HOW TO IMPROVE LOW IRON LEVELS (7 science-backed tips!)
Summary
TLDRThis video offers seven evidence-based tips to enhance iron absorption and increase iron levels, essential for combating symptoms like fatigue and dizziness. It emphasizes the importance of consuming a variety of iron-rich foods daily, pairing them with vitamin C to boost absorption, and using non-enameled cast iron cookware. Additionally, it advises against consuming coffee and tea with meals, taking calcium supplements simultaneously, and overusing antacids, as these can hinder iron absorption. The video also touches on the significance of identifying underlying causes of low iron levels with professional medical advice, especially for women planning pregnancy.
Takeaways
- 🍽️ Consuming a variety of iron-rich foods daily is crucial for maintaining iron levels and preventing deficiencies.
- 🥩 Both heme iron from animal sources and non-heme iron from plant sources are important, but heme iron is more easily absorbed by the body.
- 🍊 Pairing iron-rich foods with vitamin C can significantly enhance iron absorption due to the properties of vitamin C.
- 🌾 Soaking and straining beans, lentils, and grains before cooking can reduce phytic acid levels, improving iron availability.
- ☕ Avoiding coffee and tea during meals can prevent their compounds from inhibiting iron absorption.
- 💊 Taking calcium supplements or consuming fortified beverages with meals can interfere with iron absorption, so they should be taken separately.
- 💊 Over-the-counter antacids can reduce stomach acid, which is necessary for digesting food and absorbing iron, so they should be used cautiously.
- 🍳 Using non-enameled cast iron cookware can provide an additional source of iron, especially when cooking acidic and moist foods for a long time.
- 👩⚕️ If iron levels remain low despite dietary changes and supplementation, it's important to consult a doctor to explore underlying health issues.
- 🤰 Women planning to become pregnant should check their iron levels and aim to improve them before conception to prevent iron deficiency anemia during pregnancy.
Q & A
What are some common symptoms of low iron levels?
-Common symptoms of low iron levels include fatigue, dizziness, dry skin, and sometimes even hair loss.
Why is it important to eat a variety of iron-rich foods regularly?
-Eating a variety of iron-rich foods regularly is important to ensure a diverse intake of nutrients and to avoid limiting the body's access to essential iron.
What types of foods are typically rich in iron?
-Foods rich in iron include meats, seafood, beans, lentils, grains, nuts, seeds, and some fruits and vegetables.
What is the difference between heme iron and non-heme iron?
-Heme iron is found in animal foods and is generally better absorbed, while non-heme iron is found in both plant and animal foods and is slightly harder to absorb.
How can vitamin C help with iron absorption?
-Vitamin C can boost iron absorption by pairing iron-rich foods with vitamin C rich foods, which enhances the body's ability to absorb non-heme iron.
Why should you avoid consuming coffee and tea with meals if you're trying to increase iron levels?
-Coffee and tea contain compounds like caffeine, tannins, and polyphenols that can inhibit iron absorption, with one study showing a 60% reduction in iron absorption from a meal with just one cup of black tea.
What is the impact of calcium supplements on iron absorption?
-Calcium makes it harder to absorb iron, so it's recommended to take calcium supplements separately from iron-rich meals to avoid interference.
Why should over-the-counter antacids be avoided when trying to increase iron levels?
-Over-the-counter antacids reduce stomach acid, which is crucial for digesting food and absorbing iron. Low stomach acid levels can make it difficult to absorb iron effectively.
How can cooking with non-enameled cast iron cookware potentially increase iron intake?
-Cooking acidic, moist foods for a long time in new cast iron cookware can leach iron from the cookware into the food, providing an additional source of iron.
What should you do if you've tried all the tips in the video and your iron levels are still not improving?
-If iron levels are not improving despite following the tips and taking prescribed supplements, it's important to consult a doctor to explore underlying causes such as celiac disease, Crohn's disease, or heavy menstrual bleeding.
Why is it particularly important for women of childbearing age who are planning to get pregnant to check their iron levels?
-It's important because many women experience iron deficiency anemia during pregnancy. Knowing and improving iron levels before getting pregnant can help prevent complications.
Outlines
🍽️ Boosting Iron Levels with Diet
The video script starts by discussing the negative effects of low iron levels, such as fatigue, dizziness, and hair loss. The first tip provided is to consume a variety of iron-rich foods daily, including meats, seafood, beans, lentils, grains, nuts, and seeds. The speaker suggests looking up a list of these foods online and selecting those that can be incorporated into one's regular diet. They also offer pre-made lists for omnivores and vegans/vegetarians with check boxes for easy meal planning. Additionally, the script distinguishes between heme iron found in animal foods and non-heme iron found in plant foods, noting that heme iron is more easily absorbed.
