good iron supplement?

[liliaceae]

I'm 21 weeks pregnant and slightly anemic; my midwife prescribed an iron supplement but I'm not too happy with the ingredients (like artificial colors with aluminum). Can anyone recommend a good iron supplement? The one she gave me has a total of 151 mg of iron, so I guess it should be close to that amount. I've seen people recommend Floradix, but that only has 10 mg of iron in it. Thanks!

[transformed]

I vote for floradix. :

[emaye_to_2]

I second the recommendation for Floradix if you need to boost your iron levels now. I believe the iron in Floradix is absorbed at a much higher rate than from the pill form.. altho it gets expensive I believe it is worth it for you now. Also blackstrap molasses, greens, red meat + vitamin C and nettle tea.

[deditus]

Nettle tea

[tanyalynn]

We use a lot of Perque products. When my ferritin was a bit low, I took their iron supp, it's called Hematin anemia guard. My HCP recommended 2/day. I like it because it's got things like folic acid and copper which, if low, can also cause anemia (they work together with the iron, is what I'm saying).

[ladybugzz]

My midwife suggested black strap mollasses instead of a supplement. Body absorbs it better and if you can "hide" it in things like your morning oatmeal or milk, it's not too bad! I was terribly anemic during all of my pregnancies and if I did the mollasses reguarily my iron levels went up to an acceptable level.

Good luck!

[tree-hugger]

red meat and/or bone marrow

it's absorbed far better than supplements and is easier on the stomach

[Phoenix_Rising]

Here is some information put out by our local Red Cross about how to boost iron levels. HTH!

[pixiepunk]

if your levels are really low you might need to do the Floradix. also depends on how much time you have to get them up. but some things that worked for me to keep my iron levels high in pregnancy #3 after bad 3rd trimester anemia with my first two which required iron supplementation:

NORA tea - largely it's the nettle and alfalfa that help with iron, but of course RRL and oatstraw are just good in general too

cooking in cast iron cookware

eating lots of leafy greens. i had a spinach salad almost every day the entire time i was pregnant.

avoiding calcium when i was consuming iron, as it inhibits absorption. vitamin c aids absorption, so i often drank a small glass of OJ along with iron-rich foods

adding blackstrap molasses to everything i could manage to sneak it into.

adding a greens supplement to my smoothies

taking spirulina supplements daily along with my prenatal (which had some iron as well).

[Altair]

Floradix is lower, but the amount that is absorbed in HIGHER than the amount in the supplement. Take it twice a day with OJ.

[Pookietooth]

So, if you are prescribed say 50 mg of iron, how much Floradix do you need to take?

[amandapearl]

I had really low iron during my first pregnancy. I took a food based iron supliment, tried to eat more leafy greens and red meat (though I'm not too much of a meat-eater). I also took a chinese herbal supliment rrecomended by my midwife (who is also a dr of chinese medicine). It was only with a combination of modalities that I was able to achieve and sustain necessary iron levels. Fluordix is great too. I took that as a younger child sucessfully. It really depends on how low your iron is, but don't be afraid to explore different modalities or combine, to get to where you need to be.

[nerdymom]

Originally Posted by pixiepunk

if your levels are really low you might need to do the Floradix. also depends on how much time you have to get them up. but some things that worked for me to keep my iron levels high in pregnancy #3 after bad 3rd trimester anemia with my first two which required iron supplementation:

NORA tea - largely it's the nettle and alfalfa that help with iron, but of course RRL and oatstraw are just good in general too

cooking in cast iron cookware

eating lots of leafy greens. i had a spinach salad almost every day the entire time i was pregnant.

avoiding calcium when i was consuming iron, as it inhibits absorption. vitamin c aids absorption, so i often drank a small glass of OJ along with iron-rich foods

adding blackstrap molasses to everything i could manage to sneak it into.

adding a greens supplement to my smoothies

taking spirulina supplements daily along with my prenatal (which had some iron as well).

Nora tea is great! Make it really strong, sweeten with honey or raw sugar, and drink it iced. Deelish! Also alfalfa capsules. Also good for your amniotic sac.