100% of DV. Ex. I’ve had two eggs, two cups fresh spinach, 1 chicken breast and 1/2 cup fortified granola and I’m not even halfway for the day!? Do you guys notice the same thing? If you aren’t iron deficient what is your typical diet like?? Note: I cannot stomach sea food unfortunately which I know is a huge portion.

Replies

  • emmamcgarity
    emmamcgarity Posts: 1,594 Member
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    I snack on Cheerios to boost iron.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
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    If you’re using the MFP database to track your iron, keep in mind that not all entries have correct information for micronutrients like iron. It’s worth double checking the database entries you’re using to make sure they have iron entered correctly. You may be getting more iron than your food diary reflects.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    I snack on dry cereal. Kellogg's Krave and Quaker's Corn Squares each have 30% of the iron RDA for a serving. Yves Veggie dogs are 15%.
  • HereToLose50
    HereToLose50 Posts: 154 Member
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    I have to eat some red meat once or twice a week to keep my levels up. I eat a lot of veggies and other meats most of the time.
  • Safari_Gal
    Safari_Gal Posts: 888 Member
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    Have you tried cashews, white beans and dried apricots? All have extra iron.

    I have a family member who has had to supplement iron- so I have grown up on a lot of organ meats esp liver. I still eat it weekly. If I make omelets or meatloaf - I sometimes chop up heart and liver really finely and add to it. Great mix of vital nutrients and no waste of the animal.

    Some people love it- some hate it. I’m in the love category- but it wasn’t something exotic while i was growing up- it was normal to always have in the house. Viva Le foie! 😉😋
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    Other than the spinach and the fortified cereal none of what you are eating is terribly high in iron. Also check the MFP entries are complete.

    Red meat helps.

    You might also try the Lucky Iron Fish, designed for countries where accessing iron rich foods is harder to come by.
  • miss_goodwin
    miss_goodwin Posts: 7 Member
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    Thx guys! I do eat white beans and mixed nuts every other day and I’ll make sure I’m including them more often. I really don’t want to sound like a child, but I don’t think I could eat organ meat, I know it most likely tastes fine, but I just can’t haha. I’ll have too look up that lucky iron fish too. I’ve tried to include salmon once a week, but the wild caught is soooo expensive!! Omg I’d live to eat Krave more often but I’m trying a no sugar added diet (tears literally thinking about this cereal). I’m also going to have to figure out how to better use the app to make sure entries are accurate!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,952 Member
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    I've struggled with anemia off and on for 30 years, with increasingly severe medical implications as I age if I slip back into Anemic.

    I don't even count food that was fortified with iron, like cereal, as I assume it is some cheap and useless form. The first two forms of iron my doctor prescribed were useless, and I don't imagine the food manufacturers are putting more effort into it.

    There are many forms of iron and for me finding the right one was what I needed to get my iron and energy levels up, reduce the heart palpitations, and slow the hair loss. I'm currently taking iron bisglycinate: https://smile.amazon.com/Solgar-Gentle-Iron-Vegetable-Capsules/dp/B00013Z0QA/

    I need to take two of those plus eat to around 100% of the RDA to stay in Low Normal.

    I have extremely heavy menstrual periods and during that time 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 makes turkey LW. Less iron, but also less fat and calories.)

    I also mix 1 T of blackstrap molasses into a cup of warm water every morning. That gives me 20% RDA. Here's what I order https://smile.amazon.com/Wholesome-Sweeteners-Organic-Molasses-Pack/dp/B001M0G2PO/ but caution - this brand can leak, so best to not get anything else with that order. It's the cheapest, so I continue to put up with it. Plus last time Amazon just credited me for the whole thing :smiley:

    Vitamin C helps with iron absorption and I mix powdered, buffered vitamin C into the molasses "tea" to create a dreadful concoction. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000I4AIUA/

    And some ACV to balance the flavor profile :dizzy:
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,952 Member
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    miss_goodwin wrote: »
    Thx guys! I do eat white beans and mixed nuts every other day and I’ll make sure I’m including them more often. I really don’t want to sound like a child, but I don’t think I could eat organ meat, I know it most likely tastes fine, but I just can’t haha. I’ll have too look up that lucky iron fish too. I’ve tried to include salmon once a week, but the wild caught is soooo expensive!! Omg I’d live to eat Krave more often but I’m trying a no sugar added diet (tears literally thinking about this cereal). I’m also going to have to figure out how to better use the app to make sure entries are accurate!

    Unfortunately, the "verified" green check marks in the MFP database are used for both user-created entries and admin-created entries that MFP pulled from the USDA database. To find admin entries for whole foods, I get the syntax from the USDA database and paste that into MFP.

    For packaged foods, I verify the label against what I find in MFP.
  • piddings1951
    piddings1951 Posts: 27 Member
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    Quaker oatmeal squares. 1 cup= 90% daily requirement. Nice snack with 210 calories. I eat 4 oz for breakfast.
  • Kupla71
    Kupla71 Posts: 1,130 Member
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    I’ve had anemia off and on for years and have taken prescription iron supplements for it. My iron is back to normal now but is being monitored. I hear what you’re saying about not being able to get nearly enough iron in your diet. I find it next to impossible! I have taken to eating cream of wheat. It has 30% of your daily requirement. I steam spinach and eat red meat.
    On a side note, I used to have heavy periods and my doctor prescribed birth control pills to help with that. Now my periods are way way lighter and I’m hoping that will solve the problem and my iron will stay at a normal level.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,952 Member
    edited February 2019
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    piddings1951 wrote: »
    Quaker oatmeal squares. 1 cup= 90% daily requirement. Nice snack with 210 calories. I eat 4 oz for breakfast.

    A cup of unfortified oats has considerably less RDA of iron (and more calories).

    f764d6cb77920c5d2e5d757879adabd4.png

    I don't even count food that was fortified with iron, like cereal, as I assume it is some cheap and useless form. The first two forms of iron my doctor prescribed were useless, and I don't imagine the food manufacturers are putting more effort into it.

    I found it more beneficial to try different forms of iron until I found one that got both my iron and energy levels back up, and to eat foods that are inherently iron-rich.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    I found that trying to track micro-nutrients like that with MFP was pretty difficult. The entries are crowd sourced and a lot of that kind information is missing on a lot of entries.

    I'd google high iron foods and just make sure I was including plenty of them in my diet and not worry much about what kind of feed back I'm getting from entries in the MFP database.

  • reversemigration
    reversemigration Posts: 168 Member
    edited February 2019
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    While I've never been anemic, I try to hit my iron targets because I donate blood as frequently as allowed. I keep an eye on labels, supplement as needed, and try to eat strategically.

    Something to consider is that dietary iron comes in two forms: heme and non-heme. Meat is a mix of heme and non-heme, while dairy, eggs, and plants are non-heme. We absorb less non-heme iron than we do heme iron (on the order of 5-12% for non-heme versus 20-30% for heme). Because of this, even though the reported DV of a food might be high (e.g. spinach), our absorption is less, and we'll need to eat more to get the same benefit.

    As others have mentioned, though, you can boost absorption of either type through including vitamin C rich foods. On the other end of the spectrum, calcium-rich foods (e.g. dairy), red wine, and tea can inhibit the absorption of iron.

    This NPR article has a nice layman's explanation:

    https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/03/23/596192448/what-are-the-different-kinds-of-dietary-iron-and-how-should-i-get-enough

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