Anemic

[Marin Mom]

Doctor says I am very anemic according to a blood panel I just had. Has anyone been through this and overcome it just by "upping the greens"? I am having a daily green smoothie now but I do have salads every day anyway so needless to say I am confused and diappointed. :confused:

Thanks.

[Inca_faerie]

Hi Marin Mom

I was anemic as well for a while and I tried incorperating a few different iron containing foods into my diet such as dark leafy greens but I didn't really notice much improvment so now I use an iron supplement of 50 mg every second day and am feeling quite a bit better and less tired. :)

[debilana]

I read sprouted legumes like lentils and pumpkin seeds have iron too.

[coco]

here's a chart
http://www.fatfreekitchen.com/nutrition/iron.html

juicing may be a way to get concentrated iron. pair iron rich foods with vit c foods for best absorption and have them alone to optimize absorption as well. starting out the day with a glass of water and lemon juice (drink with a straw to spare your teeth the acidity) is a great way to up hydrochloric acid production. sufficient exercise has a terrific effect on digestion and proper usage of nutrient intake.

good luck! i take a supplement myself, 3 months on 6 months off followed by testing to see where i'm at (usually back to a very low level).

[Marin Mom]

Thanks all for your helpful suggestions. I am off to HFS now for what I need!

[Alina]

Hi Marin Mom,

The best foods for anemia are cherries, green leafy vegetables, super blue green algae, and raw cacao. Cherries and greens must be organic, of course :)

Most supplements are not recognized by the body as food and are flushed out from the system so your best bet would be to eat the right kind of foods.

Good luck!
Alina

[coco]

iron supplements work. my iron is very low no matter my diet and only goes up when i take the supplements. i have looked at the underlying causes of chronic low iron but none apply to me, it is just my constitution as it is. even eating red meat has no real impact on my iron levels, it has to be in a concentrated form to make a difference for me.

[Aleesha Sattva]

my doctor told me my residual iron levels are low and gave me 6 months to get them up through diet. he told me to simply add some citrus to my green smoothies so my body absorbs more iron from my greens. i go for another test in the next week or two so i'll let you know if it worked. i can tell you though... that i feel better than i was... so i think it's working.

(i have been fasting a lot and doing lots of watermelon juice with the rind and a touch of lime juice in the last months)

[Inca_faerie]

iron supplements work. my iron is very low no matter my diet and only goes up when i take the supplements. i have looked at the underlying causes of chronic low iron but none apply to me, it is just my constitution as it is. even eating red meat has no real impact on my iron levels, it has to be in a concentrated form to make a difference for me.

Ditto. ;)

Another thing to take into consideration regarding the iron issue is that polyphenols found in plant based foods tend to inhibit iron absorption. Cacao, while very iron rich containes huge amounts of polyphenols and can actually lower iron levels. An elemental iron supplement is the best way to go if your levels are low *rhymed*:p in my groovy little opinion.:)

[girl81]

my doctor told me my residual iron levels are low and gave me 6 months to get them up through diet. he told me to simply add some citrus to my green smoothies so my body absorbs more iron from my greens. i go for another test in the next week or two so i'll let you know if it worked. i can tell you though... that i feel better than i was... so i think it's working.

(i have been fasting a lot and doing lots of watermelon juice with the rind and a touch of lime juice in the last months)

Does citrus somehow inhibit the oxalates from binding with the iron in greens?

[freshlight]

Beetroot, spinach, sprouts&lots of greens helped me a lot when I was anemic. Take care,
Eva.

[adiebabe]

Phytates and phytic acid (from raw whole grains and unsprouted seeds, nuts and legumes) bind with minerals making it impossible for your body to absorb them. You can help destroy phytates and the acid by sprouting seeds and grains, soaking beans, consuming miso or combining acidic foods with foods containing iron (or whatever mineral you are concerned about)...hence the citrus people are referring to.
http://www.diagnose-me.com/cond/C212360.html


Iron uptake is also inhibited by tannins (non-herbal teas and red wine)

More info: http://sickle.bwh.harvard.edu/iron_absorption.html

To do this is easy, combine meals with broccoli and/or spinach with red or orange peppers, or make a salad with a citrus (say, strawberry-orange vinigrette?) dressing. Essentially, combining iron containing ingredients with Vit. C containing ingredients, which also increases absorption.

