Anemia during pregnancy
I just got a call from my midwife with my blood results and it showed that my iron was low. I am anemic. This also happened to me during the last trimester with baby #2. This was good news to me since I have been sluggish lately and was thrilled to know that there was an easy way to get more energy! There are two ways to treat low iron: diet and supplements. Diet Our bodies are designed to absorb two forms of iron: (1) from animals [heme iron] and (2) from plants [nonheme iron]. Animal based iron is the easiest for our body to absorb but animal meats do not contain as much as plant based foods do. The National Institutes of Health, NIH, has great charts that show you how much iron is in each food if you click here . You can encourage your body to better absorb plant based iron by consuming it with foods high in vitamin C (citrus, strawberries, peppers, etc.). Do not consume your iron foods with tea that contain tannins, calcium, unsoaked beans, or unsoaked grains. The...