Low Iron.. - Ada,OK

If you cook from scratch, a cast iron pan puts iron in everything you make. If you don't have one already, they are often available at thrift shops. I inherited my MIL's 28 years ago, and love it; use it for almost every meal.

You can try to include high iron food into her diet - prunes, apricots, spinach, black strap molasses... I'm sure there's lots more!

Lovinlily---It is actually best to get iron from foods. And, as another mom suggested, another great dietary source of iron is from cooking foods in a cast iron pan. They are actually very good cooking utensils. Do a google search to see which ones contain the most iron.

Iron supplements are actually quite dangerous for people. Here is some info from an MD that practices integrative medicine:Iron is unique among essential minerals, because there is no mechanism for its excretion once absorbed into the body. Whatever iron is absorbed must either be used or stored and excessive storage of iron in the body promotes the generation of free radicals. Excess dietary iron has been implicated by some scientists as a cause of cancer and heart disease. It also increases the risk of bacterial infection.

Iron should not be taken as part of a multivitamin or multimineral preparation. Iron interferes with the absorption of the essen-tial minerals zinc, manganese and molybdenum; it destroys vitamin E; its own absorption is blocked by calcium and magnesium. Iron is best absorbed after a meal, with a small quantity of vitamin C (between one hundred and five hundred milligrams).

Here is a website that lists the iron content of foodshttp://www.loveyourbaby.com/iron-rich-food-list.html. The most absorbable iron is from animal sources, but too much animal protein increases a person's risk of chronic diseases like cancer, heart disease and diabetes, as well as all auto-immune disorders. So focus on plant foods, using animal protein sparingly, like a side-dish or condiment. Please read The China Study by T Colin Campbell to learn more about the dangers of too much animal protein.

I am taking a series of wellness classes taught by a Naturopath who has her PhD in Nutrition. If you have any questions, I would be happy to help. Good luck...and don't worry too much about any one nutrient for a diet. If you are eating a wide variety of different foods...think in terms of lots of different colors, the darker the better, you will have all of your nutrient needs taken care of. The different colors are all because of the different vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals present in that food.

Have a great day. D.

An absorbable multivitamin is probably a good thing but make sure you don't get the wrong one. Flintstones are actually bad for kids because the cause free radicals (which stimulate cancers) so you HAVE to have extra antioxidants. Most you pick up at Walmart or Sam's or even GNC are drug store quality and not good. Go to a health store and ask if they have one that is pharmaceutical grade. I'll be glad to recommend one if you like.

Also make sure that if your little one is on an iron supplement that the doctor checks her regularly. You can overdose on iron and the symptoms are scary. The multiple vitamin may be all she needs.

Hope this helps!

M.
www.squidoo.com/ifyourbabycouldtalk

You can also use some infant cereal in some yogurt. It is very high in iron. If she will take a "next step" toddler infant formula, that will work as well. If you are on WIC and get a doctor's RX then go back to your WIC office and tell them you have the script and need your vochures to include infant cereal again and a next step formula. They can grant these request short term when printing out your vochures. They also usually keep emergency supplies on hand in the office. Also give her orange juice if youare feeding her meat or hiding drops in her juice. Orange juice triples your iron absorbtion when taking at the same EXACT time. A low HGB (iron level) is a bigger deal in infat/toddlers than in adults. Everyone needs it to carry oxygen to needed cells, but babies and toddlers need it even more for brain development. I also think you need to do a little follow-up with your WIC clinic. They are not just suppose to get a result and record it, they are suppose to help guide you; even if that is telling you to follow up with the pediatrician. If that office was here, I would be going in to do some massive education with the staff. Good luck and she will be fine.

Cast iron skillets do work really well, but it needs to be something that you really move around in the skillet (ex: scrambled eggs). The two foods that have the most dramatic increase in iron are tomato sauce and apple sauce. The acidity is what makes them absorrb the most (I I think). Also, an old cast iron skillet won't work as well as a new one.

I give my kids vitamins containing iron because their Iron usually measures at a 10 also. I tried increasing their iron in foods, but it didn't work for them. It may help your little one. First, look up foods that are high in iron. Then, when you serve those foods also serve something something containing vitamin C. The vitamin C will help your baby's body absorb the iron. Do not serve milk with the foods containing iron as the calcium will hinder the absorption.

Good luck. It can be really frustrating.

Here is a link saying that 11-13 is considered normal, so your child's 10 isn't too low. I would try to get it higher on diet foods rather than a supplement.

Here is the link for the levels and a link for iron rich foods:

http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=15737

http://pediatrics.about.com/od/nutrition/a/06_iron_foods.htm

I'd be wary of WIC telling you things like that...all groups have their own protocols which may or may not be correct.

Seek advice from a trusted pediatrician if you want, but take other advice with a grain of salt.

Beans are great! They are easy to prepare and are a great source of iron and fiber. If you are in a rush, Wendy's has chili. The small one is around a dollar. Life cereal supposedly has the highest iron count. We use Cherrios. They are a great source of iron also. I think most cereals are now fortified with important minerals and vitamins.

hi-
here is some additional info on low iron - http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/health/info/blood/diag...

it lists some high in iron foods BUT you must be careful with some of the foods because your child is 1 (e.g. I would not feed her nuts and if she has not had shellfish be very careful it can cause an allergic reaction)

good luck!

If the dr says it's ok, I'd go to a children's multi with iron.

Try to hide it in organ juice. The vitamin C will help the Iron absorb in you toddlers system.

My son was very anemic at his 12 month checkup. Our pediatrician, who is wonderful, told me there are 2 prescription iron supplements. One is paid by insurance and tastes TERRIBLE. The other is not paid but tastes so much better. We opted to pay for the good one and it made all the difference. I also loaded his diet with iron-rich foods. His favorite was liverwurst on crackers. We also switched to the whole grain cheerios because they are LOADED with iron compared to regular cheerios. I learned to give him orange juice with his iron snacks and avoid milk for several hours around that time. Milk causes iron to not be absorbed into the body. Hope this helps!

those tests WIC does are notorious for being false. I'd have it rechecked with my doctor to make sure it really is low before giving your baby extra iron. if it's not needed, it'll constipate baby. besides, always best to get a 2nd opinion :D