to not want a g.p to tell me,as a vegetarian,to eat lots of meat with my iron tablets

[liveinazoo]

so went to collect blood results.very low iron count and stores...
see g.p who barely had a command of the english language who asked me about diet.explained i was vegetarian and was very mindful what i ate as have a history of aneamia that long predates my vegetarianism to which he replied you must eat planty of meat with these iron tablets i shall prescribe for you!!
i bit my tongue and left quickly.
i dont drink,smoke and am mindful to eat what i can so does that give him the right to judge my lifestyle?AIBU?

I don't get eating lots of meat and iron tablets.

Sounds like he didn't really understand about your vegetarianism. He wasn't necessarily judging your lifestyle, just telling you the best way to resolve your anaemia!

There are two types of iron, haem (found in meat) and non-haem (found in veg). Haem iron is much more easily and effectively absorbed than non-haem iron, and eating red meat would not only give you an easily absorbable source of haem iron, it would aid the absorption on the non-haem iron in your diet and supplements. I would imagine that's why he said it.

As a vegetarian you obviously won't be doing that, but you can aid your absorption of your iron supplements by taking vitamin C with them.

aid the absorption of, not on.

I remember my old home ec teacher telling us to drink orange juice alongside anything with lots of iron in it to aid the absorption.

I used to take the liquid iron supplements in orange juice.

Substitute the word 'spinach' everytime you hear the word 'meat'. Is that difficult?

My doctor adores any kind of funghi and keeps on about the health benefits of mushrooms. I hate them. I just smile and nod and vow never to touch the slippery suckers.

I'm veggie too, and it annoys me when people fail to grasp what vegetarianism entails (my grandma used to hide bits of meat under my roast potatoes, wtf)
But maybe he is from a country/culture where vegetarians are a rare breed?

clearly hellsangel1-ive always thought myself a bit unusual but rare breed sounds so much nicer!ha ha

im allergic to oranges and kiwi but i do eat berries with my fortified cereal and remember to add squeeze lemon or tomatoes to lentils etc,plus eat my body weigh in green veg!

so he probably did not listen/get that you don't eat meat. The problem is that most of the iron in iron tablets does not get absorbed so in the main it is better (and more efficient) to get iron from your diet as well. This is what he was probably getting at.

Is he French? I used to have so much trouble in France with being veggie ('we don't get many of those here'), with a veggie meal dropped on the table with a roast leg of chicken, sausage or lardons as garnish!

OP: Get some Blackstrap Molasses from a health food shop.
It is full of iron.
One large spoonful twice a day, either neat off the spoon and washed down with a warm drink, or dissolved in hot water.
It is very yummy - like treacle.

Just slightly off topic, I was speaking to a colleague the other day who actually though eating organic chicken was the same as being a vegetarian. Give me strength

There are two people I know off who were told, by consultants, to eat meat again because not doing so was making them ill.

Being vegetarian is a choice, and while you can hope people respect that, you should accept that others may have reasons to believe you should make a different choice.

You are mindful of what you eat, and you are told that your diet may be affecting your health, but you take issue with the doctor?

Is it really worth getting het up about? He says eat meat, you say no thanks, move the fuck on. Surely you have something better to get high horsey about vegetarians often do

Is the OP bothered because his English wasn't great so she is concerned that he hasn't understood this, and potentially others, health issues?

Yanbu but they were probably just trotting it out without thinking.

Fwiw don't just substitute the word "spinach" for "meat"
You would have to eat a tonne of spinach and then it's not really as bioavailable for absorption.

Not saying you have to eat meat but people blindly going on about eating bloody spinach annoys me:)

Eating oranges or anything with vitamin C helps with iron absorption. When I had iron tablets while I was pregnant they told me to avoid drinking tea two hours either side of taking a tablet as it stops it absorbing properly, something to do with the tannins I think.

That's what I thought too Moomin

I've visited doctors with a poor speaking skills although their understanding may have been better. It's just that it's difficult, frustrating and scary when you think they haven't understood your concerns.

Perhaps the OP should try and visit another GP if she feels the matter hasn't been resolved.

He has a point. I was veggie for the best part of 20 years. I didn't know how off I was feeling until I wasn't anymore. I've had trouble maintaining my iron stores for years and even though I now eat meat, I still ahve to take supplements. I think the years of vegetarianism did some damage.

But like all medical advice, you are free to disregard it.

I agree euro, no matter how 'mindful' the OP is her iron stores are low and the best/quickest/easiest way to get them up is with red meat, especially as she already eats her own body weight in greens.

OP his advice wasn't wrong, it was simply advice you didn't like.

Just getting over post c-section anaemia myself. Iron tablets, beans and pulses, nuts, dried fruit and lots of vit c to help with absorption. Avoid caffeine and dairy when you take your tablets as they hinder absorption. You don't need to eat meat to get enough iron. Don't know why you've taken such issue with your GP over it though. If I got wound up every time someone didn't get it I'd be having a breakdown by now!

As for high horsey vegetarians I've met far less of those than meat eaters who claim that vegetarians are sanctimonious. Lazy stereotyping I guess. Personally I don't care what anyone else eats.

If you were anaemic before you became vegetarian, then I can't see his reasoning. It would make more sense to work out why you are anaemic as your diet doesn't appear to be the real reason. Have you been tested for coeliac?

By the way, might be worth checking your diet as a number of veg, while high in iron actually prevent absorption of iron including spinach. So while your diet is healthy, and you're taking iron supplements, it may stop the iron being absorbed.

Going vegetarian made me anaemic and iron tablets alone didn't help - I eventually went back to eating meat because it was the easiest way for me to stay "healthy" although I only have it about once a week now.

Red meat is the easiest way to get iron into your bloodstream. Yes, green veg, nuts and pulses help but they're not as effective. If you're already eating plenty of other iron-rich foods and taking tablets, your diet might not be as healthy as you like to think.

As you've been veggie for a while you've probably checked that the Doc has prescribed vegetarian iron tablets - pharmacy can confirm - but if they are ferrous sulphate based probably best check before taking (depending on how strongly you feel about meat/animal by products)

Eggs have iron in them, along with alot of useful b vitamins, but seem to be ignored for some reason. Egg on wholemeal toast after fortified breakfast cereal and orange juice would make a good breakfast. :)