I’m on a mainly plant based diet and might be low in iron.

[PlantBasedMale100]

Hi all.

I am currently on a mainly plant based diet and feel I might be low in iron.

I know that a blood test will confirm whether this is the case or not but during my last blood test I had that bad of an experience that my anxiety towards them now is simply at the point where I simply will not go for another one.

I was wondering if anyone here is in a similar sort of position and can give some advice please on what to do and how I may be able to boost iron form non meat sources.

I have already done some basic research and know of certain foods but am just wondering if anyone has been in a similar position and can tell what they have done and if it’s proven to boost their iron levels as I really am quite panicked about this and would really appreciate any help, thanks.

I am a 32 year male and am around 5 foot 6, I weigh 50 kilos or so if that helps, let me know if there’s any other information I can provide please in order to help, thanks heaps.

 

[silva]

Are the insides of your eyelids whitish rather than pink?
How about your fingernails?

You really do need a test to be sure, they check your iron level when you give blood if that's an option--the Red Cross here has higher standards for donations than what is considered a worrisome level

When you eat iron containing foods add food with vit C--like adding tomatoes, raw peppers, broccoli or lemon to your dark leafy greens, lentils, tofu, tempeh, seitan or beans......as examples
Avoid black or green tea, or coffee with iron foods
Cooking in a cast iron skillet also imparts iron to food

 

[silva]

What makes you think you may be low? Have you previously been tested as low?

 

[Brian W]

Silva has already asked the question I was going to ask. Why do you think you might be low?

 

[PlantBasedMale100]

I

Are the insides of your eyelids whitish rather than pink?
How about your fingernails?

You really do need a test to be sure, they check your iron level when you give blood if that's an option--the Red Cross here has higher standards for donations than what is considered a worrisome level

When you eat iron containing foods add food with vit C--like adding tomatoes, raw peppers, broccoli or lemon to your dark leafy greens, lentils, tofu, tempeh, seitan or beans......as examples
Avoid black or green tea, or coffee with iron foods
Cooking in a cast iron skillet also imparts iron to food

I just checked my fingernails and they appear to be mostly pink, I also checked my eyelids and they appear to be mostly pink.

I eat quite a bit of what you mentioned above, I usually avoid tea and coffee within an hour of eating, that’s correct yeah?

Wow! I had no idea about the cast iron pan, how effective is that?

I basically think I am low because I sometimes fall asleep in the evening and have had what feels like heart palpitations at times and sometimes weak arms, I have also had two headaches in the last month or so which I think is above average for me.

but there could be other reasons for that (heart palpitations) I guess, anxiety etc.

 

[Tomas]

I'd have myself tested to be sure. There's plenty of easy ways to add iron to your food. I mean there's plenty of beans, seeds, nuts and veggies that add iron to your diet and there's still the supplement option too but I get tested once a year just to see whether I get enough nutrition (however the last 10 years I haven't had any low values at all).

If your body feels something might be missing you can't go wrong with doing a blood test. That's the only sure way to know what you need to add to your diet.

 

[PlantBasedMale100]

Yea true, I do eat nuts and veggies etc. I have also recently been having nutritional yeast with my dinner meal.
May I ask are you male or female and how old are you?
Its the symptoms and what other people on PB diets have told me that are sort of freaking me out.

 

[Tomas]

Well, I am male and I am 38. My diet basically conists of virtually no processed foods so more of a WFPB-diet if that's what you want to call it.
I don't know, I have been doing this for so long that it comes kind of natural so it's difficult to pinpoint what you might be doing wrong but maybe you should look into a WFPB or vegan weekly meal plan for some guidance?

For me, I just eat plenty of fresh veggies, I do eat plantbased yoghurt that has vitamin B12 and other supplements added, I eat smoothies with seeds in them like chia seeds almost daily, I bake whole weat bread, eat load of pasta's and rice and also add some nutritional yeast to this quite often, I almost never eat patatoes, ... I guess a pretty standard WFBP diet except maybe for the potatoe-thing. I had myself tested in the past to know what areas to focus on and I guess it worked .

If you don't do these things this might seem like a lot of work and costly but once you get the hang of it, it's actually quite easy. Cooking is kind of a hobby and a meditation for me se I do spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

Anyway, get yourself tested and if there's a deficiency just add those nutrients to your meals in whatever form suits you. There's always a plantbased solution when it comes to adding nutrients because, in the end, ALL nutrients (yes, also all proteins) come from plants in the first place. The only one we lack is vit B12 but, as I said, you can compensate this by eating plantbased yoghurt with added B12. B12 is also added as a supplement in animal foods. This is the only reason why you do get vitB12 when eating meat. If you take B12-suppelements you're basically just cutting out the middleman.

 

[PlantBasedMale100]

Col

Well, I am male and I am 38. My diet basically conists of virtually no processed foods so more of a WFPB-diet if that's what you want to call it.
I don't know, I have been doing this for so long that it comes kind of natural so it's difficult to pinpoint what you might be doing wrong but maybe you should look into a WFPB or vegan weekly meal plan for some guidance?

For me, I just eat plenty of fresh veggies, I do eat plantbased yoghurt that has vitamin B12 and other supplements added, I eat smoothies with seeds in them like chia seeds almost daily, I bake whole weat bread, eat load of pasta's and rice and also add some nutritional yeast to this quite often, I almost never eat patatoes, ... I guess a pretty standard WFBP diet except maybe for the potatoe-thing. I had myself tested in the past to know what areas to focus on and I guess it worked .

If you don't do these things this might seem like a lot of work and costly but once you get the hang of it, it's actually quite easy. Cooking is kind of a hobby and a meditation for me se I do spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

Anyway, get yourself tested and if there's a deficiency just add those nutrients to your meals in whatever form suits you. There's always a plantbased solution when it comes to adding nutrients because, in the end, ALL nutrients (yes, also all proteins) come from plants in the first place. The only one we lack is vit B12 but, as I said, you can compensate this by eating plantbased yoghurt with added B12. B12 is also added as a supplement in animal foods. This is the only reason why you do get vitB12 when eating meat. If you take B12-suppelements you're basically just cutting out the middleman.

cool, thanks. Yes I have done some research and am going to get a menu plan together soon. I also have chia seeds with my oats cereal which also has iron supposedly.
I drink mainly soy milk which also has it, I will keep an eye out for the PB yoghurt with the B12. Like I said I have been having that nutritional yeast recently so I’ll just keep going, finalise my eating plan and monitor symptoms, hopefully I don’t need to get tested.

 

[Tomas]

I don't know about not getting tested. Without knowing what nutrient(s) you are lacking you don't know what to add to your diet. I'd get myself tested regardless. Being tired can have so many reasons it seems to me it's better to get tested.

Also, for me at least, a meal plan is a very tiring ordeal but it is good to get a good idea of how to do WFPB cooking and creating a varied and nutrient-rich meal so if you get demotivated just hang in there and you'll learn much from your meal plan so that you won't need it anymore in the not so distant future.

 

[PlantBasedMale100]

Co

I don't know about not getting tested. Without knowing what nutrient(s) you are lacking you don't know what to add to your diet. I'd get myself tested regardless. Being tired can have so many reasons it seems to me it's better to get tested.

Also, for me at least, a meal plan is a very tiring ordeal but it is good to get a good idea of how to do WFPB cooking and creating a varied and nutrient-rich meal so if you get demotivated just hang in there and you'll learn much from your meal plan so that you won't need it anymore in the not so distant future.

cool, thanks.

 

[Emma JC]

welcome to the forum!

In addition to all the good advice above you may wish to consider tracking your intake on Cronometer for a week to see what your intake actually is.... Cronometer: Track nutrition & count calories

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

 

[Lou]

I basically think I am low because I sometimes fall asleep in the evening and have had what feels like heart palpitations at times and sometimes weak arms, I have also had two headaches in the last month or so which I think is above average for me.

but there could be other reasons for that (heart palpitations) I guess, anxiety etc.

First off let me welcome to the forum.

When was your last check-up?

Your "symtpoms" does not even sound like low iron. I would get a check up.

Now to help answer your question. They do have iron tests that you can perform at home. The kits aren't even that expensive. or like Silva suggested, you could go donate blood. always a good idea regardless.

I used to donate blood regularly and my iron levels were always borderline anemic. Even when I ate right. I think I am just wired that way. I would buy a bag of dried apricots before going into giving blood and eat a handful every day - that seemed to help me pass the test.

Mulitivamins contains various levels of iron. One time I bought one that contained 100% of the RDA of iron. Really high levels of iron can be toxic. but the body can easily excrete iron. If your poop is black and hard - you are getting Too much iron.

Even being pretty careful about iron in your diet may not be enough. First off the iron in plants is not as absorbable as the iron in animal based foods. Also some foods reduce our bodies ability to absorb iron. Vitamin C increased the absorption rate of iron.

Anyway, schedule a check up to see what is causing that other stuff.

 

[Lou]

welcome to the forum!

