iron and vitamin B12

[cbd]

been told i have low levels in iron and B12 any ideas what foods I could eat to help boost my levels up more. I'm on iron tablets for 3 months and need to do a blood test in a months time

Not spinach!

Red meat is your best bet. Liver if you can stomach it.
Dried fruit eg apricots, figs and so on.

Do you have heavy periods? I was anaemic from heavy periods and went on the pill. That plus iron tablets for three months and all was well (and still is).

Don't eat liver if you are pregnant

I'm currently 33 weeks pregnant, so any help would be appreciated.
Thank you

Ferroglobin is great for low iron.

Breakfast cereal is high in both so start day with that

Watch you don't get constipated, take lactulose if needed.

Red lentils
Red meat a couple of times a week.
Broccoli and green veg

I took floradix when pregnant, it was gentle on the stomach.

There are different types ,causes and treatments of anemia .

This link has info on B12 and what foods to eat ,lack of it is common in vegetarians .
www.nhs.uk/Conditions/vitamins-minerals/Pages/Vitamin-B.aspx

I have B12 supplements: Solgar sublingual nuggets.

B12 can be hard to absorb for some people.

does anyone know anything about b12 injections? I am a veggie and am tempted to try them to see what difference they make compared to tablets.

Injections are ,I think ,more likely to cause side effects - rash etc ,if you're ok on supplements I'd stick with that .

hmm, thanks.

I have lowb12 (found when testing about my neuro condition) and get 3 monthly injections as it's by far the best way to absorb enough. Levels have been normal and steady for 6 months now.

thanks weegie, how do you feel on them? Is there a difference?

I can't say I notice a difference, but that's not to say there isn't one. I suffer from a Demyelinating polyneuropathy - basically numbness from knees down, elbows down, lower face, poor balance, and no position sense (I can't clap my hands with my eyes closed, for eg). It's an autoimmune condition. But as B12 is important for nerve function, when they found mine was low it was just one other thingto try out. I don't know how much difference it makes but even if it's small, it might be the difference between me managing to walk and needing my wheelchair on any given day.

of course no harm in trying, your condition is more serious than my feeble vegetarianism, I hope it is helping you.

It's quite uncommon to be short of B12 through dietary deficiency if you are not a vegan. It is more common to be short of B12 if you have a problem absorbing it - perhaps due to coeliac, for example. This can also cause iron-deficiency anemia. I was anaemic for years, assuming it was down to being a vegetarian (at the time) and heavy periods, so no further investigations were done, but it turns out I have coeliac. Dead easy to manage now. It's worth finding out why you are low in these.

Weegie - the paleo diet has been helpful for many people with autoimmune conditions, including MS, which is also to do with myelination of nerves. Might be worth you looking at it.

I'm not low as such but I take a supplement as I have heavy periods. I also notice my eyes seem less sunken but that could be because I'm not as run down as I was.

Have you been checked for intrinsic factor antibodies? If you have these you will be unable to absorb any vitamin B12 from your diet this is primary pernicious anaemia you can have secondary pernicious anaemia due to a malabsorption disorder such as coeliac disease it is possible to have both - I do. I inject my B12 regularly. I also take folic acid as I am unable to absorb that too.

herbwoman I've been looking at the palaeo diet thing, but only seem to be able to find anecdote/blogs etc, nothing scientific about it? Could you possibly point me in the right direction. I'm not sure it would be doable for me, certainly not with 3 kids, a Very Hungry Husband and the fact that my problems with my hands stop me from doing a lot of food prep. And I couldn't give up cheese and chillies!! Thanks for mentioning it though, it sounds interesting!

Weegie - I don't think there is a huge amount of scientific stuff yet. Loren Cordain has looked at paleo connected with MS the most I think so you could search for him. There are a few videos on youtube with him giving talks about it. Mark Sissons Primal diet does include cheese, although suggests that you stick to unpateurised cheeses. And I don't think you'd need to give up chillies! Breakfast is quite easy to do either primal or paleo - eggs, fruit, yogurt, left over meat. Lunch - I don't often eat it, but sometimes salad and can of fish, dinner - whatever meat and more veg. Your hands might be a problem with too much chopping - could your husband do some chopping the evening before and store in containers in the fridge? It might be worth you trying it for a couple of months and see if you notice any benefit.
Robb Wolf's website and book are also interesting.

Thanks herbwoman. might well be worth a try. I have to get through 2 days in hospital first (tomorrow and Friday for immunuglobulin IV and I'm not doing that without dairy milk !