Have you been feeling sleepy, run down, dizzy, or low in energy? Are you feeling short of breath or having a hard time focusing at work? Have you noticed that your skin is pale, or you often have headaches? 
It may have something to do with how much iron you're getting in your diet. An adult woman should get 18 mg of iron a day and if you're not reaching this goal, you may have iron deficiency anemia. Our bodies need iron to make hemoglobin, a substance in red blood cells that enables them to carry oxygen. If your cells aren't getting oxygen, then you'll experience the symptoms I mentioned above. You may also notice brittle nails and cold hands.
You may be at risk for low levels of iron if you tend to have heavy periods, are pregnant or just had a baby, if you are a long-distance runner, are a strict vegan, if you frequently donate blood, or if you have a gastrointestinal condition that makes it hard for you to absorb nutrients from your food. Meat, fortified cereals, dried beans, spinach, and potatoes with the skin are great sources of iron. To find how much iron they contain and see what other foods contain iron read more.
| Food | Amount | Amount of Iron (in mg) |
| Fortified cereal | 1 oz | 4.5 - 7 |
| Dried apricot | 1/4 cup | 1.5 |
| Raisins | 1/4 cup | 1.1 |
| Molasses | 1 tbsp | 3.3 |
| Garbanzo beans | 1/2 cup, cooked | 3.4 |
| Pinto beans | 1/2 cup | 2.2 |
| Lima beans | 1/2 cup | 2.2 |
| Lentils | 1/2 cup | 3.2 |
| Soybeans | 1/2 cup | 7 |
| Tofu | 1/2 cup | 6.2 |
| Sun-dried tomatoes | 1/2 cup | 9 |
| Spinach | 1/2 cup, raw | 2.7 |
| Kale | 1/2 cup, steamed | 2 |
| Broccoli | 1/2 cup, raw | 1 |
| Asparagus | 1/2 cup, steamed | 1 |
| Potatoes, with the skin | 1/2 cup | 3.2 |
| Pine nuts | 1/2 cup | 9 |
| Peanuts | 1/2 cup | 3.9 |
| Pumpkin seeds | 1/2 cup | 14 |
| Sunflower seeds | 1/2 cup | 6.7 |
| Flaxseed | 1/2 cup | 6.2 |
| Ground beef | 1 patty | 4 |
| Steak | 3 oz | 4 |
| Turkey (dark meat) | 3 oz | 4 |
| Oysters | 3 oz, steamed | 7.4 |
| Trout | 3 oz | 4 |
| Shrimp | 3 oz | 4 |
| Egg | 1 large | .7 |
Fit's Tip: You can take iron supplements, but they may cause an upset stomach, heartburn, or constipation, so it's best to get your iron from foods. It's rare, but you can also get too much iron. Extra amounts of iron in the body eventually build up to dangerous levels and can cause severe damage to organs trying to store the extra iron. So be careful not to exceed your daily amount too often.
Bunny Hug
I know I don't get enough iron, so I have been taking an iron pill daily and really noticed a (good!) difference!
1I don't. I'm an "accidental vegetarian:" I'm not a vegetarian, but I eat meat very rarely.
I've never been able to give blood as a result. Last time, the Red Cross volunteer told me that I could eat nails for two weeks straight and not have enough. Sheesh! I did get an "I tried!" sticker out of it...
2i probably don't, which could explain my exhausted state now, and i hated taking the iron tablets when i was on them. blah. need more food with iron in them.
3Hm...I wonder if this applies to me. Lately I've been so exhausted for no reason.
4I guess I do since I supplement my morning smoothie with flaxseed (although not 1/2 a cup, but I also eat a lot of tofu.
5I don't get enough iron, I eat these foods (minus the meat - I'm a vegetarian, reason why I don't get enough) and I take a supplement that contains 100% of my daily needs. I don't think I'm absorbing it all into my system, so I try to eat iron rich foods, on top of taking a supplement, on top of eating iron absorption enhancing foods.
6let me tell you that i know FIRST HAND what it's like to be sooo severly anemic that you can't do anything. for months i couldn't figure out why i was so tired and why i was getting super winded even just walking up stairs when i know that i'm in good shape and it turned out that although i thought i was eating enough iron, my body wasn't absorbing it. i was on IV's of iron for 2 months and now i'm getting back to normal - so PLEASE PLEASE listen to these options about what you can eat to get enough iron.
i'm a vegetarian so it was a little more challenging for me - but i think that if you're good about it you can maintain a healthy diet.
7Not long ago, I started using blackstrap molasses as a sweetener for tea, I'd def recommend it.
Pretty easy to incorporate in your diet!
8oh my ilanac13, that sounds horrible!
My doctor has me taking iron supplements - beforehand she did a blood test to check my total blood count and we are going to re-test in 2-3 months to see if the supplements are being absorbed and there is an improvement.
9I dont think being a veg is an excuse. Just check the iron amount in pumpkin seeds; anyway there is a ton of vegetables in that list.
10I agree - I am vegetarian too and you must pay attention to what you eat. If you are eating breads and cheese and pasta all the time- you will not get enough iron. I ate badly for the past two weeks and it hit me badly this week.
11i find eating iron fortified cereal helpful, you get it without even worrying or taking a pill...
12what about beef?
13A few weeks ago I was turned away from donating blood because of low iron, and the associate told me to be careful of foods that can interfere with iron absorption. One of those is milk, so if you eat your iron-enriched breakfast cereal with milk, you're only getting part of the benefit.
iVillage has a good page on this (written for pregnant women, but good all-around advice): http://parenting.ivillage.com/pregnancy/pfitness/0,,45h5,00.html.
14sonyabonya-- I'm anemic so I have to take iron supplements, but they can be really harsh. If it was your stomach that was preventing you from taking the supplements (as opposed to the actual having to take a pill!) then I would try Ferrous Gluconate tablets instead. Most iron tablets are ferrous (something else) and I hated them.
So yeah, just a tip! It's a little harder to find, but if you ask the pharmacist they can usually find it.
15yeah i really should try to include more iron into my diet, specially since having thalassemia (minor) also contributes to my low iron levels.
16If your stomach can't tolerate the iron, take it on an empty stomach and eat right after. To help absorption you can take a vitamin C tablet or take it with orange juice.
I was so severely anemic that I couldn't stand up in the shower long enough to shampoo my hair. If you don't pay attention to that you could end up in the hospital getting a transfusion. I think I was about a day away from that. Technically I'm still very anemic but I feel so much better than a few months ago. I had to take three iron pills a day... Believe me, I know how hard it is. Sometimes you just have to do it for your health. I have to take iron the rest of my life. Unless, of course, someone finds a cure for UC.
17I try to get enough iron in my diet, but I eat very little red meat and other high-iron foods. So I take a multi with iron just to make sure I get enough.
18All those symptoms sound way too familiar and I never thought of this...weird...I should really think about increasing my iron and see if it makes a difference!
19Ferrous sulfate is the cheapest, but LEAST absorbable form of iron, the MOST constipating, and most abundantly found. Please look for ferrous gluconate, even better if its in a natural herbal base. Check with a health food store.
20Any suggestions as to what is the best way to get iron quickly as I have just found out i have a deficiency??
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