How do I get more iron in my blood without tablets?

Question

Or should I take them?

Answer 1

i never recommend tablets. Natural is always better. You might want to replenish your iron supply by taking in regularly of the following : raisins, grapes, red meat, lentils, red grape juice, sardines, liver, spinach...
One thing i need to mention though, is that vitamin c and iron consumption go hand in hand, the one is responsible for the absorption of the other into the body, so, stock up on vit c (oranges and citrus fruits, potatoes and other such veggies) in its natural form the better...helps fight off illnesses and as you know, the iron is necessary to keep your blood count normal so that you don't feel faint or without energy to do anything.

Answer 2

You need to include some red meat in your diet if you dont do already. For Iron to be absorbed into our blood you need to make sure you consume foods rich in vitamin C as well as meat. If you like liver, its a good soource of Iron, as is dark green leafy veg. Chocolate is apparently good as well, not sure how good though. Another thing I remember learning in Home Economics was that making curry in an iron pot is good - some reaction between the curry powder and the iron. So, this evening go and make a beef curry, add loads of veg and throw in a few handfuls of fresh spinach at the end. Have it with some brown rice and a side salad. Wash it down with a pint of Guinness which also contains iron.

I've heard that iron tablets can make you constipated so avoid them unless you are severely anaemic.

Answer 3

1 Include HEME IRON Sources (See Table 1)
There are two types of iron in foods: heme iron
and nonheme iron. Meat, poultry and fish contain
heme iron which is much more easily absorbed
by the body than nonheme iron, found mainly
in plant foods.

2 Remember the MEAT FACTOR
Meat, poultry and fish also contain a special
quality called the Meat Factor which helps the
body absorb more nonheme iron. For example,
if you eat meat and vegetables together, you absorb
more iron from the vegetables than if you eat the
vegetables alone.

3 Include Vitamin C Sources (See Table 2)
Foods that contain Vitamin C such as fruits and
vegetables help the body absorb more nonheme
iron. For example, if you eat citrus fruits along with
your cereal, you will absorb more iron from the
cereal than if you eat the cereal alone.

4 Be Alert to Iron ABSORPTION BLOCKERS
Some foods block the absorption of iron. Coffee
and tea (both regular and decaffeinated), whole
grains, bran, legumes (beans), spinach and a high
fiber intake in general are a few examples of iron
absorption blockers. These foods are best eaten
with heme iron sources and/or Vitamin C sources
to help the body absorb more iron.

Answer 4

Rose's answer is good; also if you eat iron and vitamin C together you absorb more of both.
So if you take an iron tablet then take it with a glass of orange juice. Dark green leafy veg and dried apricots have both iron and vitamin C so are good sources.
Lamb or chicken liver cooked and mashed into soup or oxtail gravy is easy to eat if you think you don't like liver.

Answer 5

Liver is a good source of iron, but if you don't care for that, red meat in general is a good source of iron. It all depends on how deficient you are if it,s really serious then maybe you will have to take the tablets.

Answer 6

Take those iron tablets. Or wud u like to risk being infected from Green Veggies like Spinach!

Answer 7

Broccoli is the answer here. It contains more iron than steak or liver.
Be very careful when eating large amounts of foods containing high doses of vitamin A. VA is the only vitamin NOT broken down in the liver, it is merely stored there and just builds up and up, resulting in damage.

Answer 8

You could take iron supplements, but I think that you should try eating some more iron fortified foods such as all green veg, (dont boil the crap out of them), breakfast cereal, steaks (lots of red meats) and sardines etc. There are lots more iron rich foods, you could try to do a search on them. Hope this helped. xxxxxxxxxx

Answer 9

You can ingest iron but eating liver, but to attain the levels you would receive from a supplement you would probably need to eat a lot. I've heard rare beef is also high in iron and some vegetables are also.

Answer 10

Iron rich foods help, but depending on the type of iron defiency you have, you may need the pills and possibly even the once a month B-12 shot, only your doctor can tell you for sure.