Food with iron in it?

[Deleted]

So I need to fill up on my iron, doctors orders. I already am taking vitamin pills with iron in it but it's not enough. She's relucant to prescribe me a higher dose of iron because of side effects which don't sound very inviting to me...

Red meat, spinach, lentils, nuts?

I have 3 weeks to get it up before deciding what to do next. Extra points for iron filled recepies!

[gertieshirtypants]

According to my bottle of apple, carrot and ginger juice, drinking juices/drinks rich in vitamin C at mealtimes help iron absorption.

[Deleted]

Ah, that's a good point. My doc said eating spinach wouldn't help because it doesn't absorb as well. I'll stock up on vitamine C drinks as well then.

[ozziegiraffe]

Red meat has far more iron than any of the veges.

[treehugger]

yeah, hard to get enough iron when you're pregnant without the red meat.

[sophie]

When I needed more iron, I used a German herbal remedy called floradix. It really worked without any of the nasty side effects iron supplements give a body.

[snkysally]

As others have said, Vitamin C increases iron absorption. So spinach with lemon, mixed greens with orange juice vinaigrette, etc.

Do you eat oysters? Beans and lentils? Artichokes?

Red meat is a great choice if you eat it.

[Hope_Springs]

I used floradix in pregnancy. It got me out of a blood transfusion (along with a lot of red meat, green leafy veg, vit C and my sister always made me have molasses when I was at her house)

[vinnyd]

The oxalic acid (I think it's oxalic acid) in spinach is said to inerfere with iron absorption. Although I see spinach is on the American Red Cross's list of iron-rich foods. They also say:

"Are some foods with iron better than others?

Food has two types of iron — heme iron and non-heme iron. Heme iron is found in meat, fish and poultry, and is the form of iron that is most readily absorbed from your stomach and taken up into your body after you eat it. Non-heme iron is found in plant foods as well as meat. Foods with non-heme iron are still good to eat, but the iron contained in these foods won’t be absorbed as completely as heme iron. You absorb up to 30 percent of heme iron, found only in animal tissues (meat, poultry, and fish). You absorb 2-10 percent of non-heme iron, found in plant foods as well as meat. Eating meat generally boost your iron levels far more than eating non-heme iron. When you eat heme iron with other sources of non-heme iron, the iron is more completely absorbed. Foods high in vitamin C, like tomatoes, citrus fruits and red, yellow and orange peppers can also help with the absorption of non-heme iron."

[Deleted]

My mother in law prepared my a huge pan of green vegetables, lentils and chick peas. Will eat this with some fresh orange juice and lemon juice. I have eaten a whole sea full of oysters lately as I had a few work trips to Brittany which has the best ones. Didn't know they had iron in them.

I love red meat, but does it have to stay as red as possible for it to have the same amount of iron or will it derease when you bake it too long? I made myself a very jummie red steak not too lang ago and my husband just stole it from me and turned it into an almost black piece of meat because he doesn't like the idea of me eating rawish meat.

[Sticktoria]

Remember that chemicals in tea and bread impair iron absorption so take your tablet with OJ rather than a morning cuppa and slice of toast.

[Deleted]

*stares at cup of tea and slice of bread in front of her* ehm. Thanks, I'll make some slight adjustments to the lunch curerntly on the table to go with the pills

[MsBelleRae]

I started doing the floradix, leanut. Really great stuff! I have more energy and almost no heartburn. I had no idea low iron caused heartburn.

It's funny that your hubs got funny about your steak- mine flips over shellfish. After my bout of food poisoning last summer, I'm not too hard to convince. As long as you're steak is cooked medium, it's fine. Burgers, too.

Oh, and what about kale? I've been living on kale, OJ, frozen fruit smoothies. Deeeeelicious.

[vinnyd]

leanut, I think that when they say "red meat" they mean meat from mammals, not birds or fish (or reptiles etc). It doesn't have to do with how long the meat is cooked.

[Deleted]

Shame, I was thinking of using it as an excuse to have my steaks red and bloody again... ah well.

[viv]

So use the excuse anyway, leanut! What he doesn't know and all that..... Ha!

[Webs]

Liver is high in iron. A good reason to eat lots of fois gras

[princessofpenguins]

www.webmd.com/diet/iron-rich-foods

[Sticktoria]

Sadly liver not recommended in pregnancy, because of the vitamin A. Boo.

[whothingie]

Floridex certainly helped me. Goggle confirmed my thoughts that Morel Mushrooms, Lemon Grass, Baked Potato and Parsley all have iron in them so could be added to various meals as an aid. Can you get tamarillos where you are? They are surprisingly high in iron for such a small power packed fruit. Kiwifruit are another that have some iron content but not quite that high - but every bit helps and if it tastes good that's a bonus.

[Deleted]

I ate lots of liver lately...parsely, backed potato and lemon grass are also often in the dishes I prepare. Never had tamarillos though. Pharmacy wouldn't give me floridex without the consent of my doc. Presumably becaus it had other ingredients that might be harmfull?

[Hope_Springs]

You should probably go easy on the liver for the reason stick said.

Floridex is safe in pregnancy - it is often midwife recommended here. Too much iron can be damaging which is why the pharmacist probably wants the doc to check yuor iron levels. However, since you know you are low in iron there should be no problem.

[ruthincanada]

Floradix is often recommended for pregnant women!