The good news is I passed my glucose test. The bad news is that I have borderline pregnancy induced anemia caused by an iron deficiency (though there are other reasons you can develop anemia).

During pregnancy, anemia occurs because your body makes a TON of new blood, adding almost 50% more than normal. In order to make all this blood, your body needs iron, which helps produce hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. Without enough iron, your body can’t meet the hemoglobin demand, which means it can’t continue to produce more blood.

Signs of anemia include fatigue, weakness, dizziness and headache. Personally, although I’ve noticed fatigue and occasionally dizziness, I’m not sure what’s a result of the anemia and what’s just a part of pregnancy. Anemia usually occurs late in your second trimester (I’m 27 weeks), or your third trimester, so your doctor will probably test for it around this time.

My prenatal vitamin includes an iron supplement, but apparently that’s not enough to meet the RDA of 27 mg of iron for pregnant women. As a result, my doctor is encouraging some dietary changes.

I eat a mostly vegetarian diet – I’m not super strict about it, and although I’d like to pretend my dietary choices are the result of lofty moral principles, it’s mostly because I just don’t like meat. This presents a problem because heme iron, which is derived from animal sources, is better absorbed than non-heme iron, which is derived from plant sources.  It’s still possible to stick to my low-meat diet, but I’ve got to start thinking about the combinations of food I’m eating. Here’s what I’m doing:

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1)   Fortified cereal + Orange Juice. One way to increase your iron absorption is to combine it with foods high in vitamin C. In fact, some research suggests that consuming vitamin C in combination with iron can increase your absorption of the iron by almost five times. Iron fortified cereal and a glass of orange juice at the same meal are a good way to accomplish this.  Personally, I’m loving cinnamon Chex, which have 13 mg of iron per 200 calorie serving.

2)   Spinach + tomatoes. Popeye knew spinach was good for you, but he didn’t tout the added benefits of serving it with tomatoes. This combination is high in both iron (32.13 mg in a 200 calorie serving of cooked spinach) and vitamin C. You’re probably not going to eat 200 calories of spinach – that’s five cups, but a 1 cup serving still has 6.43 mg. This Weight Watchers recipe is a good example of how you might serve the two together.

3)   Dried apricots + pumpkin seeds + dried goji berries. An easy trail mix with the magic iron and vitamin C combination includes these three ingredients. The apricots (2.28 mg/200 calories) and pumpkin seeds (2.86 mg/200 calories) work well with dried goji berries which are very high in vitamin C. If you can’t find dried goji berries, dried blueberries are a good alternative (but check the nutrition facts on the back – you’re looking for something with the highest vitamin C levels — I ended up going with dried mango).

4)   Hummus + lemon juice. This classic Mediterranean combination packs a good dose of iron (3 mg/200 calories) and vitamin C.

5)   Dried thyme. Although it’s weird to think about eating 200 calories of dried thyme, this herb has one of the highest iron counts at 90 mg. This translates to about 3.7 mg per tablespoon. Although you’d have to consume a lot of it to meet your RDA, it packs a big punch. An added benefit? Dried thyme is also crazy high in vitamin C, allowing for better iron absorption.  Thyme is a versatile herb, but it pairs especially well with roasted potatoes, tomatoes, lemon and many different types of meat.

Did you become anemic during pregnancy? How did you change your diet?