pppfffhhtttt . . . please.help.me . . . ackkkkk . . . sputter . . . drink.this . . .

[MomOfOneFunOne]

:ack2: spirulina

 

I'm seriously anemic. I've been taking shots but my iron level didn't go up. I'll be doing some IV stuff in a couple of weeks. I did two rounds of the IV last year but my iron only stayed up a couple of months. I hated the IV and opted for the shots but E.G.A.D.S they hurt . . . and don't work.

So, I've been looking around online. It has been suggested that daily intake of iron, vitamin c, yellow dock root, and . . . ugh . . . spirulina is a good approach to my problem. The IV should get my iron up again and if I attack with this vitamin regimen, maybe it will stay up.

 

So, I got the spirulina. I doesn't taste bad, really, but the appearance and texture is just awful. :ack2::ack2::ack2::ack2:

 

How do you drink it???? I prefer the actual algae over the tablets b/c of cost but sheesh, it's not easy to get down

[SonshineLearner]

How about http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=floradix+iron+plus+herbs&aq=5sx&aqi=g-s1g-sx9&aql=&oq=floridix&gs_rfai=C8TzKSbYNTIuuAo6EygS7qs3-BgAAAKoEBU_QIzwm[/url]

 

Have you tried this one? I got it right after both of my kids were born.... made my iron level shoot right up:)

[Mom-ninja.]

I second the recommendation for Floradix.

[Perry]

Do you know why you're anemic? Iron deficiency is one type but there are others, and if iron isn't helping you might have a different type. Have you had a thorough evaluation?

[MomOfOneFunOne]

I have some of that in the fridge. That is the iron I plan to take after the IV but for now, I'm on an iron tablet from the dr. of feosol or something like that at 975 mg/day (plus the shots). I have to continue that for two more weeks. After that, I plan to go back to the floradix.

 

taking the other things in addition is supposed to help with absorption, which is my problem. I eat healthy but it seems that I have some sort of genetic absorption problem.

Edited June 8, 2010 by MomOfOneFunOne

[gaillardia]

Unsulfured molasses is high in iron and doesn't smell as bad and doesn't constipate so much. We are in the habit of taking a tablespoon or two daily. Red raspberry leaf tea is also a good iron supplement.

Iron from plants the body can assimilate easier and more completely. The other iron is harder on the body.

Good luck.

[MomOfOneFunOne]

Do you know why you're anemic? Iron deficiency is one type but there are others, and if iron isn't helping you might have a different type. Have you had a thorough evaluation?

 

Yes, in fact, the thorough evaluations are about to kill me! If it can be evaluated, it has. Everything seems to be in working order except my little iron absorbers.

 

If only needles, tubes, contrasts, and scans were rich in iron I'd be a healthy girl! :tongue_smilie:

[MomOfOneFunOne]

Unsulfured molasses is high in iron and doesn't smell as bad and doesn't constipate so much. We are in the habit of taking a tablespoon or two daily. Red raspberry leaf tea is also a good iron supplement.

Iron from plants the body can assimilate easier and more completely. The other iron is harder on the body.

Good luck.

 

I love red raspberry leaf tea and didn't know that! I have some blackstrap and try to add it where I can. I've even made tea of it with hot water, blackstrap, honey and ginger. well, it's not the worst thing I've had.:tongue_smilie:

[gaillardia]

I have some of that in the fridge. That is the iron I plan to take after the IV but for now, I'm on an iron tablet from the dr. of feosol or something like that at 975 mg/day (plus the shots). I have to continue that for two more weeks. After that, I plan to go back to the floradix.

 

taking the other things in addition is supposed to help with absorption, which is my problem. I eat healthy but it seems that I have some sort of genetic absorption problem.

Oh. Sorry. I guess my answer doesn't help much then.:001_huh:

[Spy Car]

Huh. I like the taste of Spirulina.

 

Bill

[sbgrace]

Look into ferrochel (ferrous bis-glycinate). I tried everything with my son and this is the one thing that worked. It's absorbed 3 x's better than other iron supplements and doesn't have the competing minerals/antioxidant/oxalate/etc. issues you can get with food source. I didn't have success with floradix and I hate that they add juices of things that inhibit iron absorption with their iron!

 

Solgar Gentle iron is this form and it's widely available. You can do some looking at studies with ferrochel. It really does work better.

 

I also learned a lot about what not to do. Specifically, keep your iron away from things that inhibit absorption: calcium containing foods like dairy, greens, fortified foods, vitamins, etc., beans (including soy) nuts and seeds, eggs (yolk and whites--both are major iron inhibitors in studies beyond anything else; keep them far away from iron if you do them at all while you're trying to correct), bright colored fruits and juices (grapes, prunes, grape juice, cranberry juice etc.), greens (spinach and the like are high in oxalates; the ones that aren't high in oxalates are high in calcium and other minerals), any supplemental minerals will inhibit iron absorption (calcium, zinc, copper, trace minerals, etc.)

 

What will help absorption: vitamin C or vitamin C rich foods, riboflavin and likely other b vitamins (I just did a general and extra ribo which will turn the pee nice neon yellow :D)

[Peela]

I take spirulina- it seems to really help my system a lot and I have tried many different things for iron. Floradix tastes yummy but does nothing for me- I always feel I need to drink half the bottle.

 

However I learned early on that I cant stand the taste of spirulina- I take the tablets. I take 20 at a time though- they are 500gms each so I take 10grams at a time. Not sure how to translate that to U.S. speak though :)

It sounds like a lot of tablets but they are quite small and easy to swallow- and soooo much better than the taste of the powder, and I am pretty good at powders.

I like barley or wheat grass powder and will happily mix that into orange juice. But not spirulina.

[sbgrace]

I wanted to mention I didn't do spirulina with my son for various reasons. It does have potential to work in research. Keep in mind that spirulina contains lots of other minerals. Be careful with really high doses. Some of the extra minerals (like selenium) in it have relatively low toxic level dose thresholds. More may not be better!

Edited June 8, 2010 by sbgrace

[Isabella]

Hi, just to throw this out there for anyone to take or leave...a highly effective way to increase ferritin (the iron storage - you can have plenty of iron pumped into you, but unless you have the storage capacity, it ends up as free iron, which is more harmful than healthful) is to have raw (preferably organic) beef liver.

 

The method I use, is to freeze the liver cut into rough chunks, and freeze it, then take a frozen piece, and cut it into tablet size pieces, and down about 10 tablet size pieces with plenty of water. It goes down just like any other tablet. No taste, no aftertaste, nothing but increased energy within a few hours. You could also grate the raw liver, and stuff it into empty gelatin capsules (can get from pharmacies), and swallow a few of these.

 

My ferritin was 4 when I started, the lowest my clinical nutritionist had ever seen, and within 3 weeks it was up to 15. I haven't had it tested since, but I plan to soon. Another Dr I was talking to, when I said about my low ferritin, said to expect it to take forever, at least 18 months to get it up, and to feel good. I went on to tell her how much it jumped in 3 weeks, and she just about fell over backwards.

[Pamela H in Texas]

For spirulina, we just put some in our green smoothie. A friend of mine is taking it in capsules because she can't stand the smell to do ANYTHING with it.

[Blueridge]

I am so sorry! Yuck. Now if you want to try something else instead of the needles (I would do just about anything instead!) why don't you try BarleyMax Berry blend (a brand new flavor from Hallelujah Acres). I am literally drinking a smoothie right now for my breakfast. Very high in iron and lots of other things. My recipe: 1 cup coconut milk (or almond milk), 1/2 cup strawberries, 1 frozen banana, a squirt of agave, some bee pollen, and 1 tsp BarleyMax. You could also try your spirulina in this mixture. I hope you feel better soon.

