Vegetarians & Vegans Support Group
Vegetarianism is the practice of not consuming the flesh of any animal . Veganism excludes all animal products from diet and in some definitions from attire also. Vegetarians have varied motivations including religious, cultural, ethical, aesthetic, environmental, social, economic, health, political, and personal concerns. Join many others in sharing your experiences to...
I'm new to the group. I've been a vegetarian the past 20 years. I'm now 35. I've never had a problem with nutritional deficiencies. But I'm 31 week of pregnancy with my first child, and at the last midwife visit my blood results revealed a low iron level. I am not anemic (and never have been)... but the midwife believes I'm at risk of becoming so (because pregnant women need to increase their iron levels by 50%). She recommends that I take iron supplements. I'd rather increase the iron in my diet. I read up on this and found out that there are two types of iron -- heme and nonheme -- and non-meat sources of iron are always nonheme. The absorption rate of nonheme iron can much more easily be affected by other things you ingest. So drinking/eating something with high vitamin c can improve the iron absorption rate during a meal. Whereas drinking tea (including green tea), coffee or milk can significantly decrease your iron absorption rate. What confuses me is that I've read in more than one source that legumes and soy products can decrease your body's ability to absorb iron ... but on the other hand ... lentils and soy beans are an important source of iron in a vegetarian diet. Does anyone know much about this? I'm going to stop drinking green tea ... but should I really be concerned about the iron blocking effects of lentils or soy? I know ... it's a complicated question. Thanks in advance.
IMO too much soy just seems to not be good. Soy is high in iron but also very high in estrogens. When I use too much soy my health quickly deteriorates. It is a convenience but not a healthy one. I stay on 1-2 small servings of mostly fermented soy as tofu or soy yoghurt a day. (when I am doing what I know I should be)
I have the exact opposite problem of what you are dealing with, I was born with an iron overload disease. Iron absorbtion rates is always an issue for me.
You are right, vitamin C will asist in absorbing iron and tea will block the absorbtion to a small degree. When I am eating complete vegan (had been for many years) I will overload fast because my diet is loaded with natural iron from fresh green leafy veggies and beans. I never heard of beans such as lentils blocking iron.
If you started eating several large portions of raw spinach a day with a glass of orange juice you might bring your hematocrit-hemoglobin up. Do you eat leafy greens daily like collard and kale? They have to be lightly steamed but are loaded with iron and essential vitamins. Check with your Doctor though he/she may want you on iron suppliments anyway.
Good luck.
One way to get a buttload of iron into your diet is to eat a lot of dark-green leafies and crucifers, like cauliflower, turnips, and cabbage. Do you have a juicer? I read in a magazine last week that you can get 22 servings of fruits and veggies into your diet daily and harmlessly by juicing organic produce. I ran out and bought one immediately. I discovered that cabbage juice does not taste like sweatsocks at all if you add pineapple and ginger to the juicer at the same time.