Month: May 2015

Iron Intake on Summer Weekends

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Summer is here! Like me, I’m sure you’re ready to say goodbye to winter and finally enjoy the hot weather.  As we head into summer weekends, here are some ideas on ways to enjoy the food, fun and sun while making sure you and your family are keeping up your iron intake.

Enhance Absorption with These Top 10 Vitamin C Rich Foods

Strawberries? Brussel sprouts? Yes, please! Vitamin C helps your body to better absorb iron. Add these Vitamin C rich foods to your plate or glass this weekend to help you better absorb your iron. As an added bonus, some of these foods are locally grown in the summer!

10 Clever Ways to Get More Iron into Your Child’s Diet

Hosting a BBQ this weekend? Here are 10 clever ways to get your fussy eaters to eat more iron – #3 and #4 sound like a perfect addition to a backyard fiesta!

Adding ‘Superfoods’ to Your Diet in 2015

We’re hitting the halfway point for the year. If you made a new year’s resolution to eat better in 2015, consider adding these superfoods to your plate this weekend!

Top 12 Iron-Rich Foods for Vegans & Vegetarians

For my vegan and vegetarian friends, there are still plenty of foods to eat that are great sources of iron and taste great on the BBQ. Did you know one large potato has 3.2 mg of iron?

Cheers to the weekend!

Iron & Pregnancy Series with Dr. McLeod: Post-Partum

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It’s perfectly normal for a new mother to be tired as she adjusts to life with a new baby, but if she is suffering from iron deficiency, then the fatigue and other symptoms can make it especially difficult and may even lead to long-term consequences for her and her baby.

Iron deficiency in pregnancy is common, as I noted in Part 2 of this series. The risk increases near the end of the pregnancy when the baby stores iron that it takes from the mother. And, the risk of anemia increases even further if she loses and excess amount of blood during child birth, as approximately 5% of women do.

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Iron Deficiency: From Symptoms to Supplements

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You know those days where fatigue just gets the better of you and you spend your day feeling sluggish and unable to concentrate? If you were up late the night before or have had an especially hard and stressful week, then having a day like this may feel pretty normal. But, if you can’t pinpoint a cause for the way you’re feeling or find yourself feeling like that far too often, then you could be experiencing the symptoms of low iron.

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Iron & Pregnancy Series with Dr. McLeod: During Pregnancy

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It’s no surprise that a woman’s body will undergo changes during pregnancy to accommodate the baby as it grows. One of the biggest changes is that of her blood. While this might not be an obvious change (like that of a growing belly), it’s a very important change that requires some effort on the mother’s part to avoid putting herself and her baby in harm’s way.

Iron deficiency in pregnancy is not only dangerous, but also far too common. In Canada, an estimated 50% of pregnant women are iron deficient. Women of childbearing age are already at a higher risk of developing iron deficiency due to regular blood loss and subsequent iron loss (from menstruation), but the risk increases significantly once pregnant.

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Iron Articles Just for Mom

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Throughout the month of May we are honouring women – mothers in particular. Moms do A LOT for their families, and it’s important that they take time for themselves once in a while and ensure that their health is in check too! Iron deficiency can affect one’s entire family, but women and children are among the highest groups at-risk for developing this preventable condition.

So, I wanted to pull together handpicked articles for mom around iron deficiency and iron needs as well as some tips and information around iron and her children. Let’s get to it!

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The Iron Maiden: The 10 Most Popular Posts

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My goal is and always has been to empower my patients to be health care consumers rather than be consumed by health care. It is so important to be well informed and contribute to the process that determines the direction one’s care takes.

This is why I am so happy to use this platform to help spread awareness and educate people just like you! Since I’ve been blogging on The Iron Maiden for a little over 7 months now, some people have been asking me what the “most popular” articles are. So, I’m going to count down the 10 most popular posts – whether you’ve been following my blog for a while or are a new reader, these are the articles you don’t want to miss!

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Top 12 Iron-Rich Foods for Vegans & Vegetarians

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Even though you may not be eating meat – or as much meat as the average person – iron deficiency doesn’t have to be a problem. The risk of having low iron is definitely higher when you cut (or limit) meat from your diet, since the heme iron found in meat is easier to absorb than the non-heme iron in plant-based foods.

If you make the effort to choose vegan or vegetarian-friendly foods that are high in iron, there are ways to help keep your iron in check. For instance, I’ve come up with a list of the top 12 iron-rich foods suitable for vegans and vegetarians:

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