🥦 Enhancing Iron Absorption with Vitamin C and Other Tips
The second paragraph delves into methods to enhance iron absorption, starting with the recommendation to pair iron-rich foods with vitamin C rich foods to boost absorption. Examples given include beans with tomatoes and almonds with strawberries or oranges. The speaker also advises against consuming coffee and tea with meals due to their compounds that inhibit iron absorption. Furthermore, they caution against taking calcium supplements with meals, as calcium can interfere with iron absorption, and suggest the same for fortified beverages. The paragraph also touches on the importance of not relying on over-the-counter antacids, as they can reduce stomach acid necessary for digestion and iron absorption. The final tip is to consider using non-enameled cast iron cookware, which can add an extra source of iron to food, especially when cooking acidic and moist foods for extended periods. However, this method should not be the sole source of iron, and caution is advised for those with high iron levels or young children.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Iron levels
💡Fatigue
💡Iron-rich foods
💡Heme iron
💡Non-heme iron
💡Vitamin C
💡Phytic acid
💡Calcium supplements
💡Antacids
💡Cast iron cookware
💡Stomach acid
Highlights
Having low iron levels can cause symptoms like fatigue, dizziness, dry skin, and hair loss.
Seven science-backed tips are discussed to boost iron absorption and increase iron levels.
Eating a variety of iron-rich foods daily is crucial for preventing nutrient ruts.
Iron can be found in meat, seafood, beans, lentils, grains, nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables.
Suggestions to find and maintain a list of iron-rich foods for regular consumption.
Differentiating between heme iron from animal sources and non-heme iron from plant and animal sources.
Vitamin C can significantly boost the absorption of non-heme iron.
Pairing iron-rich foods with vitamin C rich foods enhances iron absorption.
Soaking and straining beans, lentils, and grains before cooking can improve iron absorption.
Phytic acid in beans, lentils, and grains can hinder iron absorption.
Avoiding coffee and tea with meals can prevent a reduction in iron absorption.
Calcium supplements should not be taken with meals if you are trying to increase iron levels.
Over-the-counter antacids can reduce stomach acid, affecting iron absorption.
Non-enameled cast iron cookware can provide an additional source of iron.
Cooking acidic, moist foods in cast iron for a long time can increase iron intake.
If iron levels do not improve with dietary changes and supplements, consult a doctor for underlying issues.
For women planning to become pregnant, knowing and managing iron levels is essential.
Transcripts
[Music]
having low iron levels can really suck
their symptoms such as fatigue dizziness
dry skin sometimes even hair loss so if
you're struggling with low iron today's
video is for you i'm going to discuss
seven science-backed tips to boost your
iron absorption and also increase your
iron levels if you're interested keep
watching
tip number one is to eat more iron-rich
foods now this is a rather obvious tip
but i have to mention it because
sometimes we end up in a rut and when
we're in our what we don't eat a variety
of foods we're eating the same things
again and again and that can limit the
variety of nutrients we get so it's
really important to eat a variety of
foods and to get your iron rich foods on
a regular basis not just once or twice a
week but every single day
so which foods have iron a lot of foods
have iron i can't possibly list all of
them but basically meat seafood beans
lentils as well as grains and some nuts
and seeds and also some fruits and
veggies have iron in them too my
suggestion is to go online look for a
list of iron-rich foods and pick the
ones that you think you can have on a
regular basis the things that you like
and put them down on a sheet of paper
and stick that up on the fridge that way
you're able to look at that list every
single day and you're more likely to eat
those items now if you want to make your
life easier i already have a solution
for you
i already have lists for you so i have a
list for omnivores and i have a list for
vegans and vegetarians you can print
these lists and stick them up on your
fridge and they have little check boxes
on them so you can check off the foods
that you want to enjoy more often
for the foods on the list i would
suggest picking whole foods and
minimally processed foods typically
whole foods and minimally processed
foods have a lot more iron than hyper
processed foods before we move on to the
next tip i need to mention that there
are two different kinds of iron in our
foods there's heme iron that's found in
animal foods and then there's non-heme
iron that's found in plant foods as well
as animal foods heme iron is generally
better absorbed and non-heme iron is a
little harder to absorb so there are
things that you could do to boost the
absorption of that non-heme iron and
that's what i'm going to discuss in the
rest of the video so let's move on to
tip number two
eat something with vitamin c with your
iron-rich meals so vitamin c can help
boost the iron absorption so a very
simple thing that you could do is every
single time you eat iron rich foods pair
them with vitamin c rich foods as an
example let's say you were to eat beans
beans are a source of iron if you pair
those beans with tomatoes that will
boost your iron levels another example
is almonds almonds have iron and iron
and almonds is a non-heme type and it's
difficult to absorb so you can have the
almonds with strawberries or an orange
that has vitamin c
