Help me boost my IRON

[SabraMamma]

I just had blood work done and everything came back normal except for my iron. My hematocrit and hemoglobin are normal, but my "iron stores" are extremely low. The Dr. suggested I take a daily iron supplement, but I really want to avoid this. Any suggestions for natural remedies??? I know black strap molasses is very high in iron- any suggestions or recipes for using it would be great. Any other suggestions? Thanks!

[Spastica]

I have iron issues, and dietary food iron is good, but isn't enough to boost your bloodwork because it takes all month. I take the slow release iron capsules and take it with some orange juice (since vitamin C makes iron absorb better). The slow release will keep you from getting constipated. If you have some issues, take a few prunes with it. Don't combine iron with any dairy foods or calcium supplements.

Dark leafy veggies like spinach, kale, and greens as well as cruciferous veggies (broccoli, brussel sprouts, etc), all have lots of iron in them. So does beef, chicken and liver. Tomatoes are great with your veggies so it unlocks the iron and lets you absorb it more - and it has iron in it too.

Iron supplements are not harmful, especially when you're deficient, so there's no reason not to take them.

[WannabeaFarmer]

Check this out:

Floradix Natural Iron Supplement(it is food based and binds naturally to your food for easier absorbtion)
We use this as a natural alternative for our DD and for me(we are both very anemic)
The one bottle we got is the larger size and we have had it for 5 months and betweent the two of us we have only gone through 1/4 of the bottle so it is worth it. This stuff was reccommended by DD's ped as we always look for natural alternatives to man made medcines, and it does contain herbs as well.
Best wishes

[velcromom]

I'm using Floradix right now too, my count came back a little low and I have to say, by the end of the month I felt it was helping. I just feel more energetic and have more stamina than normal. (ok, I still want a nap in the afternoon but I am six months pg, so...) and even being pg, it hasn't bothered my GI tract at all. It's not too bad as far as flavor, either.

I've also started cooking in cast iron. Found a small skillet for $3 at the thrift store, reseasoned it and am rediscovering the texture of foods I had as a kid when my mom cooked in cast iron all the time! There's just nothing else exactly like that.

[aprilibarra]

nettle. my ob was amazed after my hemoglobin count was down to 50% and after a transfusion and lots of nettle, I was perfectly back to normal a week later. Especially after I refused to take OTC iron. Its highly absorbable, also helps with allergies, cleans the blood, and makes urine balance out its ph. It also helps keep extra water weight off. I can't say enough. April

[jocelyndale]

Besides eating foods high in iron and using cast iron, you can do things to improve your iron absorption. Vitamin C helps with iron absorption, calcium inhibits. Tea also inhibits. So, you can have OJ or lemonade with your high iron meals, but don't drink milk or tea with those meals. They're fine between meals, or so my hematologist assures me.

[mavery]

I second floradix and nettle tea. Yellow dock is also very good.

[fuller2]

Yeah, cook in cast iron. (Not the enameled kind, obviously...) Most foods will absorb iron from the pots, especially acidic foods like tomatoes (which also have Vit C to help your body absorb it!) When I make tomato sauce I even store any leftovers in the pan for a day or two in the fridge so it soaks up as much iron as possible.

They can slightly discolor some foods, but don't worry about it.

[Ty_and_Ad's_MumMum]

Floradix

[SabraMamma]

Thanks! I'll have to look into the floridax. When I was pregnant (didnt have any iron problems either time) I drank a lot of nettle infusions. But I couldn't remember when I posted yesterday which plants/herbs were high in iron. I am still confused though b.c it is my iron stores that are low, not my hemoglbin or hematocrit and I realy dont know what iron stores are. I have to have a talk with Dr. b/c the nurse who i spoke with was anything but helpful. Thanks to you ladies for your help!!!!

[jocelyndale]

Your iron stores are known as ferritin. You had a serum ferritin blood test--a separate vial from the one that measured everything else (commonly done in a routine CBC).

You can ask your doctor how your red blood cells looked, too. You may want to have your B6 levels checked, too, to see whether something else is going on that may be causing a lack of absorption.

Supplementation isn't a bad idea. You can do it naturally, but you'll want to be rechecked. Anemia can make you feel pretty icky after while. My major symptoms were heart palpitations, breathlessness, extreme fatigue, lack of appetite, pagophagia, and pallor.

[SabraMamma]

Thanks jocelyndale for explaining that to me. They did check so much other stuff, including B vitamins, complete blood count (does that reflect how my red blood cells look?), chemistry panel, cholestrol, thyroid, etc etc. Everything except for my iron stores were normal.

[peypeymama]

ditto on the cast iron pans and dark leafy greens. The iron is more easily absorbed into your system than with supplements.

[newcastlemama]

http://www.rebuild-from-depression.com/ This is a site started by a Mothering mom ("Gale Force"). She has a free iron e-book and clam recipe which is high in iron. The e-book is great. My ferritin level was 6 last year -yikes-the worst my practioner had ever seen! I have so much more energy after fixing this issue! I use cast iron, started eating meat, and supplemented. I think supplementing is a good idea so you can fix the problem faster.

Jen

[freespirited]

I was pleasantly surprised to discover high-quality, high-cocoa content dark chocolate has 20% of the RDA for iron in 2 squares! The brand I tried was something origins and it was from Ghana and sold at Cost Plus world market. What a yummy way to get some iron!

[FluffiB]

I know a few people w/ iron deficiency, and they're on vitamin B12 sublingual (so am I). I guess you need the Vit C to absorb iron, and you need B12 in there somehow too. It made me feel 200% better right after dissolving one.

ETA: You need to look for sublingual because B12 doesn't get digested in the body. Also, any unused B vitamins will get flushed out of your body too (aka you pee out whatever your body didn't use), so no worries about overdosing.

[fourgrtkidos]

Nettle Tea and dark leafy greens, cook in a acst iron pan. I like Floridix, too. Make sure you have adequate vit c, too, for absorbsion.

[3 little birds]

Gluten can prevent absorbtion of iron because it coats your intestines(think flour and water makes glue in elementary school).

Acupuncture and Chinese herbs worked wonders for me when Floradix, yellow dock, chlorophyll AND the nasty OTC stuff couldn't.

[velcromom]

Originally Posted by freespirited

I was pleasantly surprised to discover high-quality, high-cocoa content dark chocolate has 20% of the RDA for iron in 2 squares! The brand I tried was something origins and it was from Ghana and sold at Cost Plus world market. What a yummy way to get some iron!

wow, that's good news about the chocolate! I had to go check my Ghirardelli 60% cocoa Bittersweet chocolate chips - 12% of your RDA in one ounce of chips. While we're at it, did you know 1tsp of Rapadura has 11% of RDA for iron??!! That's more than the molasses I have. Brown and white sugars don't even list it.

I've been adding in quinoa to sub for other whole grains because it's the highest in iron out of all the grains as far as I can find - a serving of it offers 15% of your daily iron. For comparison, whole grain rice and barley are at 6%, steel cut oats, 10%. Millet also has 15% but I much prefer quinoa. It makes a great stir-fry with dark greens and a handful of meat, a few veggies, and a splash of soy sauce. In a cast iron pan of course.

[EnviroBecca]

Sorghum syrup is very high in iron (and other minerals) and tastes better than blackstrap molasses. It's yummy on oatmeal or Grape-Nuts. It's hard to find in some parts of the country, but you can buy it online from Maasdam Sorghum Mill, and they enclose a recipe booklet.