How do you get enough iron?

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I mainly want to ask if you have any difficulty metabolising iron and if or what kind of supplements you take. It seems as if many women have problems getting enough and end up taking too much of the wrong kind for them, which can cause other problems. I understand that copper is essential in the bodies assimilation of iron and could play a larger role than previously thought. Any comments on this and how it may relate to overall health? The whole thing seems very complex and some seasoned info from adults would be very helpful.

Without being too graphic, I can tell you that my wife has this problem and many name brand supplements she has tried are not for her. I especially would like to hear from people who have had this problem and have it under control to some degree.

Any advise will be welcome.

Thanking intelligent women in advance.



Yes, I'm a man and I'm aware it's a woman's forum (a public place, BTW), but I consider this a serious question and I'm asking for help. I don't want any childish comments about this being in the girl's restroom, please. I will expect any of those comments to be removed by a moderator.

There's a lot of iron in meat, red meat.

I take the occassional vitamintablet.

Then again I don't really have problems in that area.

Beans and greens have kept my iron high enough to be a regular blood donor. The information below is from the American Red Cross and may be helpful:

Seek out daily physical activity such as brisk walking. Regular, steady activity encourages the marrow to produce more blood cells.

Minimize smoking, since smoking binds up the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood.

Improve iron absorption by consuming (Vitamin C) at the same meal. For iron-rich foods, see the list below.

Food Amt. mg Iron

Prune Juice 1 cup 10.5
Black Beans 1 cup 7.9
Mung Beans 1 cup 7.7
Garbanzo Beans 1 cup 6.9
Pinto Beans 1 cup 6.1
Baked Beans 1 cup 6.0
Navy Beans 1 cup 5.1
Lima Beans 1 cup 5.1
Soybeans 1 cup 4.9
Rice Bran ¼ cup 4.8
Rice Polishings ¼ cup 4.4
Lentils 1 cup 4.2
Clams 2 oz. 4.2
Spinach 1 cup 4.0
Dry Peaches 5 halves 3.9
Millet ¼ cup 3.9
Turnip Greens 1 cup 3.6
Oysters, raw 2 oz. 3.4
Split Peas 1 cup 3.4
Molasses 1 tbsp. 3.2
Peas 1 cup 2.9
Beet Greens 1 cup 2.8
Black-eyed Peas ½ cup 2.8
Chocolate 3½ oz 2.8
Food Amt. mg Iron

Raisins ½ cup 2.6
Chard 1 cup 2.6
Dates 10 2.4
Dandelion Greens ½ cup 2.3
Tofu 4 oz. 2.3
Tomato Juice 1 cup 2.2
Shredded Wheat 2 2.2
Pumpkin Seeds 2 tbsp. 2.0
Snap Beans 1 cup 1.9
Wheat Bran ½ cup 1.9
Wheat Germ ¼ cup 1.9
Soybean Milk 1 cup 1.8
Kale 1 cup 1.8
Prunes 5 cooked 1.8
Dry Figs 4 1.8
Mustard Greens ½ cup 1.8
Brussels Sprouts 1 cup 1.7
Broccoli 1 cup 1.6
Bran Raisin Bread 1 slice 1.6
Strawberries 1 cup 1.5
Potato 1 1.4
Oatmeal 1 cup 1.4
Egg 1 1.4
Mushrooms 6 1.2

I've had problems with this on and off for years...

Iron supplements...I've found most Dr.'s will insist on ferrous sulfate (or at least mine did)...a no win situation with me...it's hard on the stomach and after about a week of feeling worse taking it I would either start to "forget" or toss it...ferrous gluconate I've found is much easier on the stomach and can be purchased without prescription if need be... although I don't believe it is absorbed as quickly.

Their are also a couple brands of iron supplements in liquid form that seem to work well.

You want to avoid coffee, achohol and any foods that may inhibit your absorbtion...especially right before or after taking your supplements.

Orange juice and citrus fruit will increase your bodies ability to absorb iron...and a glass of OJ with your supplement will make it more effective in that sense.

A list of iron rich foods...

http://www.healthcastle.com/iron.shtml

...I didn't notice dried fruit listed there...but dried apricots I love...rich in potassium, iron and Vitamin C...

My brain is not working too well today...but if I think of anything else I will add it later.

funny i have reseacrhed this..im a man..and i have anaemia....a form of anaemia called thallasaeimia.
taking iron supplements may not be the answer....
for women who lack iron on a regular monthlu basis, iron may help, but it is hte bodies ability to assimilate this iron intot he red blood cell. that makes circulating levels of iron effective.
iron supplements have the word iron written on them, but a lot of them like a poster ha ssaid...arent absorbed very well and th e bioavailability of iron is impotrtant, not how much you take...the availability of iron can be related to how it is taken, what it is taken with, if it is chelated, and how it is assimilated into the haem molecule to make haemoglobin..too much iron can cause haemasidderossis, a condition of the liver.
any one i could go on about this as it has been an obsession in the past......but i will say this....nutritionst will give you the text book stuff that somene here allready has...see a haematologist...u may spell it different in your country, but someone who can talk about blood and bioavailabitiy of iron and iron absorption and assimilation..there is a lot of variotion between species (im a vet)and within a species.....most women do have this problem yes, but see a haematologist to get the advice on if it is just monthly anemia, or something else going on.....low iron can be due to blood loss, which occurs periodically in wokmen...can also be due to a low production of rbc's which can be due to low bioavailabitily of iron or other factors.......sorry long response, but it is not a small thing you ask and it has been a prior obsession of mine..nutrient levels of vitamins, supplement sn dminerals in peformcance animals (horses and greyhounds)

Thanks, guys,

That gives me lots to think about and research further.

What about parsley?
in 100grams of parsley there are 6.2 grams of iron...hmm sounds weird. Do you think it could be possible?

Sure, you can get iron from red meat, but too much of one thing isn't good for you. It's better to get iron from various beans and veggies. Unfortunately now it's probably better to avoid bagged raw spinach as there's been an E.coli poisoning outbreak in several US states. Cooked spinach is still a good option. It helps to have something with vitamin C along with the iron-rich food as it helps with the absorbtion.

Red Meat does not have enough iron to sustain you if you are defficient.(sp)

I have extremely low iron, often resulting in loss of breath. I have to take an iron supplement, and am still low.

I don't, which is why I've already had an iron infusion.

wtf is an iron infusion?

I don't have to take iron supplements, I eat enough red meat that I get plenty. I'm very much a meat, bread, and potatos kind of person... how people actually manage to live on "chick food" is a mystery to me.

I take iron supplements and all. I have iron deficiency anemia plus a hard time metabolizing the iron that isn't in stores either. I'm on 300mg of iron 3x daily.

The doctor fills up a big syringe with iron, and slowly injects it into my arm. If I don't have an allergic reaction I get hooked up to a big bag of iron that goes into my arm by an iv drip. It lasts for about six hours. You can schedule the iron in one big dose or spead it across days. It replaces all of your iron at once, but it's one of those last resort things because of the possible serious side effects.

I guess I'll be buying some steaks, tomorrow.