what is the most iron rich meal you can think of

[jumblies]

I need ideas to get my iron levels up in a week. Does anyone know what the most iron rich vegetable is?

Also any ideas for meals which deliver large amounts of iron in small portions (i seem to have lost my appetite recently so am not eating such large portions of anything)

I have also been prescribed iron tablets but always wonder how well they are absorbed.

TIA

[angelene]

Spinach is full of the stuff, as is liver I believe.

[Meglet]

cottage pie with dark green veg.

Orange juice (vit c helpd absorb iron)

And a few squares of proper dark choclate which I think have more iron in them, but this may be wishful thinking.

Lots of cereal is fortified with iron, so a bowl of cornflakes will help.

Not too much tea / coffee as caffiene inhibits iron absorbsion (sp?).

[Meglet]

sorry about the spelling, forgot to preview

[Firsttimer7259]

Watercress and broccoli...

[theowlwhowasafraidofthedark]

Steak and spinach
Do you have spatone - it's sachets of liquid you can add (ideally to orange juice) which contains iron and doesn't have the side effects of iron supplements. You can buy it in Boots.

[Miggsie]

Dried peaches dipped in treacle with spinach and liver with egg yolk.

Not very appetising though.

[alana39]

I've read that spinach has less than we usually think - apparently someone wrote down the wrong number in tests years ago or something?

Here's a link (and the best news is that red wine is on there although that's obviously a bit limited in its use for you at the moment

[Miggsie]

...oh and liquorice...but it gives you a bit of a run for your money!

All red meat.

[gorionine]

Beans,lentils, wholemeal flour, dried fruits, dark green leafy vegetables, nuts, parsley, egg yolk and fortified breakfast cereals, tofu are good sources of iron.

I have a book that says the same Meglet "" The tannin in tea are not as usefull however. They give it body but can interfere with iron absorption."" (Readers Digest Foods that harm foods that heal 1998)

Not aseen anything about iron in dark chocolate though [desapointed emoticon]

[LouIsAWeetbixKid]

lambs fry and bacon with a side serving of spinach. Yum!!!

[whensmydayoff]

Ummm, away to get my nutrition book (sad)...

Right, in order of highest Iron levels...
first is Pumkin seeds, parsley, almonds, prunes, cashew nuts, raisins, brazil nuts, walnuts, dates, pork, cooked dried beans, sesame seeds, pecan nuts

Also says, " Vit C helps to absorb iron as does Vit E and calcium (but not in excess), foilc acid and phosphorus , don't know where you'll get that.

Seems to me if you start your day with a glass of fresh orange and throw a handful of pumpkin seeds in your cereal your on the right road.

[somewhathorrified]

Beetroot...in fact anything that's a dark strong colour in the veg world.

[extremelychocolateymilkroll]

I don't think any veg has anywhere near the iron levels which red meat has and the iron content of veg is more difficult for the body to absorb so you'd have to eat a mountain of spinach to have some effect. Liver of course is very high in iron as has been said before all red meat but you're not supposed to have liver when you're pregnant. You could try Floradix - a liquid iron supplement you can get from Holland and Barrett which won't make you constipated as most iron tablets will.

[illuminasam]

Dried apricots are good.

[ShinyAndNew]

Beef Saag Aloo. It has Spinache and red meat.

[goingtohaveagoodnightssleep]

Floradix is very good and like extremelychocolateymilkroll says it doesn't cause constipation like iron tablets.

[hattyyellow]

According to my doctor it's very hard to get your iron levels up dramatically by means of your diet. He felt the iron tablets were massively more effective. Depends how ropey you're feeling on the low iron I guess. Even spatone is far lower levels.

My levels had dropped to 4 so I was desperate to get them up and I found the tablets worked best. I did a lot of research and took 4 or 6 of them a day instead of the 2 that was recommended and finally felt better.

Apparently the Americans miscalculated the levels of iron in spinach. Someone put the decimal point in the wrong place. Thus Popeye was created to help public health and get children to eat spinach, all on a wrong decimal place. soundmedicine.iu.edu/segment/238/redirect?seg=238

[Thingiebob]

Steak with broccoli, greens and potatoes in their skins.

Wash down with orange juice.

Handful of dried apricots and brazil nuts with some very dark chocolate for pudding.

[Stillcountingthebaubles]

um, not sure but doesn't broccoli have even more iron than spinach I believe .

.am not medical expert but don't think you can get iron levels up in a week can you? Thought it took several months ...

Have a look at this recipel

[annoyingdevil]

Iron from vegetarian sources is not easily absorbed. Red meat is your best bet (with some orange juice on the side)

[colditz]

A moderate sized (6/7 oz) beef steak serves with broccoli, quinoa and a side of orange juice.

[Abubu]

I thought you weren't allowed to eat liver when pg?

[Feelingforty]

you need FEROGLOBIN. You can buy it in Tesco.
Doesn't make you constipated & contains 7mg iron per tsp. So 2 x tsp with a glass of orange & your blood will be up again.

Mine was at 7 & when retested was up at 14. I'm a non-red meat eater who has heavy periods.

[Feelingforty]

BTW you also need the other vitamins & minerals to help your body to absorb the iron. I have taken spatone, which is great, but it is just iron - getting my levels up took a month.

[imaginewittyfestivenamehere]

Spatone - 2 sachets a day in orange juice works wonders, in addition to all these ironrich foods of course