I am 20 years old, I study and for many years (since junior high school) I have had problems with iron deficiency. Due to the fact that I cook only for myself, I decided to fight this problem with a diet. I have read a lot of articles and unfortunately there is a lot of contradictory information. I know there's a lot of iron in the liver, but can it be chicken? First, I read that the bran is he althy and rich in iron, which is why I bought wheat bran. I was going to make pancakes out of them, but of course not to eat too much of them. Unfortunately, I recently came across an article telling you to rule out bran in iron deficiency. Mainly, to enrich the body with iron (due to heme iron), you need to eat more meat. Is poultry enough? This is the only meat I eat, mainly because of my student budget, and also because of the small amount of calories that is important to me. I enriched my diet with spinach, millet, pumpkin seeds, liver, parsley and thyme. I drink a lot of water with lemon and fresh cucumber, which is said to be beneficial because vitamin C accelerates the absorption of iron. I exchanged white bread for graham, wheat flour for wholemeal, I eat pasta made from dark durum flour, also dark rice. What else can I introduce to my diet? When choosing products, I pay attention to their price, calorific value, and the speed of making a given dish. I am asking for help, iron deficiency is quite troublesome, especially with my lifestyle and my studies. I would like someone to give me specific information and help me get on the right track with this problem. And one last question at the end - when can I expect the results to improve?
Anemia is a very complicated medical disorder, and iron deficiency is only one of the causes. It's a good idea to go to your GP to rule out other factors and do very thorough research. Sometimes, or even often, increasing your iron intake is not enough. It should be remembered that anemia can also be caused by a deficiency of folic acid, vitamin B6, B12 or insufficient intake of vitamin C, which supports the absorption of this element.
When it comes to the best sources of iron, I definitely recommend animal products, because plant-based products are absorbed in only 2%. Pleasehowever, do not give up on plant products, because they contain other very valuable ingredients necessary for maintaining the balance in the body. What I would limit to a minimum are teas, mostly black. You can drink them, but never with your meal. From vegetables, please exclude: spinach, sorrel, rhubarb. Eating foods with a lot of dietary fiber will make it difficult to absorb not only iron but also other nutrients. This doesn't mean you should eliminate fiber. Just eat it in small amounts up to 4 out of 5 meals. A small portion of fiber is 2 tablespoons of groats, a slice of bread, 2-3 tablespoons of bran. Consume dairy products separately from those rich in iron. Calcium can make it difficult to absorb. In order to fight anemia even better, it is worth remembering about other ingredients. I mean folic acid. You can buy it at a pharmacy (0.4 mg) and additionally increase your consumption of broccoli, lettuce, parsley, and kale. Poultry liver is also a good solution. Another ingredient that will help you is vitamin B6. Choose yeast-based bread and yeast dough. They are its best source. And of course vitamin C, a great source of which is red pepper (the daily dose is 80g of this vegetable to supplement vitamin C). But you eat more of it. Drink lemon water with meat products and green vegetables. I don't know when you can expect an improvement in your results.
Remember that our expert's answer is informative and will not replace a visit to the doctor.
Katarzyna PryzmontKatarzyna Pryzmont - dietitian, psychodietician, owner of the ATP dietary office. He specializes in losing weight for adults, conducts workshops and lectures on motivation when changing eating habits, among others. "How to deal with temptations while losing weight". More at www.katarzynapryzmont.pl
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