Would a vegan diet be doable for someone with anemia?
Hey everyone. I have a history of iron deficiency anemia and I am considering starting a vegan diet but I am worried that I might not get enough iron if I'm on a vegan diet. So, would a vegan diet be doable for someone who has iron deficiency anemia?
Re: Would a vegan diet be doable for someone with anemia?
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpicyGirl82
Hey everyone. I have a history of iron deficiency anemia and I am considering starting a vegan diet but I am worried that I might not get enough iron if I'm on a vegan diet. So, would a vegan diet be doable for someone who has iron deficiency anemia?
It would probably be best to consult your Dr. first before starting this diet or a nutritionist.
My Dr. told me most women have low iron. I eat little meat and have low iron, but not anemia. I take a ferrous gluconate supplement (iron) as recommended by my Dr.
More than likely you would have to take some type of iron supplement on a vegan diet and eat a ton of leafy greens like spinach and kale for example, as they are both very high in iron.
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Re: Would a vegan diet be doable for someone with anemia?
SpicyGirl,
Get a list (online) of all the vegan foods that are high in iron. If you like those foods and can eat a lot of them, then, yes, a vegan diet is doable. Then get a periodic blood test from your doctor to see how you're doing. I like the idea of satisfying your nutritional requirements with food rather than supplements. But if you can't get it all from food then a supplement may be necessary.
Re: Would a vegan diet be doable for someone with anemia?
Also, I forgot to mention make sure you eat your dark leafy greens and legumes/beans (highest sources of iron and vegan) in conjunction with foods containing vitamin C.
This will help you absorb the iron to the fullest, since you are anemic, this is important to know.
Best to consult a nutritionist as you can't believe everything you read online. There is alot of misinformation out there and a lot of "junk science", so to speak. It's your health at stake, bottom line. You know what you need to do.
__________________
Find time to spend with your kids now ; what you will always find time for later, is regret."
Re: Would a vegan diet be doable for someone with anemia?
I forgot to mention that I have been a vegan since 2006 and I'm doing well. One thing about seeing a doctor or nutritionist: Doctors are individuals like the rest of us and are not infallible. The same goes for nutritionists. I have gotten bad information from both when it comes to supplementing.
They tend to assume that every person is the average person. When I tested low in vitamin D3 my doctor suggested that I take 50,000 units. That may have been per week but it was still way too much for me as an individual. And he didn't even know that a prescription was needed for that large a dose. He sent me out looking for it without a prescription.
So I went to see a nutritionist who owns a health food store and he told me to take 1,000 units with each meal. I tried it and that was still way too much. The problem was: if I took too much, I would feel pressure building up in my head. So by experimenting with different dosages, I found that I can tollerate exactly the amount that is recommended (in a vitamin book) for my age, which is 600 units per day.
If you become a vegan: You will need to take vitamin B12. I was taking what I considered to be a large dose. Then I read that a large dose of one B vitamin can put other B vitamins out of balance. So I asked my doctor what he thought about it and he said it was not true. So I called a local pharmacist and she said studies have proved it to be true and she told me to tell my doctor to look it up in the New England Journal of Medicine.
