So i was wondering if any of you ladies are anemic and what foods do you eat. I have always been slightly anemic, but i feel its getting worse lately. I dont have insurance so i cant get meds from my dr. right now. I was thinking about taking an iron supplement, but i dont want to take too much. The symptoms are coming on like crazy and sometimes i cant tell if its the anemia or my heart problems. Well anyway what im asking is what foods do you ladies eat that provide lots of iron?
I am anemic, always have been. Not just slightly, but I used be seriously anemic. I am working on it and it took me years to get myself to a less iron-challenged condition. I used to have extremely have periods which were most likely responsible for my lack of iron.
There are kinds of iron: heme iron and non-heme iron. Heme iron can be found in red meat, and that is why I don't shy away from beef and have a steak sometimes or liver. Non-heme iron comes from veggies and some fruit: beans, lentils, chickpeas, spinach, dried apricots. I think nuts and almonds also have iron.
Unfortunately, our bodies absorb heme iron better or more easily than non-heme iron. Absorption of iron is facilitated by vitamin C.
I agree with Tomato. When I was 12 I developed serious anemia (to the point were I had to go to the hospital twice a week and get liquid iron in my blood for an hour or so. I ate a lot of liver back then (luckily I loved and love liver) and lentils and spinach. My doctor had prescribed me chewable iron supplements (that I hated with passion) and soluble vitamin C immediately after my cereals in the morning.
I still suffer from periodic low-iron and I take food supplements with iron during these days.
I take Geritol. It's not terribly expensive, available in any drugstore. It has B vitamins as well as iron, and it's been around for a long time. Use only as directed--more isn't better.
If you're anemic enough that your doctor has prescribed meds for you in the past, it's highly unlikely that a good multivitamin coupled with decent eating would tip you over the edge into "too much iron". I was moderately to severely anemic but couldn't afford the prescription iron supplement suggested by my doctor, so they told me to go with a good pre-natal vitamin and regular dietary changes as Tomato described above.
I think it's relatively rare that a woman of childbearing age actually gets *too much* iron -- we bleed away alot of our reserves each month, which is why soooo many women find themselves at least mildly anemic.
As a child I was always borderline anemic and I ate and ate lots and lots of variety of meat especially red meat. I now know to also eat veggies too lol since that was not something that was bought in my parent's house. You can take supplements like everyone else has said but unless your doctor has specifically said you NEED one I would not just start taking it on my own without talking to my doctor first and getting some recommendations. My mom had the same problem but also had heart problems until she finally had surgery to correct it 3 years ago so please go to the doctor and just get your heart checked out to be on the safe side!
I have been anemic all my life. I am not quite sure if its genetics or because I had a serious disease as a baby that involved my red blood cells. It's gotten so bad recently I was not getting my monthly period because there was not enough iron in my body. My doctor prescribed some iron pills for me. And I seem to be doing better then in the past. I took two a day for 1 month, and now I take them whenever I start my period to replace the blood loss.
Iron overdose can be serious. So unless you're absolutely certain you need them, I wouldn't take a supplement.
Liver is supposed to be rich in iron, but I don't eat. I am not certain of any other foods.
Last edited by Moonring05; 08-11-2008 at 06:52 PM.
I forgot to add something re the iron supplement.
I did not know for decades that I was anemic, only when I moved to Canada, my doctor told after she saw the results of my first blood test. I had so little iron that the lab could not express it in any numeric value. But I was never on prescription stuff for it. This is some 16 years ago so I can't remember if at that time she suggested I get OTC iron supplement because I did not have any health benefits - but even later, when I did have benefits she never prescribed anything and just told me to get the OTC iron supplement, and it was all I needed. I do know that my body does not retain iron, for some reason, so I have to make I still take the supplements and eat red meat as well as other iron-rich food.
Suggestions for an anemic
