[Phoebe]

Hi all,

Aparently I am very slightly anemic. I want to make sure it improves ASAP. I am not keen on taking suplements (I do take a prenatal though) and it's kind of hard to change my diet altogher. I eat really well, I could just use a few more veggies I think. I've sort of had an anti-craving for them.

The easiest thing for me to fit into my diet on a daily basis is finger foods...carrots, celery, etc. But I can' think of any green leafy vegetables that are worthy of finger food. I refuse to sit around munching lettuce as a snack!

Does anyone have any suggestions for munchies high in iron ???

Thanks,
Amy

 

[Attila the Honey]

I'll let someone else list the foods - but have you been drinking pregnancy tea? I am a vegetarian and had very good hematocrit and hemoglobin levels, which the midwife said was because I drink pregnancy tea everyday. I usualy make a big pot of it and drink it iced throughout the day. It contains nettles and red dock, both of which are high in iron. Also high in vitamin K, which is good for building platelets.

Also, you could add chlorophyll to your morning juice, I have a friend tha swears by this. It turns OJ totally green, but doesn't have a strong taste - tastes sort of clean and green and minty in ice water.

 

[bebe luna]

Here are some good foods you can eat to boost iron levels:

*dried apricots, prunes, & currants
*dark leafy greens (spinach, kale, chard, mustard greens, etc)
*broccoli
*buckwheat (buckwheat pancakes & waffles, soba noodles, etc)
*blackstrap molasses
*carob
*kidney beans, black beans, lentils
*green foods~ spirulina, blue-green algae, wheat grass, etc

Floradix by Salus-**** makes a great food & herb based iron supplement. Here is a link w/ more info:
http://www.1cascade.com/browse.php?q=Floradix

 

[pumpkinhead]

STRAWBERRIES and RAISINS!

I have a history of anemia problems and these were my FAVE alternative to iron supplements, which are NASTY BTW. You can't absorb plant sources or iron as well as from animal ones, but Vit C can help in absorption. Strawberries, believe it or not, have lots of iron. Something to do with the pigment? I dunno. Raisins also are a good source, more so than grapes, as they are dried and are more concentrated. Broccoli is also a good one. Mmmmmmm, broccoli and cheese dip. YUM!

Oh, and I second the blackstrap molasses! Fresh biscuits with butter and molasses are divine...better than eating a tablespoon straight!

Good luck to you mama!

 

[Imonion2]

Beans are good, too. A pot of chili would be great for boosting iron: beans, tomatoes with calcium to help iron absorption, plus any meat if you would put it in there. I also found cream of wheat to be good for iron, I fed it to my DS when the pedi was threatening iron drops.

 

[Melsie]

In addition to everyone else's suggestions, prunes are good too. Also, Cream of Wheat. One package has 45% of your RDA of iron so if you eat two packages in the morning, your pretty much set.

 

[tinyshoes]

I drank a lot of Floradix and that perked me right up! Pricey, though....ugh, but then again, it's pretty cheap to ensure a healthy baby and mom!

 

[Pigpen]

I would also recommend Floradix w/herbs. It's liquid, I actually like the taste (kinda pruny). Also, dried fruits. You can keep some with you at all times and snack on them throughout the day.

 

[BathrobeGoddess]

I agree with all of the above but also want to add:

Don't take your iron with dairy because calcium and iron compete for absorbtion . My midwife told me that one when I couldn't get my iron level up...she told me to stop taking it with milk!

 

[NadiaSJ]

In addition to all the other recomendations made, which all sound really great, I say to take this particular Prenatal Multivitamin:

Rainbow Light - Prenatal One

This is a food-based multi-vitamin, multi-mineral with helpful herbs for pregnancy. It is also high in B6 which seems to also aid in iron absorbtion because it completely handled the problem I had with anemia in the past. With this pregnancy my hemo level has been 12 or better taking this particular supplement.

Nadia edd 10/01 - that's tomorrow....woo hoo!

 

[Ravin]

I make my vegan pancakes (okay, since I started getting WIC I add an egg for protein, but no milk) with blackstrap molasses. Most cold cereals have iron, so if there's any you like dry, or you can eat 'em with soy milk (assuming you handle soy well, some people don't and should avoid it.) I've been on a total pancake kick for the past half of pregnancy, eat them (preferably with peanut butter) almost every day...

Spinach is good fresh in salads, or if you're into dipping, get some spinach artichoke dip ( you can buy it frozen and nuke it, little effort involved.)

 

[pumpkinhead]

Just a bit of caution,

I could never take the regular 'pre-natal' vitamins when I was pregnant as most multivitamins formulated for pg women have WAY more iron in 'em. I took a folic acid supplement and a regular woman's multivitamin.

Too much iron can cause constipation, and when you're preggers, this is the LAST thing you need (on top of everything else that can constipate you

). It's hard to get iron properly absorbed, but it's equally hard for your body to get rid of it if you've got an overabundance, which also isn't good.

Good luck!

 

[Touch of Sunshine]

Anemic central here for 10+ years. As of 1 year ago, it is GONE. The trick was to mix the right nutrients. While I had SEVERE anemia, I took a supplement along side prenatal(which is an excellent blood builder) I took a supplement containing ferritin, folic acid and B12. With in 6 weeks, my blood work was "ok" and 1 month after that it was "excellent" and has been ever since.

This goes to eating patterns as well. Avoid caffeines, period, in any form, they strip your system inhibit absorption. Taking a vitamin C item with your iron item will enhance absorbtion. The milk thing... the naturopath wasn't sure that it really affected a person THAT much. It does some, but mild cases of anemia weren't that much of an issue.

If you're taking any meds, synthroid, for example, they counteract eachother if taken too close together.