Iron for Vegetarians

[Ruftybear]

I have been wanting to become a vegetarian for such a long time, and also would prefer my daughter's meat intake to be considerable less (if not nil), but she has had a lot of problems with her iron levels and I am curious what you would suggest to sustain the iron in our diet (especially when we have 'that time of the month').

I applaud everyone who has made this decision. Well done, and I hope to be joining you soon!!

[Percy's Mom]

A lot of dark greens (spinach, kale, collards, etc) are extremely high in iron. Your best bet would probably be to speak with a nutritionist if you have specific nutritional questions when beginning a vegetarian diet. You might also need to supplement with vitamins and minerals.

[fourbwabbys]

I take a mulitvitamin with extra iron in it every day since I have been anemic in the past. I agree with PM, dark and leafy veggies are your best bet.

[standuprookie]

Iron:black beans, bran flakes, cashews, Cream of Wheat®, garbanzo beans (chickpeas), GrapeNuts®, kidney beans, lentils, navy beans, oatmeal, pumpkin seeds, raisins, soybeans, soymilk, spinach, sunflower seeds, tofu, tomato juice, whole wheat bread
TryVeg .com - A Guide to Vegetarian and Vegan Eating

I am border line anemic, I take multivitamins and eat alot of foods that have Iron in them, and after I made the change to Veggie never really affected me.

[JarBax]

Cooking in an iron pot also counts towards your iron intake!

[sweetjay6891]

My mom is anemic and vegan. She eats alot of dark leafy greens and iron supplements.

[ScottandDebbie]

*Both* Scott and I became anemic on our vegan diet.

If I may, I will link you back to my post.
Click Here

After consulting with two, very knowledgeable, *vegan* doctors we were directed to take B12.
But it should to be sublingual tablets, (dissolves under the tongue)

The brand that was recommended to us was Natural Factors, 1000 mcg.

At first we were taking iron, but were told we were getting enough iron in our diet, but lacked B12, which is needed in conjunction with iron for proper nutrition.

So... each and every morning we have been taking our B12, and our hemoglobin levels are normal.

The anemia problem was solved.

[jabberwock]

Iron from non-animal sources is "non-heme" iron and is generally absorbed less efficiently by the body than iron from meat. Eating/drinking lots of vitamin C-rich foods increases the body's absorption of iron from plant sources, as can vitamin B12 (and manganese I think, but you'd better check).

The oxalic acid in spinach can bind to the iron and inhibit the body from absorbing it, so it's not such a good source as the raw data would make it out to be. Generally it's better not to rely on a single plant food for all your iron but to try and eat a wide variety of iron-rich foods and supplement if necessary.

On comforting thing I was told while pregnant was that dark chocolate is a good source of iron (and it's often vegan too).

[homeschoolmama]

Yup, ditto the B-12 suppliments to help with absorption.

And the iron pot. Your grandma's cast-iron skillet slow-cooking spaghetti on the back burner all day is one of the best ways to "sneak" iron into your system.

I have been borderline anemic on & off for years, but iron suppliments don't break down in my system at all. So I've had to find other ways to keep my iron up. I drink a lot of tea, and one thing I was told was to drink my tea between meals rather than with them because the tannin in tea can hinder iron absorption. Here are some of the foods I've found that have helped:

Iron fortified cereals - hot and cold both
Brown Rice (not white)
Most of your seeds
Most of your beans & legumes
Broccoli (though I've heard it's not digested as well by several people)
Skin-on baked potato
Tofu
Molasses (see? gingerbread cookies ARE good for you!)
and most of your dried fruits

I sure hope that helps a bit!
love,
mom

[ScottandDebbie]

Great Information. Aren't we a *smart/ informed* group?

Ditto on what jabberwock stated about variety.
And the Molasses that homeschoolmama mentioned. Molasses was also recommended by one of our doctors. GULP... yes, you might want to stir it up in a batch of cookies. Might go down easier.. Personally I haven't acquired a love for it yet, but I am working on it.

I wanted to add the importance of eating *fresh* vit C.
Not frozen, heated or bottled.
Vit C is a very fragile vitamin.

My *rule of thumb* is...
Straight from the original source to your mouth is always the best.

[Susan9608]

Guys - please consult your doctors before trying any vitamin, herbal, or mineral supplement suggested by someone on the forum. While I'm sure everyone here is very knowledgable and has the best of intentions, there are many vitamins, herbals, and mineral supplements that can interact with prescription medications you may be taking.

Please also don't assume that you have an iron deficiency and/or B-12 deficiency; self-medicating for these things can be dangerous, if you happen to too much iron. Only a medical doctor (or licensed nutritionalist, nurse practicioner, etc.) can diagnose a condition like that.

Guys, also remember, recommending *foods* that are high in vitamins and nuritional value is different than recommending specific vitamins and/or treatments for medical problems (and yes, anemia and B-12 deficiency are medical problems.) People on the forum can claim to be any variety of medical professionals, but there is no way to prove or verify their credentials. And one person's personal experience may not be the same as your, so relying on someone's personal experience with vitamins or nutritional deficiencies is not always the best course of action.

So please, please be wary of offering what could be considered *medical* advice and be wary of taking anything that could be considered medical advice.

The upshot - please don't be recommending specific treatments and specific brands and doses of vitamins, minerals, and herbal supplements.

[ScottandDebbie]

Originally Posted by Susan9608

So please, please be wary of offering what could be considered *medical* advice and be wary of taking anything that could be considered medical advice.
The upshot - please don't be recommending specific treatments and specific brands and doses of vitamins, minerals, and herbal supplements.

I can only speak for myself.
I was ONLY trying to be helpful. And I am a nurse too.
I did NOT view anything out of line in any of the postings.

Members are smart enough to check out all information given.
They KNOW we are not the *masters of nutrition*.
The web is a great source for starters.

Just the mention of using the iron skillet is very helpful, and many don't understand that it has value.

Taking Iron supplements certainly can be dangerous without doctor's advice. Did I miss something, cause I don't recall anyone suggesting taking large dosage of iron supplements.

I don't feel that anyone posted anything out of line in their suggestions.
Speaking for myself... I was only trying to be of help.

Could you try to word things with more sensitivity, and appreciation for members trying to help other members? It stings to be corrected in public.

Example with a gentler touch
Hi Guys... (Just a *head-up*, and I'm certain you already know this)...You'll always want to check with your doc about taking extra vitamins and mineral, don't want you getting sick. This is kind of important.

[JarBax]

I found ScottandDebbie's post very helpful. Knowing that vegetarians need to plan carefully to include sufficient iron and vitamin B12 in their diets, multi vitamins specifically for vegetarians contain both in plenty. However, this information had slipped my memory, until reading ScottandDebbie's post!

Perhaps there could be some kind of 'disclaimer' as a sticky - particularly on the veggie forum, letting folks know that they should consult their doctor before taking any vitamin/herbal remedy/supplement etc that may be mentioned here. I agree that it really should be said somewhere - just in case. But so much medical treatment being discussed on the gp pages, I found ScottandDebbie's post here a helpful anecdote, rather than a post giving medical advice.

[CavySpirit]

I appreciate the warning. As a smart woman who knows about nutrition, I have personally done exactly what Susan warned about.

I was a little anemic -- before being a vegetarian -- and self medicated with iron supplements.

I ended up being sick and had blood in my stool. I had to endure a full GI-series (gastro-instestinal), upper and lower, and for those of you don't know what that is, trust me, you don't want to go through it.

Only to finally realize it was all because the iron pills I had decided to take.

Scott&Debbie's post was helpful. Susan's post was helpful. Let's just leave it at that and get back to the topic at hand. Thanks.