Emma Miller
If you have low iron levels, your doctor may recommend increasing iron in your diet. Iron is an important component of hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying molecule in red blood cells. Low iron levels in the blood can lead to a variety of problems, including fatigue, weakness, pale skin, and irritability, as well as iron deficiency anemia.
According to the World Health Organization, anemia is one of the world’s major nutritional deficiencies, affecting more than 30 percent of the world’s population. While low iron levels are common, they can usually be corrected with dietary adjustments and medical care.
If you have low iron levels, your doctor may recommend increasing iron in your diet. Your body only absorbs a small percentage of the iron you eat, so you may need to use multiple techniques to improve your iron absorption or find other ways to increase your blood iron levels.
If you want to know how to increase iron absorption and iron in your body, check out some expert-approved methods.
Eat more iron-rich foods
There are two types of dietary iron sources: heme and non-heme.
Heme iron
Heme iron is found in animal products such as red meat, liver, fish, and poultry. It is the most easily absorbed type of iron, although it is much less common than non-heme iron. Some common sources of heme iron include, according to the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health:
- Oyster
- Clams
- Sardine
- Beef liver
- Chicken liver
- Meat offal
- Beef
- Poultry
- Canned tuna
Non-heme iron
Non-heme iron is found in many plant foods, including beans, lentils, spinach, tofu, and raisins. It is also added to fortified foods such as cereals, bread, and oatmeal.
Although nonheme iron is easier to find, the body does not absorb it as well as heme iron, according to a Harvard study by the T. H. Chan School of Public Health. The following foods are good sources of non-heme iron:
- Beans
- Lentils
- Dark leafy greens
- Potatoes with peel
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Morel mushrooms
- Dried fruits, including raisins and apricots
- Fortified rice, oats, and bread
- Fortified breakfast cereals
Eating sources of non-heme iron, such as leafy and cruciferous green vegetables, including spinach, collard greens, broccoli, and kale, along with meals containing red meat or other sources of heme iron, can improve iron levels.
Talk to your doctor about iron supplements
If your dietary changes fail to normalize your iron levels, your doctor may recommend iron supplements. Supplements are available in tablet and liquid form, and many daily multivitamins (especially those designed for women) contain iron.
Iron deficiency anemia is common among people of childbearing age and pregnant women because, according to the Mayo Clinic, they need twice as much iron to produce more blood to supply the baby with oxygen. That’s why pregnant women or those trying to get pregnant are often advised to take iron supplements.
The most common form of iron used in supplements is ferrous salts, which include ferrous fumarate, ferrous sulfate, and ferrous gluconate, according to the NIH. Ferrous fumarate is the most easily absorbed iron supplement, although ferrous sulfate is the most commonly used.
Iron supplements can be tricky; iron is often best absorbed when taken two or three times during the day with foods containing vitamin C. You should talk to your doctor before taking iron supplements, as it is possible to overdo it: an overload of iron in the blood can lead to organ damage.
In addition, some experts suspect that calcium may interfere with the absorption of iron from supplements, so it is often recommended that you take an iron supplement at a different time than a calcium supplement.
Risks associated with iron supplements
Although increased dietary intake is usually safe and has no side effects, iron supplements can cause unwanted side effects such as a metallic taste in the mouth, nausea, vomiting, headache, and rash, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Always consult with your doctor to determine the best way to increase your iron levels and reduce the likelihood of negative effects.
Cook with plenty of cast iron
Some people love cast iron for the timeless and authentic feel it gives to cooking. Another advantage? Cooking with cast iron pans can increase the iron content of food.
Food cooked over low heat in an Iron Cookware can absorb some of the minerals and pass them on to you when you eat the food. Acidic foods, such as tomato sauce, lemon juice, and red wine, are particularly prone to absorbing iron from cookware.
A systematic review of 11 studies found significant evidence that using cast iron cookware can help reduce the risk of iron deficiency anemia (IDA), a type of anemia caused by a lack of iron in the body, especially among children, according to a September 2019 study in PLOS One.
The Public Health and Nutrition study, conducted in November 2018, evaluated the differences in iron content between cooked black beans and beets in a cast iron and non-cast iron skillet and found that the iron content of both foods increased when cooked in cast iron.
While these results are promising for increasing your iron levels, you should not rely on them to do so. It can be difficult to determine exactly how much iron is being absorbed by food, so it’s important to focus on getting iron into your body through other methods.
In rare cases, you may need iron injections
According to the Cleveland Clinic, in rare cases of iron deficiency that is not resolved by dietary changes and supplements, doctors may recommend iron injections. Those who receive iron supplements intravenously most often do so because they are unable to take supplements orally.
Injections should always be given by a trained professional in a medical setting such as a hospital or doctor’s office. Possible side effects include anaphylaxis, a serious and sometimes life-threatening allergic reaction, as well as nausea, dizziness, fainting, and low blood pressure.
Iron injections are commonly used for patients taking erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs), which increase the production of blood cells and therefore increase the need for iron.