and that will help you absorb that iron
a lot better
if you're interested in a list of
vitamin c rich foods as well as
combinations of iron and vitamin c i do
have that in my info guide which you can
find in the description as well as a pin
comment you can print those sheets out
and again you can stick them up on your
fridge as well tip number three soak and
strain your beans lentils and grains
before you cook them if you eat beans
lentils and grains they can be a source
of iron but it can be very difficult to
absorb that iron because of something
known as phytic acid or phytates these
phytates make it really difficult to
absorb the iron because they kind of
lock that iron up so what can you do
there are a number of things that you
can do you can soak you can ferment you
can sprout but to be honest for the
majority of people fermenting and
sprouting their beans and lentils is
just too much work so soaking is
something that you could try if you've
never soaked before i do have some
information below it's very simple so
basically what i do is before i cook any
beans and lentils or grains i will soak
them in water overnight strain the water
out and then cook it in fresh water and
that makes it easier to digest them and
also makes it easier to absorb the iron
tip number four avoid coffee and tea
with your meals now i'm not saying to
avoid coffee and tea all the time just
with your meals both coffee and tea have
compounds such as caffeine tannins and
polyphenols that make it hard to absorb
iron in fact in one study just one cup
of black tea reduce the absorption of
iron from a meal by 60 so that's a
significant amount and one simple change
you can make is to not have coffee and
tea with your meals have it in between
your meals
tip number five avoid calcium
supplements with your meals calcium
makes it harder to absorb iron so if you
are struggling with your iron levels and
let's say you take calcium supplements
try not to take them with your iron-rich
meals take them separately and i would
also apply this knowledge to fortified
beverages so if you're drinking
fortified plant milks and you are really
struggling with your iron levels maybe
it's a better idea to take them
separately from your iron-rich foods
tip number six is to avoid taking
over-the-counter antacids unless you
absolutely need to take them i'm not
talking about doctor prescribed antacids
if your doctors prescribe them please do
take them this is a discussion for you
to have with your doctor but i am
talking about over the counter and acids
such as tums i went through this phase
10 years ago and i used to take tums
every single day after a meal it made me
feel better but i did not realize the
harm in doing so when we take antacids
such as tums it reduces our stomach acid
but our stomach acid is really really
important for us to digest
food and to actually absorb iron if your
stomach acid levels are low because of
something like antacids or low in
general it can be very difficult to
absorb iron so if you're popping
antacids like pills please don't find
another solution for your digestive
issues talk to your doctor to see if
there's something else that you could do
now even if you don't take antacids you
could have low stomach acid a lot of
people have low stomach acid so in my
info guide i have more information on
low stomach acid symptoms so you can
read through that and see if you have
any of the symptoms and i also have a
few suggestions
tip number seven is to use non-enameled
cast iron cookware there are studies
that show that if you cook in cast iron
cookware especially new cast iron
cookware and you're cooking something
that is acidic that is moist and you're
cooking for a long time maybe something
like applesauce there is some iron from
the cast iron coke where that ends up in
the food and then you end up observing
it so it is kind of like an add-on
source of iron now the problem with this
is the majority of foods we cook we're
not really cooking for that long and
they're typically dry so you can't rely
on this as a source of iron by any means
and i would say that if you have anyone
in your family who has very high iron
levels and you have very young children
too you may not want to cook in cast
iron for them because they may not need
the extra iron
now let's say you've tried everything in
this video and let's say you're also
taking dr prescribed supplements and
your iron levels are still not budging
there might be something else at play so
you need to get to the root cause of the
problem and in order to do that you need
to talk to your doctor have a deeper
discussion with them things like celiac
disease if you have undiagnosed celiac
disease you have no idea that's going on
it could cause low iron levels because
of that gut inflammation your body is
unable to absorb iron same with
something like crohn's disease also if
you have heavy menstrual bleeding that
can also cause low iron so this is
definitely something that you want to
discuss with your doctor to figure out
if there's something else going on and
once you address that problem maybe your
iron levels will go up i have a special
note for women of child varying age who
are planning to get pregnant in the next
year or so if you are planning to have
children and you're planning to get
pregnant it is very important to know
what your iron levels are if you haven't
gotten them tested already go to your
doctor get them tested because a lot of
women go through iron deficiency anemia
when they are pregnant just something to
keep in mind to get your iron levels up
before you get pregnant if you can so
talk to your doctor get those levels
tested
[Music]
you
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