Iron Deficient

wonhundred
wonhundred Posts: 6
in Food and Nutrition
Hey all,

In the past my doctor told me I have low iron and I started taking pills for that. I ran out and haven't had time to get any since school started (I'll probably get some once I go home for the summer), but just tracking my food intake the past few days I see I only get about half my daily recommended intake from food. What are some really good sources of iron? I'm a vegan by the way.

Replies

  • Karyn1120
    Karyn1120 Posts: 184 Member
    Go with spinach...baby spinach in a salad is a great way to get some iron.
  • lmnosser
    lmnosser Posts: 43
    http://www.ironrichfood.org/

    this site has some recipes on it. also, thyme has a ton of iron if you're into that.
  • lawkat
    lawkat Posts: 538 Member
    I eat beans lentils, tofu, quinoa, brown rice, cream of wheat with blackstrap molasses, spinach. Make sure you also up try to eat something with vitamin C (tomatoes, oranges...) when you are eating those foods. Vitamin C helps to absorb non-animal iron sources. Caffeine can deplete iron, so limit your intake of that.
  • kaatielove
    kaatielove Posts: 113
    Why dont you order them online? You can get them from GNC online :)
    That's where I get them.
  • abZ0
    abZ0 Posts: 2
    Had that problem myself a lot.
    There's a few things you can do to help.
    A lot of people eat plenty of iron but don't absorb enough of it.
    Instead of drinking coffee, milk based drinks or tea with food - especially iron rich foods, drink orange juice.
    Fresh orange juice contains vitamin C of course and you need a lot of this in small regular amounts for your body to absorb the iron.
    If my iron levels are down I up the amount of red meat and green veg I eat and drink plenty of orange juice. It seems to help a lot better than the pills.

    Edit - you're vegan? Beans then are good. Sunflower seeds also - although they are high calorie foods.
  • TubbsMcGee
    TubbsMcGee Posts: 1,058 Member
    Go out and buy some prenatal vitamins in the meantime.
    I'm anemic and the iron pills my doctor originally gave me ate a hole through my intestines. Jamieson Natural Source Prenatal vitamins will give you 180% of your iron RDI, without the tummy ache. And they're reasonably priced, too.

    If you're looking for natural sources in food: red meat, iron fortified cereals and oatmeal, spinach, beans, lentils, etc....in combination with vitamin C will help you absorb the iron better.
  • wonhundred
    wonhundred Posts: 6
    Hey all thanks for the advice!! I added spinach into my daily smoothies, that's the progress so far. I also had oatmeal this morning and slowly it's adding up :D
  • marquesajen
    marquesajen Posts: 641
    Blackstrap molasses?
  • Laceybaby1967
    Laceybaby1967 Posts: 82 Member
    I do all my cooking in a cast-iron pan.....no worries with it!
  • sapalee
    sapalee Posts: 409 Member
    made some asparagus last night and it had quite a bit (half a bunch was like 29). Dark chocolate has a little. Oysters have a lot but if you're vegan...
  • sabinecbauer
    sabinecbauer Posts: 250 Member
    Rather than spinach--which, sadly, has nowhere near as much iron as Popeye would make you think--try asparagus and, better than any veg, cream of wheat. A 1/2 cup serving of cream of wheat gives you 50% of you daily iron requirement.

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