Help replace haemaglobin

sce37

Hubby recently had op and lost alot of blood (internal bleeding). Now home but still not recovering well. Advised by doctors that reason for this is loss of haemaglobin in the body and the fact that it would take some weeks for the body to produce new haemaglobin. Now I know iron is a key factor in the production of new haemaglobin and red meats oily fish and leafy vegetables are good source. I would though be grateful for any additional nutritional suggestions that might help him towards a speedy recover.
Many thanks

jue

Sorry to hear about your hubby, but glad he's now on his way to recovery....some helpful hints....
Always combine foods for maximum effect, the body absorbs iron better when it has vitamin C to use at the same time, so always eat iron rich foods at the same time as vitamin C e.g.
Eggs are a good source of iron so you could have a boiled egg for breakfast and have a glass of orange juice with it or
broccoli or any green veg have lots of iron serve with any veg that is orange or yellow as they contain Vit C e.g. carrots or yellow peppers
cauliflower also has lots of vitamin C
Jacket potatoes have both iron and Vitamin C as do the berries....balckberries and strawberries
as well as the meats and fish you mentioned.
Something else to bear in mind as your hubby eats is that caffine and ciggarettes reduce the absorbtion of vitamins and minerals (iron) from the food we eat so avoid smoking and tea and coffee at meal times.
Hope all this helps and your hubby is feeling fit very soon.

jue

Oh and I forgot to add whole meal bread contains iron and is much better for your absorbtion than white ;D

Spendless

advise from jue very good. midwife told me more or less same when i became aneamic during my pregnancies. Another was dried apricots which i found easier to nibble at thruout day

macchicken

I think you can buy iron suppliments over the counter if he's needing a boost in iron the only thing is they can upset your stomach, try taking them just before a meal. also they can make you constipated, not nice.

sce37

Thank you all for your suggestions. They have been very helpful in ensuring that I get the right combinations and variety of foods to help in his recovery.

Trix

Vitamin B12 and folic acid help the body absorb iron, but my favourite source of iron is......................................................................DARK CHOCOLATE ;D

System

Vitamin B12 and folic acid help the body absorb iron, but my favourite source of iron is......................................................................DARK CHOCOLATE ;D

See, i told you all its good for you!!!

Trix

I do get anaemic quite often but since been told the chocolate tip by my mum (who has to have vitamin B12 injections because she has a B12 deficiency meaning her body can't absorb iron from food properly) I somehow seem to get anaemic more often so just HAVE to have dark chocolate............purely medicinal you realise ::)

sce37

Well thats news to me. It will probably be easier to get him to eat dark chocolate than trying to persuade him to eat his greens!

Thanks for that.

Quackers

I lost lots of blood after my first baby & can just echo what Jue said. I always had a glass of freshly squeezed Orange juice with my 'iron fuelled' meals.

I can roughly remember that the average haemoglobin level is about 14 for a woman (but i might be wrong) and mine dropped to 7 . I was told that you are anaemic if you fall below 12!! I should have had a blood transfusion but was petrified. Looking back I should have done as it took me nearly 12months to recover. I am a veggie so it's a bit harder to get the Iron & those nasty iron tablets made my poo black >:(

Best wishes to Hubby - If he's anything like me he'll sleep his way through recovery My hubby had no choice but to look after our daughter ;D