[freshlight]

funny you say that: I've been craving lemons and broccoli when I was anemic.......so, our bodies ARE wise. Lets trust in them :)

[RawKnitster]

1 tablespoon of hemp seeds has 22% of the daily RDA of iron.

1 heaping tablespoon Vitamineral Green (Alissa's Green Food Powder appears to be identical) has 12-20mg of non-toxic iron. That is 150% to 250% RDA.

Adding a tablespoon of each to a daily green smoothie seems like an easy way to prevent anemia.

[spicyfull]

Raisins are also high in Iron.

[klomasius]

Does citrus somehow inhibit the oxalates from binding with the iron in greens?

Not sure if that's it's exact mechanism as I think it may aid in the absorption of iron in a range of food sources. I always put citrus in my green smoothies partly because of this.

Even though we may eat lots of greens, if it's not in blended form then often we don't get much iron per ounce as it's mostly still locked up in the cellular 'boxes'.

I try to drink green smoothies regularly and also take a natural iron supplement made from naturally occurring iron rich mineral water. The brand is called spatone.

[jurence]

my doctor told me my residual iron levels are low and gave me 6 months to get them up through diet. he told me to simply add some citrus to my green smoothies so my body absorbs more iron from my greens. i go for another test in the next week or two so i'll let you know if it worked. i can tell you though... that i feel better than i was... so i think it's working.

(i have been fasting a lot and doing lots of watermelon juice with the rind and a touch of lime juice in the last months)

I don't like doctors like that. "He gave you 6 months" What does that mean? He was going to pull the plug on the raw diet? I always go in knowing more a bout the situation i am facing (unless in this case you didn't know about it beforehand) than the doctor does. Doctors aren't as special as people make them out to be. They took a course that says "here is normal" "here is not normal" "here it the medicine to fix that". I'd ask a holistic doctor- but insurance probably doesn't cover that.

And yeah, Iron supplement will fix that right up.

[katrina]

Quote:
Originally Posted by coco http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?p=453840#post453840)
iron supplements work. my iron is very low no matter my diet and only goes up when i take the supplements. i have looked at the underlying causes of chronic low iron but none apply to me, it is just my constitution as it is. even eating red meat has no real impact on my iron levels, it has to be in a concentrated form to make a difference for me.

Ditto.

Another thing to take into consideration regarding the iron issue is that polyphenols found in plant based foods tend to inhibit iron absorption. Cacao, while very iron rich containes huge amounts of polyphenols and can actually lower iron levels. An elemental iron supplement is the best way to go if your levels are low *rhymed*:p in my groovy little opinion.:)

WOW! I am so glad to read this post! I have been SUFFERING with all the regular symptoms of anemia and have been anemic all my life and didn't even realize I am in the midst of another bout of it. I have been TORN (baaaaad) about how to deal with it the past couple of days thinking everything I was going through was detox. I've eaten cooked food thinking the raw was "making me sicker" (detox of course) and yes, I've paid for it. I was also considering adding some cooked grains back to my diet but got grossed out everytime I thought about it. But thank God, I remembered last night while laying in bed that I had prescription poly iron 150 caps and got up and took one. I talked to the pharmacists today and she advised me to up the dose by to 3 a day till I can get some bloodwork done. I've had two already today and I feel so much different and better that I could almost cry thinking how bad I was feeling for over a week now. Hurting ALL OVER, joints and hips and ovaries, nauseated and exhausted and sleeping 10-12 hours at a time, no energy, brain fog and depression.

For the record, the last time I was diagnosed severly anemic, I had been raw for about 8 months and had eaten truckloads of spinach greens (my fav at that time). I was very dissappointed and deluded at that point about how I got that way while eating raw. But it is my body which is different than anyone else's body and there is no point in suffering when one supplement makes me whole. Thank God!

And lo...I guess I dealt myself the final blow about 10 days ago when I bought a big bag of raw cacao powder and started adding it to my morning smoothies and making chocolate sauce to drown my bananas in. I was my own worst enemy and just about finished myself off! :eek:

[RawSar]

mmm dates are too :)