Getting enough iron on a tight budget

[DancingLady]

Beef is one of the best sources of iron, and something I grew up eating frequently. But these days I am on a very, very tight budget and am relying on beans and corn or beans and rice for protein several days out of the week as I can not afford to buy much meat. I have been noticing that I am bruising a bit more easily than I used to, which is a trait I have noticed in many vegetarians I have known over the years. I am pretty sure there is a direct correlation with my diet changing.

Many people have said that low iron is what causes one to bruise more easily. I don't otherwise feel anemic, but I definitely want to increase my iron intake some if that is the reason for this. Anyone know of inexpensive foods that are high in iron I can add to my diet?

 

[clairebeautiful]

The biggest issue if you are low on iron is not that you aren't eating enough, it is that your body is likely not absorbing enough. I was anemic as a kid and then again in each of my pregnancies. Eating iron-rich foods was never enough, however, a few of the thing I have to do in order to absorb OTC iron would also help with iron rich foods.

First, try not to combine iron intake with calcium. Calcium binds with the iron and it gets flushed from your system. Instead, take iron with Vitamin C - it aids in absorption. Also, low iron is sometimes indicative of low magnesium and sometimes potassium as well. When you raise magnesium and potassium, iron absorption seems to raise as well.

All of these minerals are fairly affordable as OTC meds, though I will caution you, many iron pills are constipating and too much magnesium will give you diarrhea.

 

[Food4thought]

I don't buy or cook meat dishes. I get plenty of iron in my diet from dark green leafy vegetables (which don't cost a lot), dried apricots (or other dried fruits), nuts, beans and grains (I start each day off with oatmeal). Blackstrap molasses (a spoonful on your breakfast cereal) is also recommended as a good source of iron.

 

[DancingLady]

I know I need to get some more leafy greens, maybe I will try eating them at lunch rather than dinner as I tend to eat milk with my cereal and I eat a lot of white beans for dinner, which are very high in calcium. Thanks for that tip. That might be my problem then, that I am eating calcium throughout the day and not absorbing the iron very well.