Iron-rich foods

So, I am officially cooking for myself for the first time, and I am on a very limited budget (less than $50 per week) and as a result, I have cut out all expensive red meats and a lot of other foods that I would normally eat at home. I have recently been suspecting that I have an iron deficiency due to my extreme fatigue while exercising, and also the corners of my mouth have been cracking and painful. This could also be a result of lack of other nutrients, but iron is the biggest one I suspect.

My question is, what foods can I buy that won't break the bank but will get my iron levels back up to a healthy range? And what are the foods that are the richest in iron? I already have cereals that have a good amount of iron, and I was thinking of adding in a vitamin supplement. Does anyone have any experience with iron supplementation?

Here are some foods rich in iron, according to whfoods.com: cooked soybeans, lentils, spinach, tofu, sesame seeds, kidney beans, pumpkin seeds, venison, garbanzo beans, navy beans, lima beans, pinto beans, black beans, swiss chard, olives, quinoa, and beef tenderloin.

For more information, go here: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutr ient&dbid=70 . There's a list of foods at the beginning as well as at the end of the article, along with their daily percentages of iron. :)

have to add kale; it's one of my new favourites.  and of course liver, if you don't hate it.  liver isn't bad if it's really really fresh (if it smells when you cook it, it's not fresh).

beef tenderloin is expensive, but oh so good.  i treat myself to a little (70-80g) tenderloin steak about once a month.

I know you said you have cereals with iron but I will still promote oatmeal.  Oatmeal can have lots of iron and is very cheap. 

Try taking a multivitamin. 

Your body doesn't absorb iron very well if you are taking in calcium at the same time. You need to have your iron and calcium sources spaced out by at least a couple of hours. So if you are eating your iron fortified cereal with milk, then you probably aren't getting much benefit. I am skeptical of multivitamins for this reason. They almost always have both iron and calcium, and I know that isn't a good way to get benefits from either.

Beans are very cheap and have lots of iron, as do dark green veggies. If you are eating spinach to get iron, make sure you cook it - your body has a tough time absorbing iron from raw spinach.

If you are eating something with iron, make sure you also have some vitamin C, because it promotes iron absorption.

If all else fails, get iron supplements, but make sure you talk to your doctor first. Too much iron is dangerous. Iron supplements are HARD on your stomach. You'll have to look around to find one that works for you.

Yep, I have been anemic my entire adult life and I have collected way too much information about it. Good luck!

Lentils are very cheap and very healthy and, when prepared correctly, delicious. :-)

I would probably suggest some spinach and blackstrap molasses. 

A man I know had low iron after surgery and refused to take iron supplements because they constipate and are hard on the stomach.  So, he just ate a tablespoon of molasses per day, and his hemoglobin returned within normal range. :)

Lentils and beans do have a lot of iron, but lots of people have told me that you have to take them with vitamin C so that your body actually absorbs the iron. I try having a fruit like kiwi (packed with vitamin C) after eating lentils.

Ah, I didn't know that about vitamin C and lentils/beans.  Though I guess it doesn't really matter since I usually get about 2000% RDV of vitamin C.

do you get the same "kind" of iron from non meat sources than if you were to get them from meat?  does it benefit you the same if you are trying to build some muscle?  thanks

I have been giving blood since January, and in Jan, my iron was great, nice and high (the blood sample dropped straight to the bottom of the liquid)

Then in April, my iron was ok to give, but not as high as it was when I had donated in Jan.

Then yesterday I was in there again to give, and this time my iron was not high enough to give. So, I am thinking that it must take me longer to reabsorb the amount of iron after donating. I eat lots of healthy foods, lots of lentils, beans, green leafy veggies, etc... It is frustrating. I am considering going on a supplement.... I think it is time to talk to a naturopath.

Sadly, giving blood really can deplete your iron, and some people recover better than others. I would talk to your doc about it. Mine had me stop giving blood completely for a while (I had been giving every single time I was allowed to for years) and we monitored my iron levels and I just recently got the okay to start giving again.

I am going to be careful and start giving myself a longer recovery time between donations to see if it will help.