Do you have iron deficiency and wondering what is the best way to treat it naturally? Then you’ve come to the right place. I used to have iron deficiency for a few years, felt tired all the time, fatigue, and experienced hair loss. The truth is that I didn’t treat it until it caused a major condition that I couldn’t ignore anymore. In this post I share what health condition I faced with, what I have learned from it, how it’s connected to my iron deficiency, and a natural way that helped me increase my iron (which is not eating more meat or taking iron pills).
That being said, it’s important to note that I’m not a doctor and I’m not giving a health or a medical advice, I’m just sharing my personal experience and how I managed to increase my iron. If you face with iron deficiency and other health conditions, you should always consult your doctor or other appropriate health care professional.
My Iron Deficiency Story
If you don’t eat enough iron-rich foods for an extended period or have a condition that stops iron absorption from your food, you might end up with an iron deficiency.
I developed iron deficiency after giving birth. Despite regularly eating meat throughout my life, including red meat, chicken, turkey, and liver, and continuing with the same diet during and after my pregnancies, I still had iron deficiency which even got worst over time.
When I consulted my doctor, he prescribed iron pills. However, due to the side effect of constipation that I experienced, I took them occasionally.
The truth is that although I felt tired all the time and experienced hair loss, it didn’t push me treat it and I just lived with it. The first time it really started bothering me was when I faced my first thyroid problem. It started with a condition called Thyroiditis (inflammation of the thyroid), which took around 6 months to heal, and I felt really bad. I felt my heart beating faster than normal in the mornings or just like that for no reason, extreme hair loss, felt super tired, and couldn’t even go up the stairs without feeling my heart beats and exhaustion (I was only 35!!!). A year later, I even had to go through an abortion due to developing problems of the embryo.
My thyroid imbalance seriously affected me, leading me to start learning about different causes of theroid problems, including the food I eat. I discovered many new things about our diet and how the food we eat affects our health. I read an amazing book about thyroid by Suzy Cohen R.Ph that changed my life. But that’s a story for another time.
I consulted a clinical dietitian that is specialized in thyroid who helped me understand the reasons for my thyroid imbalance. He asked me hundreds of questions, and I took all the necessary blood tests, but after checking everything, the main thing he pointed out was my iron deficiency (not even the fact that my mom and grandpa had hypothyroidism). It turned out that there are four elements that our thyroid needs to work properly and produce thyroid hormones: Iodine, selenium, zinc, and iron.
I have to admit that after having my kids, my eating habits were terrible. Basically, I ate everything my kids ate and worst. Any food that was fast and easy to make, I ate it. Fries, chicken schnitzels, snakes, sweets, pizza, pasta, white bread, and junk food. Almost no salads or healthy foods on a daily basis.
Facing the thyroid condition was when I knew that can’t continue ignoring my iron deficiency and I have to treat it once and for all and improve my diet.
The clinical dietitian told me to try and treat my iron deficiency first though the food that I’m eating and not with pills. And only if I see that it’s not working, turn to the iron supplements.
I went to a community nutritionist to create a suitable nutrition menu for me. But her only solution for me was to eat meat twice a day or to ask my doctor for iron shots.
I didn’t want to eat meat twice a day; it just felt unhealthy for me! And I didn’t want to take iron shots because I knew that if I continued to eat the same food, my iron deficiency would be back again. This is not a solution; it’s a temporary quick fix because I’m not addressing the root cause of the problem here.
How to Get Iron Without Eating Meat – The Green Shake That Boosted My Iron
I continued reading and learning and I heard that spirulina helped some people treat their iron deficiency – so I decided to give it a try.
I made a green shake recipe with all the vitamins and nutrients I knew my body needs. This recipe includes:
- 20 gram fresh frozen spirulina – rich in iron.
- spinach – rich in iron.
- 1 probiotic – to help absorb the vitamins better.
- 1 date
- 1 banana – healthy but also adds a sweet taste to the smoothie.
- juice from 1 orange – rich in vitamin C which promotes iron absorption.
- parsley – rich in vitamin C and Iron.
- dill or coriander (optional)
- mango / mix of frozen berries (high in antioxidants).
- water
- a teaspoon of flax seeds
I drank it for 3 weeks every morning – and took blood tests again – my iron + ferritin were up!!! This was so freaking amazing! Especially because I continued to eat meat only once a week and didn’t take any iron supplements.
Here is my green shake:
Here are my blood tests:
I drank this shake 3 weeks before I took the last test on December. The increase before October was due Iron pills I took for two weeks during August and stopped.
Final Thoughts,
My biggest takeaway from this is that I changed my diet. It was a wake up call for me to take control of my life. I improved my diet and I feel so much better. I’m still learning new things every day and reading books about nutrition, and I can’t believe how many things we don’t know about the food we eat. Our body deserves the best food so it will feel better and I know that this is just the beginning of my journey. Lately I started to read another amazing book called “How Not to Die” by Michael Greger MD, who explains how the food we eat makes us ill and what food we should avoid. I don’t like the name of the book lol but trust me you will be surprised how good this book is! This is definitely a must read!
Leave a Reply