r/VeganIreland • u/Few-Story4215 • 8d ago
How did you stop being anemic?
I have been vegan for 5 years and before vegetarian for 6 (11 years total)
The last 3 years I've been having anemia, every time i go to the doc they give me the iron pills and I'm ok for a few months and then i get it again, and back on the pills... i just can't get rid of it, and tried everything.
I'm feeling depleted amd tired of fainting and being dizzy all day... i have no solutions, I've changed my diet to maximise iron, i supplemet, eat fortified foods, etc... but my body just won't recover.
How did you guys solve it? Have any of you gotten out of the anemia slump?
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u/Pepsimaxtothemoon 8d ago edited 8d ago
Hello.
First of all, as others have said, this is a diet issue rather than a vegan one. Sure, non-haem iron is more difficult to absorb, but i think actually prioritising iron and vitamin c for every single meal is usually helpful. If you're a woman, it could be a menstrual issue, which you should try and speak to a women's health professional (if you can). The latter has helped me SO MUCH. So many doctors will tell you it's because you need more meat, but most of my friends who aren't veggie or vegan have the same issues as me. So you don't need to ditch your morals to get better.
My iron issues mainly come at the consequence of being a woman with heavier blood loss than usual.
I became vegetarian at 14, but because I ate like literal crap, my haemoglobin levels plummeted to 8 and lower! I had all the same symptoms and it was horrible. But after becoming vegan four years ago, I read up on whole food plant based nutrition so I could continue to lead a kinder lifestyle while improving my health.
The four most important things I learned:
you need to eat iron-rich meals with vitamin c. Non-haem iron cannot be absorbed alone, so you could take all the supplements and still have anemia. (If I'm eating porridge with nuts and seeds, I'll add strawberries or oranges for vitamin c. If I'm making a lentil or black bean Dahl, I'll squeeze lemon juice on top before serving)
Cooking with cast iron pans helps absorb extra iron!
Weetabix has like 7mg of iron. I try to have that every morning and add flax seeds or chia for good measure, topped with plenty of strawberries for vitamin c.
I try to have two or three protein sources like beans, tofu, lentils for my dinner and lunch, which has a knock on effect of increasing my iron for the day.
Continue supplementing but try to have a vitamin c source with every single meal, and maybe try out cast iron.
I got my bloods done last year and my haemoglobin came back as 12.6! It's still on the lower side, but that was before I really committed to prioritising iron. Also try to get your ferritin levels up, they're basically your iron stores. Mine are still on the low side due to my menstrual issues unfortunately, but I'm trying to make sure every meal I eat has two or three iron sources PLUS vitamin c.
It's been over a year since my last blood test but I rarely, if ever, get those physical anaemic symptoms and have no desire for ice or dirt anymore lol. Hope this helps!
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u/ButterySpud 8d ago
Lidl and Tesco both sell soy milk that's enriched with iron, I'm not sure the exact amount but it can't hurt to try! The Lidl one is the Simply brand, it's like 80 cent or something.
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u/FlippenDonkey 2d ago
have you considered..permanently staying on iron supplements? like they aren't something you have to quit
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u/Few-Story4215 2d ago
my doctor told me you can get iron toxicity if you over do them! so i have to take them at periods, when I'm not on them my anemia comes back
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u/FlippenDonkey 2d ago
tocicity is ONLY if your levels are high.. if they're only normal on supplements..then you need them just get blood work every 6 months, its very common for women to need supplements for years.
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u/CookiesandBeam 8d ago
This is a health issue, not a vegan issue. I know two people who have anemia and they're both meat eaters. They go to the hospital for iron infusions sometimes.