Hi all,
My daughter's 12month bloodwork showed very slight iron deficiency. My ped said to feed higher iron containing foods and they would recheck at 18 months. If still low then, they will give her iron supplements. I'm wondering if anyone out there knows of some iron-rich foods?
What we have found so far is rice chex cereal (50% iron), and I'm trying to give her more beef. I also heard dark green veggies, but which ones? I checked frozen broccoli and spinach and they weren't great as far as iron content.
Thanks for any suggestions - we'll check them out!
Lentils are very high in iron. You can make a soup out of them- there are many lentil soup recipes out there. They are very simple and mild in taste. My kids have always loved them. Hope this helps!
Soy milk also has good iron content.
check the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference
here is the link for iron sorted by content:
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/SR20/nutrlist/...
Here is the link to the nutrient list (choose alpha by name or W for by weight/amount per serving of the specific nutrient you're looking for)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=15869
Here is the link to search the database for a specific nutrient:
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/
did the doctor recommend to give her vitamins w/ iron?
Good luck and watch the amounts because Iron is very toxic for kids.
~C.~
I would put her on the gummies made by Juice Plus. They have spinach, brocolli, kale and 14 other veggies and fruit. This has done wonders for iron levels and kids love them. There is tons of research to prove that this gets into the blood and it works. I can help you with this if you are interested. L. Harris
____@____.com
If you combine mandarin oranges (or other vit C rich foods) with the dark gr veggies (spinach, etc) the absorption of iron is greater. Check out beans and legumes also, I think they are high in Iron. hd
Same thing happened with my son - we started buying the vitamins with iron added to them - we also give him the PediaSure shakes - he loves Vanillia - they have lots of vitamins!
Try a gummie multi-vit. I started my son on them when he was 12 months old. The bottle say not to give until age two, but the only reason is because some children might not be able to chew them. If you daughter is able to chew them then she can safely take them.
Hi. The most important thing when upping the iron content in your child's diet is to make sure you also up the Vitamin C, which helps the body better absorb the iron. Dark green vegies, are great, if you look on the wic website, you can get a lot of information there. My son (born 13 weeks prematurely) is very anemic as well as my self. Just be careful about stomach upset, iron can constipate!
Good luck!
A.
Total cereal- if you let it sit in milk and stir it- you can actually see the elemental iron come out. This is the fastest/easiest way. My dd needed iron supplement- but it had so many instructions- must be standing for so many hours- can't eat w/ this or that food- so the Total cereal was the easiest!
Keep in mind that the Daily intake percentages on labels are for ADULTS. Toddlers only need about 10 MG a day. Foods that are good for iron are red meats, beans, broccoli(yes its still good for iron), iron fortified cereals, brown rice and egg yolks. Also, try to give iron foods with vitamin C, it helps the body absorb the iron. Try not to take iron with calcium. That hinders the body's absorbtion. Good luck and I hope that helps. :)
