How much iron should I be getting ?!
I am a vegetarian for 3 or 4 months and my iron levels were still low even before i became a vegetarian.
The doctor checked the blood iron and it was low and just told me to take iron supplements, they are 100 mg elemental iron. The doctor never told me anything else or what dosage to take and I'm just wondering how much iron should I be getting.
I am 6'2 or somewhere along there are 94 pounds
Answers:
The various tolerable upper limits for iron per day are set out in the table below.
Tolerable Upper Limit
There is also a tolerable upper limit for iron - this is the maximum that can be safely taken of this mineral before it produces serious and toxic side effects:
Lifestage Age Upper Limit
Infants 0- 12 months 40mg
Children 1-8 years 40mg
Children 9-13 years 40mg
Children 14-18 years 45mg
Adults 19 years and over 45mg
Pregnant women all ages 45mg
Lactating women all ages 45mg
An iron supplement that contains 100 mg of elemental iron with an absorption rate of 20-40% means that you are only absorbing 20-40 mg per day if you take one pill per day.
Ferro-Grad C is a good iron supplement available in the US, the UK and Australia. It has equivalent of 105mg elemental iron, together with the equivalent of 500mg Ascorbic Acid (i.e. vitamin C), which helps absorb it.
I was diagnosed with anaemia when I first became vegan and took these tablets for years. Then for years my iron levels were normal. I strongly recommend six-monthly blood tests to start with, then annually.
This past year due to various reasons I don't need as much iron -- so on the last blood test my iron levels were too high. It wasn't called an "overdose" -- they were just high. I stop taking the tablets on the doctor's advice, get sufficient iron from my normal vegan diet and they go back to normal. That's what you do.
When you have more energy and your iron levels are up again hopefully you'll feel like eating again. But your doctor should worry about your body weight and mental state, so maybe talk to someone else who can help get the wheels rolling again.
Best of luck :-)
You need 15mg/day if you are aged 14-18 and 18mg/day if you are female over 18, but only 8mg/day if you are male over 18. You can get all this from food,
But jesus mate you need FOOD. 6'2" and only 94 pounds? Thats just over 40kg you are dangerously underweight what did your doctor say about that?
http://www.nrv.gov.au/nutrients/iron.htm
Ur BMI = underweight which is dangeorus i suggest u start gainign weight . eat 6 small meals a day organic
also iron rich foods are better absorbed when combined with vitamin c foods like frutis and vegetables
iron rich foods: ( no heme ) are maple syrup, raisins, seame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, wheat germ, peanut butter, tofu, legumes,