Iron Rich Foods

Iron deficiency anemia is the most common type of anemia and frequently occurs in girls and women during the female reproductive years. While excessive blood loss most commonly causes iron deficiency anemia, increasing your dietary intake of iron-rich foods can both help prevent and treat low iron levels in your blood.

What treatment is best for you depends on the severity of your anemia. For example, severe cases often require a blood transfusion, while mild to moderate cases of iron deficiency usually require treatments such as iron supplements and/or dietary changes to increase the amount of iron that you consume.

Whether you have a severe or mild case of iron deficiency anemia, a diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia usually means a change in your diet. This means that you will need to increase the amount of iron-rich food that you consume, as well as increase your intake of folic acid and vitamin C in foods. (Vitamin C helps your body absorb iron better.)

Depending on the severity of your iron deficiency anemia, your doctor may also prescribe iron supplements, as well as vitamin C supplements.

Girls and women with iron deficiency anemia should increase their intake of red meat, such as beef and liver. This is because the iron in meat is more easily absorbed than the iron in fruits and vegetables.

Other good sources of dietary iron include:

egg yolksfish and shellfishpoultryporkprune juicedried fruits, such as raisins, apricots, and peachesbeans and nuts, including legumes, peas, almonds, peanut butter, and red, white, and baked beanswhole grain breadiron-fortified cereals, breads, and pastadark green leafy vegetables, such as spinach and other greens

You can increase your vitamin C intake by eating more:

oranges, grapefruits, lemons and other citrus fruits (including fruit juices)kiwi fruitmangoesapricotsstrawberriescantaloupewatermelonbroccolipepperstomatoescabbagepotatoesleafy greens, such as spinach and romaine lettuce

Side effects of iron and vitamin C supplements include dark stools and heartburn or other stomach irritations. Iron may also cause constipation, and you may need to take a stool softener while using iron and vitamin C supplements.

Finally, you should be aware that consuming too much iron is dangerous and can cause a condition called hemochromatosis, or iron overload. Talk to your doctor if you experience any side effects while using iron or vitamin C supplements.

See: What Is Iron Overload?

If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, talk to your doctor about increasing your iron intake with supplemental iron.

Sources:

NHLBI. How is Iron Deficiency Anemia Treated? http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/ida/ida_treatments.html. Accessed 09/11/08.

Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia. Iron Deficiency Anemia. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000584.htm. Accessed 09/28/08.

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