[juelle]

Floradix the gluten-free one - helps here. Make sure you're not taking in calcium at the same time. They won't both absorb. Leave an hour between. Vit C ups Fe absorption. Hope you can get your levels up!

[Harriet Vane]

I also learned a lot about what not to do. Specifically, keep your iron away from things that inhibit absorption: calcium containing foods like dairy, greens, fortified foods, vitamins, etc., beans (including soy) nuts and seeds, eggs (yolk and whites--both are major iron inhibitors in studies beyond anything else; keep them far away from iron if you do them at all while you're trying to correct), bright colored fruits and juices (grapes, prunes, grape juice, cranberry juice etc.), greens (spinach and the like are high in oxalates; the ones that aren't high in oxalates are high in calcium and other minerals), any supplemental minerals will inhibit iron absorption (calcium, zinc, copper, trace minerals, etc.)

 

 

 

I am confused about this paragraph. Some of the things you list that inhibit absorption are foods that have HIGH iron content, like greens and beans, and are specifically recommended for the anemic.

 

I know, because I have struggled with chronic anemia for many years.

[laundrycrisis]

I have a genetic absorption issue as well.

 

Years ago, I went to an old-fashioned doctor for a sinus problem. Being old-fashioned, and being in the pre-HMO days, this doctor collected blood and urine from every patient on every visit, so his lab ran my blood count. He was so alarmed at my anemia he wanted to transport me to the hospital across the street for a transfusion. When I refused, he said he was going to tell me what to do and I had to follow his instructions exactly....

 

Anyway, he put me on a red meat diet. (Yes, a very old-fashioned doctor). Red meat not only contains iron; it also contains chemical that increase the absorption of iron. I had to eat a serving of red meat, three times a day for a week, no exceptions, with orange juice, and then have another blood count. It improved dramatically so I was downgraded to red meat once a day for a week - followed by another blood count - and then to a serving 2-3 times a week, and finally to eating at least one serving of red meat a week for the rest of my life. He also told me to have calcium at an opposite time of day as the red meat, and to limit my consumption of tea, because both calcium and the tannins in tea block iron absorption.

 

That was about 15 years ago and I continue to follow his advice. His emergency diet turned my health around and resolved a problem I had struggled with my entire life. Having red meat once a week has not caused me to have high cholesterol - it is fine.

[laundrycrisis]

I am confused about this paragraph. Some of the things you list that inhibit absorption are foods that have HIGH iron content, like greens and beans, and are specifically recommended for the anemic.

 

I know, because I have struggled with chronic anemia for many years.

 

 

Here is a link to an article that explains the reasoning for avoiding some of these items:

 

http://www.irondisorders.org/diet/

[Supertechmom]

Just wanted to throw out there that Celiac disease can cause a type of iron deficiency that won't resolve with iron treatments. It's been a long time since I did the research on it but it might be worth the rabbit trail.

[mcconnellboys]

LOL, you're Iron Man! Seriously, I think there's spirolina in Kombucha (at least some of it - read labels) and there are tons of flavors of it available now. Some tastes too much like beer for me, but there's a citrus variety that I can stand and a couple of others.....

 

 

http://www.synergydrinks.com/

[sbgrace]

I am confused about this paragraph. Some of the things you list that inhibit absorption are foods that have HIGH iron content, like greens and beans, and are specifically recommended for the anemic.

 

I know, because I have struggled with chronic anemia for many years.

Yes, but they also contain things that greatly inhibit iron absorption.

I learned this the hard way from my son.

 

Greens--you've got lots of high iron options. But things like spinach contain large amounts of oxalates (and perhaps more importantly polyphenols and calcium content). If you google oxalates and iron you'll see the issue mentioned. Research I did suggest the bigger problem is actually the other two things I mentioned. Many greens contain tannins as well (the reason you don't do tea with iron supplements). Things like Kale contain large amounts of calcium (and other minerals) additionally. It's not that Kale is bad for you-- quite the opposite. But calcium inhibits iron absorption. You wouldn't eat dairy with your iron. Don't eat calcium rich greens. Again, I learned this the hard way. You are going to get some iron. But you're not going to correct iron deficiency with this and if you eat these foods with your iron supplement you're doing worse absorption wise than you would if you didn't. Iron is poorly absorbed in many forms anyway which is why I mentioned ferrous bis-glycinate which research shows is absorbed so much better and corrects anemia fast. It did for my son.

