Iron rich food advice

[mzteris]

Hey yall -

My 7.5 yo son is "mildly anemic". (We thought he might have asthma, but now they're thinking it may be the anemia . So it's a good news/bad news sort of thing.)

Ok - so here's the thing. We have to go back to the Dr's for a follow-up visit about this issue and I know that the whole vegetarian thing is going to come up. (And, if not there, then from everyone else who thinks growing boys NEED RED MEAT! :puke:)

I have gotten a little slack lately on having spinach salads (not that he'll eat more than a few leaves at a time...) and we eat too much "pasta, beans, cheese, and "processed soy products".

This guy is my adopted AA son. He's 7.5 yo, 4'4-ish, and weighs ~80 lbs - but he's not fat. He's VERY muscular and has a large bone structure. He's a gifted athlete (yeah, already we can tell. :) )
and is involved in lots of sports. He's constantly in motion. He eats A LOT! and is always hungry. I keep "junk food" pretty much out of the house - teddy grahams being our "worst", though I will relent on the occasional candy bar. Sodas are at a bare (special occasion) minimum - and I try to avoid HFCS like the plague.

He "hates" peppers and onions; broccoli is okay steamed but not stir-fried, & he'll eat one or two stalks of asparagus (maybe). No squash or zucchini, either.

I've not been successful doing anything with tofu!

He takes a multivitamin and 2 flax-seed oil capsules.

So any suggestions?

(My older son - yikes - I guess should probably get his blood checked, too. Although he eats more fresh veggies, he eats small portions, is ultra thin, is very pale (dark circles under his eyes) and *very* active as well.)

[flvegan]

1. Some nuts are iron rich, also up his vitamin C intake

Vit. C helps the body absorb iron. Head over to vegsource.com and ask on their message board. They have a good number of folks that know quite a bit about about nutrition, and have likey answered this question before.

If your Dr. suggests he needs red meat, take it with a grain of salt. I'm not saying that you should ever ignore your doctor, but most doctors don't know squat about nutrition.

[mzteris]

4. thanks -

I'll take a look over there.

I'm just trying to prepare myself for the barrage. My group of friends (the pro-meat, pro-fat, anti-soy ones!) knew I was taking him to be checked for asthma so if I tell them he's anemic I just *know* I'm going to catch a lot of flack - er - get a lot of "suggestions". :(

[LeftyMom]

2. Can you sneak iron rich foods into things he already likes?

I'm thinking a little frozen spinach in pasta sauce, blackstrap molasses in chili (I have a recipe around here, it's one of the things I always eat before I donate blood to perk up my iron,) tofu blended into desserts (there's a pie recipe around here too,) etc. I'd try that and a supplement, probably Floradix Iron and Herbs, since it's vegan, food based and tends to absorb well. Oh, and if you can cut back on the cheese and see if that helps it's a pretty good idea. Dairy can cause tiny bleeds in the intestine in some people, which of course loses iron. He's at a higher risk for this problem because of his ethnicity.

Also if you can get him to help with shopping and preparation that may help him to eat more veggies. My kid's eaten things he's picked out at the Farmer's Market I never thought I'd get him to eat otherwise.

[mzteris]

5. I hadn't thought about

blackstrap molasses . . . hmmmmm.

I look for the Floradix, too.

How would I know if the dairy is causing "tiny bleeds"? What are the symptoms. I had the allergist specifically test for dairy allergy but he wasn't.

[livetohike]

3. Check out this web page

http://www.sandiegobloodbank.org/education/iron_rich_foods.php

I have been veg. for over 30 years now and always had iron problems especially during my younger years. The chart on this page shows how much of a certain food produces so many mg of iron. Children need 10-15 mg per day and I am guessing your son needs more than that right now.

Dried fruits are a good choice if your son will eat them. Also molasses, but he would need a full tablespoon to get any benefit from it. Molasses over pancakes or french toast maybe.

Then there is the whole issue of absorption and which things not to eat when you are eating an iron rich food. It gets a little complicated. I think I would just concentrate on getting the iron into him. Also, cook in cast iron pans if you aren't doing this already :-).

[mzteris]

6. thanks for the link.

I'm a "southern girl" so of coahse I have a cast-iron frying pan! :rofl: