2023 Author: Anita Thornton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-22 03:30
At your first pregnancy follow-up meeting, your doctor will probably talk to you about taking a food supplement or even iron tablets. Because it matters!
It is much he althier for your body to get its sources of iron from your diet and you avoid constipation ! Why is iron so important during pregnancy? Which foods are higher in iron?
Iron
Iron is used to make hemoglobin, a constituent of blood responsible for distributing oxygen throughout the body. If the blood lacks red blood cells (hemodilution), it will therefore be less rich in iron, less rich in oxygen and, of course, less rich in hemoglobin. This is called anemia.
Anemia
anemia results in general fatigue, paleness, and loss of appetite and weight. It usually affects mood leading to irritability and lack of interest in the outside world.
Because of menstrual losses, women need more iron than men and are more likely to suffer from anemia.
Pregnancy
During pregnancy, the increase in plasmablood (blood fluid) causes a normal drop in hemoglobin levels. This decrease begins after the 8th week of pregnancy and stabilizes between the 16th and 22nd week. A pregnant woman should have a hemoglobin level above 115 g/L around the 22nd week. A level below 100 g/L means anemia. The higher the hemoglobin level, the he althier the woman feels after childbirth.
Recommended dose
- Adult female: 14 mg/day
- Pregnancy and lactation: 30 mg/day
Iron in the diet
Cereals (100 g or 1/2 cup portion)
| Soybeans | 11.8mg |
| Full Millet | 6, 8mg |
| Full Bulgur | 6, 8mg |
| Carob | 6mg |
| Sound (Allbran) | 6mg |
| Whole grain oats (flour or flake) | 4.6mg |
| Barley | 3mg |
| Whole Buckwheat | 3, 1mg |
| Whole wheat (flake or flour) | 3, 1mg |
| Brown rice | 1.6mg |
| White rice | 0.4mg |
Meat and poultry (3 ounce serving)
Attention! The liver being a natural filter, it can contain undesirable elementsdepending on the diet of the animal from which it comes; to consume with moderation. Organic liver is a better choice.
Horse is also a very iron-rich meat. It is possible to obtain horse in the form of sausages, steak or even in the form of minced meat.
| Pork Liver | 18mg |
| Calf Liver | 13mg |
| Chicken Liver | 9mg |
| Beef liver | 7.5mg |
| Beef kidneys | 7mg |
| Beef | 2.5mg |
| Ham | 2, 2mg |
| Chicken | 1.4mg |
Fish (½ cup portion)
It is recommended to eat fish at least once a week. In addition to being nutritious for you, it contains plenty of omega 3 for your baby's brain development.
Pay attention to the size of the fish you choose, because the larger it is, the more likely it is to contain mercury.
| Seal |
18mg |
| Clam | 7mg |
| Scallops | 6mg |
| Trout | 4.7mg |
| Sardines | 2.9mg |
| Thon | 1.3mg |
| Oysters | 5.5mg |
| Eggs | 3mg |
Legumes (50 g or 1 cup serving)
Everyone should eat at least 5 servings of legumes per week.
| Lima Beans | 5.9mg |
| Soybeans | 4, 2mg |
| Chickpeas | 3.5mg |
| Full Lenses | 3, 4mg |
Vegetables (100 g or 1 cup serving)
| Spinach | 6, 8mg |
| Swiss Chard | 4, 2mg |
| Canned Sauerkraut | 3.7mg |
| Beet | 3, 3mg |
| Parsley |
3, 2mg |
| Beet leaves | 2.9mg |
| Green Peas | 2.7mg |
Be careful, the iron in spinach does not assimilate well.
Beet leaf is great to eat and very rich in iron.
Parsley helps unclog the breasts while breastfeeding. Also, a pregnant woman should put parsley everywhere! She can use it driedor cool since iron does not evaporate.
Fruit (100 g or 1 cup serving)
| Dried Apricots | 6, 4mg |
| Dates | 2, 2mg |
| Dried Peaches | 6.9mg |
| Prune juice | 3, 2mg |
| Prunes | 2.5mg |
| Raisins | 3.6mg |
It is better to choose organic dried fruits because they are much lower in fat.
Seeds and nuts (125 mg or ½ cup serving)
|
Pumpkin Seeds |
10.9mg |
| Sunflower seeds | 5, 1mg |
| Cashews | 2.8mg |
| Sesame seeds | 6, 2mg |
| Almonds | 2.7mg |
| Brazil Nuts | 2.5mg |
Seaweed and others (100 mg or 1 cup serving)
Seaweed is an EXCELLENT source of iron. You can mix it in your menus, but also replace your table s alt with Algosel. In addition, algae nourish the thyroid gland. Please note… if you are taking medication for your thyroid gland, you should avoid consuming seaweed.
| Kelp | 100mg |
| Walkame | 13mg |
| Arame | 12mg |
| Agar agar | 5mg |
| Hijiki | 29mg |
| Nori (suchi) | 12mg |
| Duise |
6, 3mg |
| Ginger | 14mg |
To successfully take your iron ration…
- Eat once a week one of the foods very rich in iron (more than 7 mg)
- Eat each meal with a vegetable or fruit rich in vitamin C, essential for the absorption of iron. (Orange, Tomato, Lemon)
- Always keep a small bag of dried fruits, nuts and seeds on hand for snacking
- Replace part of the sugar required in recipes with blackstrap molasses (at least half and half)
- Use prune juice often in juice blends (½ prune juice + ½ apple or orange juice)
- Sprinkle wheat germ on desserts
- Sprinkle parsley over meats and vegetables
- Avoid tea, as it decreases the percentage of iron absorbed. Replace with raspberry herbal tea.
- If you want to take a supplement, check that this supplement is made of "iron citrate" or "iron pepsionate", iron which are much more easily assimilated.
