Hi All,

I am 11 years post sleeve. I recently had lab work done (it had been quite awhile) and was shocked to find out how anemic I am. I thought I had a decent diet. Anyway....

I am wondering if anyone has some recipe ideas for Iron-rich foods?

Thank you in advance.

I will ask about the best tolerated Iron supplements in another forum.

Anemia is becoming more common these days. I know several women who are anaemic & have regular transfusions. Rarely heard of it 10 years ago.

Are you still eating a high protein diet? Have they looked for a possible cause of your anaemia? Infection, auto immune issue, absorption issue, etc.

Make sure you’re consuming iron rich foods including:

• Red meat, pork and poultry
• Seafood
• Beans
• Dark green leafy vegetables, such as spinach
• Dried fruit, such as raisins and apricots
• Iron-fortified cereals, breads and pastas
• Peas

Increase your vitamin C as it aids iron absorption. As well as citrus fruits try:

• Broccoli
• Grapefruit
• Kiwi
• Leafy greens
• Melons
• Oranges
• Peppers
• Strawberries
• Tangerines
• Tomatoes

Do you still have your dietician’s details? Maybe you can contact them for some advice.

Make sure you take a vitamin C pill on top of your multivitamin. I'm also quite anemic, and I found out I have a problem with absorbing iron. Vitamin C helps the body absorb iron, so I take a multivitamin, eat iron rich foods, and take a vit c supplement and I've managed to keep my iron at the low positive levels (used to be extremely low and had to have iron infusions).

It turns out that most meats have almost as much iron as beef, so eat whatever meat/seafood you want.

Veggies may have good amounts of iron, but it's usually non-heme iron, which is harder for your body to absorb.

It's hard to get enough iron from food unless you are eating enriched/fortified foods, and most of those are not that healthy (think sugar-laden cereals and bread and pasta). Be a label sleuth and figure out some good options. I'm not sure if the iron added to enriched foods is heme or non-heme iron.

Thank you all so much for sharing this wonderful info with me. All very helpful. Thanks for the food list, and suggestions regarding heme and Vitamin C. Very appreciated.

I cook often in an iron pan. It helps boost the iron content. It can go right into the broiler or oven. I take vitamin C like the others said too. Raisins have a high iron content if you’re looking to add a little extra here and there. A couple times a week, who am I kidding, weekends only, I remember to throw in some spinach/ham in an omelette and eat it with 4oz of V8. Kapow!

1 hour ago, learn2cook said:

I cook often in an Iron pan. It helps boost the iron content. It can go right into the broiler or oven. I take Vitamin C like the others said too. Raisins have a high iron content if you’re looking to add a little extra here and there. A couple times a week, who am I kidding, weekends only, I remember to throw in some spinach/ham in an omelette and eat it with 4oz of V8. Kapow!

Great tips, learn2cook! Thanks so much!