Real Life Nutrition Questions Answered

Real Life Fitness Questions Answered

Emma Brown
Nutritionist

Janet Aylott
Nutritionist

Kelly Marshall
Fitness Consultant

Q.

What foods will increase my iron intake?

I noticed on a previous post that you gave anaemia as a possible cause for someone's tiredness. I have just come out of a really stressful year in which I became very run-down and although I'm doing better now I still feel very tired regardless of how much sleep I get. I was anaemic as a teenager due to heavy periods, but after going on the pill this problem cleared up. Could I have become anaemic again or do you think its just taking me a while to recover from everything Ive been through over the last year?

Also, my main question is do you have any tips for increasing the amount of iron I eat? I'm not a big fan of red meat so what other foods can I eat to increase my iron intake?
Thanks for your help.


A.

Our expert says...

I think it's quite possible that your problems are due to either stress or anaemia, or a combination of both. Or possibly something different still, so it might be worth seeing your GP, if only to ask for the blood test that will confirm whether you are anaemic or not. In the meantime eating plenty of iron rich foods will be a very good precaution. As you aren't a fan of red meat, it's going to be harder for you to up your levels but not impossible. Nuts, tofu green vegetables, very dark chocolate, eggs, figs and other dried fruit, pork and dark poultry meat sardines , pilchards and especially whitebait are all good sources. Also start the day with a bowl of fortified cereal and team meals with juice or salad, containing vitamin C which increases iron absorption.

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