 

Beans--the main issue is going to be phytates. Other factors are anti-amylases and tannins. You can break some of these down somewhat by things like sprouting, soaking, fermenting. If you're processing the beans in these ways to reduce antinutrients you're doing better than if you didn't. Most people who are told beans are great for iron are doing none of that. Even if a person is doing this you can't eliminate it completely so to call these great iron sources is misleading at best and, in the case of my son, harmful.

 

Egg yolk--this is one that people read so much about being a great source of iron. I fed my son lots of egg yolk. Then I found that egg is the most potent inhibitor of iron. Egg white is easy and many people know it's an issue due to phosphates. I knew that but thought yolk was great. It's worse in studies and in fact the worse inhibitor of any so worse than dairy, soy, etc. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17995699 http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=2906426

 

I think a huge portion of the problem we had was egg yolk. I read a pubmed study that showed that a high enough egg content in the diet inhibited iron absorption for the entire day. Most things, such as dairy/calcium, you just have to watch 2-3 hours before/after iron. Egg is a disaster.

 

Prunes and similar (raisins) the issue is antioxidants inhibiting iron absorption.

 

The best food source of iron is going to be red meat.

Edited June 8, 2010 by sbgrace

[Tap]

I put it in dd2s smoothies. She does pretty good with it. I don't know how much you would have to add to get an adult dose. At that level it may be a bit tooo green. :ack2::smilielol5:

[GoVanGogh]

Just wanted to throw out there that Celiac disease can cause a type of iron deficiency that won't resolve with iron treatments.

:iagree:

I battled low iron for many years before my diagnosis.

[ktgrok]

My midwife put me on this when I was anemic, and it worked so fast that i only needed part of the bottle. Previously I'd tried iron supplements and they did nothing, but this stuff was amazing! Also remember that iron is best absorbed with an acid, so take it with orange juice or lemonade :)

 

http://www.metagenics.com/products/a-z-products-list/Hemagenics

[FaithManor]

I too have MAJOR iron absorption problems. I very rarely, on the absolute best of days and with the most creativity in supplements and dietary manipulation, can register a hemoglobin over nine. I am considered "perniciously" anemic even though that normally means b-12 deficiency which is one cause of anemia.

 

That said, the doctor has finally figured out that I don't absorb iron from plant sources and it would take research that no insurance will ever pay for to figure out what enzymes or "intrinsic factor" my gut is missing in order to replace it medically. So, I have to eat red meat. That said, there isn't enough red meat in the world to make my hemoglobin come up to normal. This is due in large part to the fact that I nearly bled out after child #3 was born. I had been anemic the entire pregnancy and anemic with the previous two pregnancies plus another bleed out during a miscarriage so my bone marrow is pretty well spent and just can't produce enough red blood cells anymore.

 

I hope that your doctor will be able to help you and I am very glad that you are getting IV treatment. Because the doctor can not pinpoint a "disease or diagnosis" as for why I have this problem, our insurance denies the treatment. So, I can only get them when I can pay cash and I reserve that for the worst times.

 

You can absorb more iron from beans if you soak them for twenty-four hours first and skim the "scum" off as it forms. The bubbly stuff is the phytase which is breaking down due to the long soak. I do this for all of my beans and it does seem easier on my gut (no gassiness, etc.). This used to be the practice of the ancient peoples when they realized that most animals that consume legumes had different digestive systems. I usually skim once per hour until night time, let them sit, and have a lot to take off in the morning. I also change the water out completely after eight or nine hours.

 

Faith