any suggestions? i think i'm anemic (my iron is low), so when i'm tired in the morning if i reach for very strong tea (i don't drink coffee), it's not helping the iron situation. so is there something else i could eat or drink? i'm thinking for in the morning, but any kind of food works. it doesn't have to be breakfast food. i'm also tired, because i'm not getting enough sleep some days, but i can tell the fatigue is different than just i'm a little tired.

It might not be iron- it could be vitamin D deficiency also. Look into taking a woman's multivitamin each day with food (find one with 800 IU's of vitamin D because new research shows 400 IU's is not enough).

I know for my I was always tired and then went to the doctor- found my vitamin D was very low (21ng/ml instead of the recommended 50 ng/ml). After a couple weeks of taking vitamin D my fatigue went away

i have have a reg. multivitamin, i never remember to take it. i did today. it has 400.
the reason i think it's iron, is because i've had that problem before. i should eat more foods with vitamin D and iron. i don't think they go well together though...i'll have to look it up. vitamin D is in milk, milk and iron aren't friends.

looks like natural sources of vitamin D are fatty fish. we do have some canned salmon and tuna. and there's always sunshine

also, i think i'm anemic, because i learned this trick. i'm not sure it's actually true, but if you check under your eye lids, the it should be red. i'm pale pink.

well looks like i'll be making lentil soup, chickpeas and spinach w/eggs. and fish.

anyone know why on the label on frozen spinach it says only 4% DV iron for 1 cup. has it lost vitamins in the freezing process? perhaps organic or fresh organic spinach would have more iron? and on the frozen collard greens i think it said there wasn't any iron at all. none of that makes any sense.

That whole sunshine thing is a common misconception. Unless you have very light skin and plan to sit in the sun for hours at a time WITHOUT sun screen you don't absorb it well. Sunscreen blocks absorption, dark skin blocks absorption, etc.

Don't forget your vitamin it's very important. My doctor also said people who lost a significant amount of weight can have vitamin deficencies as well so it's very important to take vitamins while losing weight.

You'd have to eat 7 oz of salmon a day or drink 8 glasses of milk to get enough vitamin D a DAY.

I just can't stress how important it is- your nervous system needs vitamin D to function and damage to your nervous system is irreversible.

thank you very much, you're right that's important. i have pale skin, but the risk of being outside without sunscreen everyday for hours would outweigh the vitamin D absorbtion. better to take a vitamin.

Beans are a high source of iron although I'm not sure about beans in the morning unless its a bean burrito I have 'issues' with eating hot/warm foods in the morning though.

Quinoa has a good amount of iron and I've seen quinoa cereals in the store but you could do it yourself, cook quinoa, add some almond milk, raisins (also good source of iron) and cinnamon.

Spinach has a lot of iron per calorie but not by volume. One thing I do is make a spinach smoothie in the morning.

I haven't ever had an iron problem though but I have had a vitamin D problem. I take vitamin D supplements.

If you're looking for more standard breakfast foods with iron, a bunch of breakfast cereals have a full day's supply of iron - not sure if this link will work, but these cereals should be sorted by their iron content...

http://nutritiondata.self.com/foods-...l?maxCount=243

Breakfast cereals are generally fortified is why which means vitamins are added. Not much different than taking a vitamin pill as its not naturally occurring vitamins from the cereals themselves.

that's true about the cereal, but i would need to eat it without the milk. calcium and iron don't absorb well together. iron and vitamin C absorb well together. like oatmeal with oranges or other fruit.

yea, i'm trying to do mostly foods with iron already in them. grains like pita pockets are fortified though.

the only food i've found to have iron and vitamin D is egg yolks. so i've eaten eggs yesterday and today. usually, i don't eat them very often.

the only beans i have right now are chickpeas (almost gone) and lentils. but i'll get more when we go grocery shopping, probably at the beginning of the month.

i still don't see which iron foods are wake up foods. i love oranges or other citrus in the morning, maybe pair fruit with breakfast burrito or something else.