In addition to all the good advice above you may wish to consider tracking your intake on Cronometer for a week to see what your intake actually is.... Cronometer: Track nutrition & count calories

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

If you do use Cronometer, always a good idea regardless, keep in mind that it only measure the iron being ingested - not the iron being absorbed. If you're eating Plant Based you should shoot for a value over 100%. My multi includes some iron and I usually go over 100% in CronOmeter. Even without the apricots.

If you do take a multivitamin, keep in mind that various foods and other supplements can decrease the body's ability to absorb iron. The biggies ae caffeine, antacids, or calcium supplements. Try for a 2-hour window. and taking your iron supplement or multi with a glass of juice will help iron absorption.

 

[PlantBasedMale100]

welcome to the forum!

In addition to all the good advice above you may wish to consider tracking your intake on Cronometer for a week to see what your intake actually is.... Cronometer: Track nutrition & count calories

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

Thanks. I have opened the link to the app and will download it.

 

[PlantBasedMale100]

First off let me welcome to the forum.

When was your last check-up?

Your "symtpoms" does not even sound like low iron. I would get a check up.

Now to help answer your question. They do have iron tests that you can perform at home. The kits aren't even that expensive. or like Silva suggested, you could go donate blood. always a good idea regardless.

I used to donate blood regularly and my iron levels were always borderline anemic. Even when I ate right. I think I am just wired that way. I would buy a bag of dried apricots before going into giving blood and eat a handful every day - that seemed to help me pass the test.

Mulitivamins contains various levels of iron. One time I bought one that contained 100% of the RDA of iron. Really high levels of iron can be toxic. but the body can easily excrete iron. If your poop is black and hard - you are getting Too much iron.

Even being pretty careful about iron in your diet may not be enough. First off the iron in plants is not as absorbable as the iron in animal based foods. Also some foods reduce our bodies ability to absorb iron. Vitamin C increased the absorption rate of iron.

Anyway, schedule a check up to see what is causing that other stuff.

Thanks for your reply, how do the actual home iron tests work? My stool definitely isn’t dark black, it’s mainly light to medium brown. Yes I know about the absorption rate etc of the heme iron versus non heme.

 

[PlantBasedMale100]

Thanks for your reply, how do the actual home iron tests work? My stool definitely isn’t dark black, it’s mainly light to medium brown. Yes I know about the absorption rate etc of the heme iron versus non heme.

My last check up was 2018 and I will read the results soon as I have forgotten them.

 

[PlantBasedMale100]

H

Are the insides of your eyelids whitish rather than pink?
How about your fingernails?

You really do need a test to be sure, they check your iron level when you give blood if that's an option--the Red Cross here has higher standards for donations than what is considered a worrisome level

When you eat iron containing foods add food with vit C--like adding tomatoes, raw peppers, broccoli or lemon to your dark leafy greens, lentils, tofu, tempeh, seitan or beans......as examples
Avoid black or green tea, or coffee with iron foods
Cooking in a cast iron skillet also imparts iron to food

Hey do you guys have the testing kits such as hemolink etc on the shelves at the stores yet? I have read about those and am curious to know if you have them available.

Thanks.

 

[Lou]

Thanks for your reply, how do the actual home iron tests work? My stool definitely isn’t dark black, it’s mainly light to medium brown. Yes I know about the absorption rate etc of the heme iron versus non heme.

There are quite a few different kits available to buy to test anemia at home. when I would give blood they used a device that somehow gave a instant readout. but I usually failed that one. they had another technique for the border line cases. there was a vial of a solution that had a certain specific gravity. when you add drop of blood to it the blood would sink to the bottom of the vial. If it reached the bottom of the vial you could give blood. but you didn't get any other info. Maybe you could infer something by how fast the blood sunk. Basically just a pass/fail test.

I couldn't find any kits like that on Amazon. although there are a few kinds the most common used some kind of regent that changed color in the present of iron. Most of these were under $20.

 

[PlantBasedMale100]

There are quite a few different kits available to buy to test anemia at home. when I would give blood they used a device that somehow gave a instant readout. but I usually failed that one. they had another technique for the border line cases. there was a vial of a solution that had a certain specific gravity. when you add drop of blood to it the blood would sink to the bottom of the vial. If it reached the bottom of the vial you could give blood. but you didn't get any other info. Maybe you could infer something by how fast the blood sunk. Basically just a pass/fail test.

I couldn't find any kits like that on Amazon. although there are a few kinds the most common used some kind of regent that changed color in the present of iron. Most of these were under $20.

Cool, thanks. Well let’s hope that the product I researched becomes widely available soon.