I need help getting enough iron

I have iron deficiency anemia and it seems like no matter what I can never get the normal recommended amount of iron, let alone the amount that an anemic person needs. I take vitamins but I need to get some more iron in my food. What can i eat besides rasins?

I forgot to add that I'm a vegetarian! That makes it even harder!

I have had problems with my iron levels also, and a friend of mine who is a dietician recommended the following: meat (especially red), iron rich vegetables (ie spinach), and iron fortified cereals.  The body absorbs it best from heme sources, which means blood sources, like meat as opposed to vegetables or fortified cereals.  Also consuming vitamin C (glass of orange juice or something) along with these things aids your body in actually absorbing the iron you ingest.  Hope that helps.

spinach, whole grains (brown rice and whole wheat bread are good sources), beans, red meat, fish, poultry.

Spinach works very well for me. It is easy to slip in many dishes like soup, eggs, pasta dishes, (well I could go on and on) if you do not like it in salads. At around 40% of daily intake of iron in each cup and a boat load of other vitamins and minerals to boot it is truly a super food.

you need almost 3 times the recomended... are you taking enough supplements?

i'm anaemic, and i have to take 1,000 mg a day when it's really bad. i don't know if i could fit all that in without supplements.

Quinoa has a lot of iron in it and is really good mixed with vegetables.  Here's a good table showing how much some top foods have:
http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/iron.htm

Not to put down your post, kate_gw, but spinach has oxalates or something, so it's not a good source. Still very healthy, but you shouldn't rely on it for iron.

I'm a vegetarian too, and it is a bit of a challenge. The food I eat at least 5 times a week that has tons of iron is lentils. Other things I eat include cashews, oatmeal, whole wheat pastas, asparagus, beans (kidney, chickpeas, and navy beans have the most), olives, etc. Be sure to include a source of vitamin C with it (broccoli, tomatoes, bell peppers, etc.). Some iron-rich vegetarian meal ideas include lentil soup, chili with beans, whole wheat spaghetti with asparagus or olives, or bean burritos with whole wheat tortillas.

Also, take a look here. If you scroll to the very bottom, you'll find a chart with iron-rich foods from most iron-rich to least. http://whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient &dbid=70

If you have any more questions, want any more recipe suggestions or anything, feel free to message me. :)

I had heard that spinach in conjunction with orange juice is a good way to absorb iron. http://www.healthcastle.com/iron-spinach.shtm l

Iron Absorption Enhancers

• Meat/fish/poultry
• Fruits: Orange, Orange Juice, cantaloupe, strawberries, grapefruit and other Vitamin-C rich fruits
• Vegetables: Broccoli, brussels sprouts, tomato, tomato juice, potato, green & red peppers
• White wine

 

 

Original Post by raynsong:

I have iron deficiency anemia and it seems like no matter what I can never get the normal recommended amount of iron, let alone the amount that an anemic person needs. I take vitamins but I need to get some more iron in my food. What can i eat besides rasins?

I forgot to add that I'm a vegetarian! That makes it even harder!

Beans and lentils have more iron than a lot of vegetarian sources. Cooking in cast-iron cookware may also help boost your iron levels.

I know I'm going to get flamed for this, but in the end, you may have to ask yourself if being a vegetarian is really worth it, given your situation. I know several female vegetarians who had no choice but to start eating red meat again. 

Try pre-natal vitamins..very high in iron

If you can do cereal, Quaker Oat squares have a pretty serious dose...something like 90% daily reccomended in a single serving.

I take a children's vitamin. Its got three times the daily iron adults need so its perfect for me (I'm highly anemic too.) I had to quit being a vegetarian because I wasn't willing to eat other non-meat foods that were high in iron and I was getting worse. 

There's a lot of iron-fortified cereals out there that have 90% iron per serving. I have Post Grape-nut Cereal every day; without it I'd barely meet 10% iron on a given day.

I've been borderline anemic my whole life and veg for the past 10 years. I eat a lot of spinach (cooked, not raw--it's easy for the body to get the iron from cooked spinach). When I eat for iron, I never take it with milk because the milk will actually pull the iron away from where it's supposed to go. Beans and lentils are good to eat as well.

Has anybody seen an estimate on how much extra iron you get from cooking in a cast iron pan? That's mostly what I cook in, and the nutrition calculator here shows that I'm usually somewhat short on iron, and wondering how much the pan is helping.