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:
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?
blogger / pomelo / 5361 posts
Sunflower seeds and oatmeal are good sources of iron, too, as I learned from a friend with severe anemia.
squash / 13199 posts
I had to take iron supplements. I did try eating more iron rich foods like spinach and beans, but I also found out that I had to eat foods that aid iron absorption too such as foods high in vitamin c. I also too slow FE iron supplements and then had to increase my fiber intake so as not to get constipated. Oh the joys of pregnancy and yet I kinda miss it
pomelo / 5789 posts
Thanks for the nutrition lesson! I’m 24 weeks and have my glucose test tomorrow. I will have them check my iron too, since I’m vegetarian and not taking any extra supplements.
Im going to start trying to add in some of the food combinations you mentioned – just in case!
GOLD / pear / 1845 posts
I drank nettle tea every day, on my midwife’s orders. It kind of tastes like grass, but is not bad with a bit of honey. I would make up a batch in a quart jar, tightly sealed, every night and drink it cold the next day so that it had lots of time to steep.
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
Yup – I had to take supplements. They even increased my mg intake because it was still dropping.
cantaloupe / 6730 posts
I am going to be so doomed. I get anemic now (and not even pregnant). Had almost all the symptoms (tired, couldn’t climb stairs without losing my breathe, leg restlessness, dizziness) for months before my doctor figured it out.
kiwi / 538 posts
I was slightly low during the later part of my pregnancy and my doctor suggested Total cereal. It’s not the tastiest but it has 100% of the recommended daily value for iron.
grapefruit / 4817 posts
I had to take supplements for anemia. I wish they had checked for low iron earlier in my pregnancy, though, as my heart rate was so high and it made me terribly uncomfortable. I had been feeling bad for weeks before my 26 week tests, and it would have been nice if they had made the correlation between the two. Once I got on the supplement, my heart rate slowed way down.
GOLD / eggplant / 11517 posts
Totally in the same boat here. Passed my 3 hour glucose test, found out I was anemic. I’m taking an iron pill in addition to my regular prenatal.
This didn’t surprise me at all because I am a regular blood donater and I often struggle to get my iron levels high enough to “pass” the iron test when I go to donate blood.
I expect it is from the same reasons as you: I’m not a vegetarian for any moral reasons, I just don’t love eating meat.
pomelo / 5178 posts
I’m always a little anemic, but it gets much worse during pregnancy. And since I have major meat aversions during pregnancy, I end up looking for good vegetarian alternatives to boost my iron intake. Some of the tips I’ve learned over the years:
Cook in a cast iron skillet. Some of the iron seeps into your food, regardless of what you’re cooking.
Beet salad is one of my favorite iron-rich foods! I saute the beet greens (for iron) and add them into roasted beets (for vitamin c) with feta and vinagrette. Sometimes I add peas (more iron) or avocado (good fats) for a little extra flavor.
pomegranate / 3272 posts
This would be why I’m craving red meat all the time!
pomelo / 5628 posts
I’ve been anemic since my first blood test at 9 weeks or so. I’m taking an iron supplement, but only occasionally and I’ve tried eating more meat. I’m not a vegetarian, I just don’t eat a lot of meat either. I love some of your recommendations – I googled “foods with iron” but your list has lots of easy stuff to add!
blogger / pear / 1964 posts
@Honeybee: We use a cast iron skillet all the time, but I don’t reach for it first because it’s a little bit more annoying to clean, dry, oil, etc. I need to pull it out more often.
I LOVE beets – that salad sounds fantastic!
pomelo / 5178 posts
@Mrs. Tricycle: All Recipes has a ton of awesome beet salad recipes! I’m slowly working my way through them.
coffee bean / 48 posts
Before I got pregnant I was pretty good about occasionally sneaking liver into my diet. I don’t love it, but it’s such an amazing nutrient powerhouse that it seems crazy not to eat it if you’re trying to be healthy. With the nausea/queasiness I’ve been experiencing so far in my pregnancy though I haven’t even attempted trying to cook it (good lord just imagining the smell makes me want to hurl right now), much less eat it. But I’m crossing my fingers that I can start experimenting with sneaking it (and fish, another health food I’m not very fond of) back into my diet once I’m in the 2nd trimester.
pomegranate / 3225 posts
I need this post! I’ve been anemic the whole time (I’m at 28 weeks) and my midwife told me that I need to eat red meat twice a week. I’m also not a big meat eater, so I’ve been trying to eat more spinach, etc… I had no idea about thyme!
olive / 52 posts
I’ll be 33 weeks on Friday, and I’m anemic too. I take a daily 30mg iron supplement and my levels are still dropping, and I already eat a lot of meat. Unfortunately, my family has a long history of anemia. Cinnamon Chex may just be my new breakfast. Thanks for the tip!
guest
Intake of calorie food prevents you from iron deficiency in pregnancy, which results in healthy pregnancy.