Help anaemia and cooking OS style

sammy_kaye18

topmum - i think that is going to be there next bet if this diet change doesnt work as there are thyroid problems in my family (my grandfather) and my mother in law had the same symptoms and she has an underactive thyroid so ill see how i manage for the month and if no improvement they will probably test me for that next.

lynzpower

I used to be anaemic ( teenager) and one of the most important things I was told is that a lot of ( dont shoot me!) processed carb foods are FORTIFIED WITH VIT C

look out for it on cheap white bread and cheap white flour products. I also think plain white flour is fortified too, so anything contraining these will help

All veg ( like carrots, peas, anything coloourful) is crammed with vit c

Are you SURE you dont like spinach? I only say this as i used to hate it myself ( i tihnk id only had it in the pond formation as i call it) but now I chuck a handful on the top of a pizza or sling a few leaveswith lettuce & rocket into a mixed salad. I grow my own so I have baby leaves which I much prefer they are more tender. ( I dont like the massive tougher leaves half as much ) Ive also had spinach & feta crowns ( you can buy these in tescos ready made, otherwise just get some cheese/ handflul of spinach leaves mix & season then plonk a pile into a square of puff pastry- in the oven for 25 mins on 200 - job done. Just liike a cheese pastie really, but with a bit of goodness thrown in ( to be honest you cant really taste it massively)

Gingham_Ribbon

Okay, you HAVE to get this sorted, you're right. I won't offer medical advice as we're not allowed to do that on the site, but I will tell you my experience.

After the birth of both my children I was very anaemic. With both births I lost a lot of blood and had had hyperemesis through both pregnancies so my diet was the worst it's ever been in my life. I needed a blood transfusion after my first son was born too. I had the same midwife both times and she said she's never seen anyone recover from this so quickly through diet alone.

Take your doctor's advice. I am NOT advising you to handle it without iron tablets if that's what you've been advised. But you can do plenty with your diet TOO. I ate a lot of pulses and combined them with vitamin C rich food to absorb it effectively.

Dried figs, raisins, apricots, chick peas, kidney beans and lentils are good sources of iron; oranges, potato skins, kiwi fruit, peppers, strawberries and broccoli are good sources of vitamin C. In fact, the only plants that don't contain vitamin C are unsprouted grains and dried pulses.

As for spinach, I didn't bother with it. As far as I know it isn't a good source of iron because the oxalic acid in the leaves hinders the absorption of both iron and calcium. I did have a bowl of iron fortified cereal in the mornings though. I think rice crispies had a fair amount in. And I don't drink tea or coffee.

You need to work with your doctor on this and I would suggest that you ask him/her for a referral to a dietician for proper advice.

Three_Dancing_Dragons

We have a history of pernicious anaemia in the family and my mother gets regular B12 injections from her Australian GP.

kickstart_3

Why has your doctor not put you on iron tablets if it is so bad ??? I would go back if i were you and ask . I have chronic anaemia and have iron IV because it is so bad .Honestly if you are so bad all the food you could possibly eat in the world is not going to give you enough iron to remedy this!

Irony

Do not take dairy products at the same time as iron rich meal,it reduces the iron absorbion,so milk in your cereal is a no-no.Soya milk or orange juice instead. Beetroots & black molasses(yuk)v.g
GET TESTED 4 tummy bacteria.Especially if poo isn't flushing away(don't blame the plumbing)

Littlebean_2

Not to everyone's taste I know but have you tried black pudding? Being a Lancashire lass I love them and had a real craving for them during both my pregnancies. I ate a couple per week and my midwife was always really impressed by how good my iron levels were, even though I had both boys within a year.
Black puddings are full of iron and other goodies and low in fat (as long as you have them boiled - rather than fried)

Ytaya

Raisins are a good source of iron. As is dark chocolate, if I recall correctly. A good dark chocolate will have less fat than milk, so it's not actually terribly bad for you, either. Spring for the good stuff, though. Don't get Tesco value chocolate!

Maybe roughly chop some dark chocolate and mix with some raisins to keep around as a snack?

Also, if you can't stomach liver as it is, maybe try liver pate?

Penny-Pincher!!

Hi Hun

Im anaemic constantly and have a blood count of around 7-8. I have to be admitted on to a day ward for top up iron infusions every few weeks which arent nice at all. I will be reading this thread with interest.

I am also on Warfarin, so am unable to eat spinach/cranberries etc as they are anti-coagulants. I also cant have alot of beef:rolleyes:

I take 4 iron tablets a day and 2 Sanatogen Gold vitamins which are perscribed on perscription. I have a glass of OJ a day as this helps to absorb the iron. One consultant gives me Vit D injections every 3 weeks to help absorb something too

Do you like Guiness? This has a good iron content in it apparently Cockles are good if boiled, black pudding, liver etc.

I do sympathise with you. I look like a ghost....ask BargainRzl...and my hubby has to check my heart is beating sometimes Im so pale...he wishes:rotfl: :eek:

Hugs

PP
xx

Robothell

kickstart wrote: »

Why has your doctor not put you on iron tablets if it is so bad ??? I would go back if i were you and ask . I have chronic anaemia and have iron IV because it is so bad .Honestly if you are so bad all the food you could possibly eat in the world is not going to give you enough iron to remedy this!

I'd have to agree with kickstart on this one. If your anaemia is so bad that you are that symptomatic your iron stores must be really low. If it's a pure deficiency and it's been running for this long you really should get further investigations. Sometimes it can be due to "tummy bacteria" - specifically helicobacter pylori, that can give stomach irritation and lead eventually to ulcers. It can be due to heavy periods, bad piles, nosebleeds etc. Also coeliac disease can present with anaemia and is probably more common than figures would lead us to believe.

Red meat, beans and potatoes are all high in iron, vitamin C does help iron absorbtion. Spinach is not high in iron, that was a typing error on the part of the author of that particular study misplaced a decimal point, making it look like spinach had ten times as much iron as it really has.

It's worth giving the diet a try but if it doesn't get better in a month or so I would go back and ask if there are other ways to boost your iron and if any more investigations should be done. Iron supplements may bind you up, but if you take a mild "un-binder" you can get the benefit without the nasty side effect. If you don't get any satisfaction I personally would ask to be referred to the local hospital's general medical clinic.

BBC fact sheet
Spinach myth