Post Punk Kitchen Forum

My ob isn't too worried because I'm not dangerously anemic and says even meat eating pregnant women struggle with this, but she wants me to take an extra iron supplement for the remainder of the pregnancy (I'm 28 weeks). Of course I'm going to, but I feel so frustrated because I am making a concerted effort to get everything I need via food. I really thought I was doing a good job :(

I have always struggled with being slightly anemic, even during my meat eating days; however, I have been really conscious about what I am eating over the past few years. Are some people simply more prone to this problem? I am even taking a prenatal with iron, sheesh!

What were some go to foods/snacks or food combinations that helped you boost your iron intake while you were pregnant? Any iron rich recipes anyone can recommend?

Okay, I'm heading to the store for pumpkin seeds:)

I've had issues with anemia most of my life. I just don't absorb iron well from food, no matter what I eat. Now I have an additional medical reason that causes me to absorb even less from food. Without supplements, I am forked. If you are chronically low even with a healthy, varied diet, you could well also be naturally prone to low iron absorption, for whatever reason. Other things like ulcers can contribute; even a very minor symptom-less ulcer can have a big impact. I dropped below 7 recently, in part because of this.

Floradix is pretty good; that is what I use to maintain when I am in good shape.

You might also examine when you are eating calcium rich foods. I discovered a few years ago that I was drinking a soy latte right after my floradix most days. I just never thought of that as being a calcium source and that was enough to significantly lower how much I was absorbing. After adding some chewable vitamin C tablets and waiting a while for my latte, my levels crept back up.

Good luck!

i have always had low iron. i think some people are prone to it, and i'm not sure it would necessarily even be a problem for most of us if we didn't get our blood checked and know about it. i had low iron during my pregnancy, took floradix everyday for a few weeks, and when i got my blood checked again, it was back within healthy levels.

Eat raisins and dates!

it's really tough to get enough iron from food just because we really don't absorb much of what we eat. Just a couple of tips... if you take calcium or eat or drink calcium fortified foods don't take your iron supplements with them because calcium inhibits iron absorption. I know lavawitch just said it, but it's something most people don't know about.

To get iron with vitamin c, which aids absorption, I like to eat greens with lemon juice.

It's a good idea to supplement iron now towards the end of your pregnancy because that's when you build up your baby's iron stores that will last them 4-6 months. pretty cool! (sorry if i'm giving too much info or obvious info. I'm just sort of obsessed with learning about pregnancy nutrition right now. it's so fascinating and I want to go into the field when I get my RD)

Thanks ladies! I really, really appreciate all of the info. I had heard about Vitamin C aiding absorption of iron, but had no idea calcium inhibits absorption. I think I really need to read up on this, it really is interesting...

Thanks again!

And dates have iron, I had no idea--the kiddos beg for dates on a daily basis, lol...I will have to indulge more myself:)