Iron Help
Posted by closeyoureyestosee on Oct 08, 2007 · Member since Jan 2007 · 1218 posts
No, this has nothing to do with Iron Chef. ::)
I went to try to give blood today, as I've done several times in the past few months. I got turned away AGAIN because my iron was too low.
I eat spinach, kale, and beans every day. I take vegan supplements that provide 156% of my daily iron requirements. I even stopped drinking black tea because someone told me it was an iron blocker. What do I do??!
Awww...that's too bad. I have also heard of tea hurting iron counts, I don't know how true it is. Are you eating all those sources with some vitamin C? I have heard that helps. I have heard that some plant sources of iron need to be cooked in order for our bodies to get the all the iron from them (like spinach). don't know abouMaybe you shouldn't eat all your greens raw?
(check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinach for a little bit of spinach's nutritional breakdown)
Ooh...I'm eating raw! I think the first time I tried to give blood after I had been turned down for bad iron I started eating cooked spinach and still didn't help. And I get plenty of vitamin C too...I think I get plenty of everything! I eat massive amounts of vegetables and take lots of supplements. This is frustrating!!
I'm sorry, CYETS. I have no wisdom on this subject.
*not ignoring you* ;)
I'm sorry, CYETS. I have no wisdom on this subject.
*not ignoring you* ;)
Ha ha...you're the best. Thank you!
ok, i am not positive because i kind of forget but as well as vit c increasing iron absorption (i think) calcium inhibits it.
you should also check what your hematocrit and hemoglobin counts are, not just blood iron and talk to a doctor about it because then you can see at what stage you are in your deficiency and what you can do to help it (whether your stores are low, whether you aren't absorbing well, whether your intake is low, etc.) a lot of greens actually do not have iron that is well absorbed, unfortunately.
Are you going during or shortly after your cycle? That can hurt your iron count too.
Are you going during or shortly after your cycle? That can hurt your iron count too.
No, that doesn't seem to make a difference. I've gone at all different times. :P