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All about Iron -- are you getting enough?

Posted on Aug 28th 2007 10:14PM by Martha Edwards

Filed Under: Nutrition & Supplements

Iron is an important nutrient to get in your diet -- not getting enough can lead to exhaustion and anemia. But while people tend to think that red meat is the best source of iron, that's just not true -- there are plenty of lean and even vegetarian sources of iron. Such as? Beans, green veggies, nuts, eggs, molasses, enriched pasta, potato skins and much more. Fitsugar has a great post on Iron and where you can find it.

Adult women should be getting 18 mg of iron a day, which shouldn't be too difficult if you eat a well-balanced, healthy diet. Just don't overdo it -- you can get too much iron too.

Are you getting enough?

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Tags: anemia, balanced diet, BalancedDiet, fortified, iron, nuts, pasta, red meat, RedMeat, veggies

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smdryad 8-28-2007 @ 10:40PM

If you do need supplemental iron, during pregancy for example, avoid inorganic iron forms like ferrous sulfate. This is derived from rocks, and it doesn't work very well in the body. This is the type of iron that causes stomach upset, constipation, and other problems. Forms like ferrous fumarate come from a plant source, and the body is able to utilize it better. Take iron separately from calcium, as the two tend to bind together and and become inert. Vitamin C, on the other hand, increases the absorption of iron. So it is good to pair an iron rich food or supplement with a source of vitamin C. Here is my favorite supplement form of iron, it's combined with the vitamin C in a single tablet. http://www.shaklee.net/good_health/product/20491