Are you lacking or low in iron? These top 4 healthy smoothies for low iron can help stabilize your blood iron levels!
Having low iron or anemia can be scary – I’ve been there before. You feel so tired that you just can’t physically lift your body out of bed or even a chair. Then when you get up, your head gets woozy and you start seeing black spots for a few seconds until you stabilize.
Those aren’t the only symptoms of having low iron, as we shall see below:
Signs & Symptoms of Low Iron
When the body has low iron levels, it means that there are not enough red blood cells to transport oxygen throughout the entire body.
Because all your organs are not receiving sufficient oxygen to survive, basic bodily functions may be hindered and you feel extremely fatigued.
Some of the signs and symptoms of low iron or anemia include:
- Extreme exhaustion/fatigue
- Difficulty focusing or concentrating
- Shortness of breath
- Heart palpitations
- Cold hands and feet
- Pale skin color especially in the palms, inside of lips, inside of lower eye lids, nails and even gums
- Irritability
- Hair loss
- Dry skin
- Brittle nails
- Restless leg syndrome
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Weakness
- Frequently seeing spots in your vision especially when you get up
- Changes in the tongue (swollen, pale, dry and smooth abnormal texture
- Dry mouth with cracks or sores
What is a Low Iron Level for Women?
Low iron mostly affects women because of menstruation, pregnancy and certain reproductive disorders such as heavy bleeding due to fibroids or cysts, etc.
For women with iron deficiency anemia, iron levels below 10 micromoles per liter (mmol/L) is considered low.
However, doctors do not diagnose anemia based on blood iron levels alone. This is because the total amount of iron in your entire body including tissues and muscles is also counted, not just blood iron levels.
When testing for anemia, doctors usually test for:
- Hemoglobin – It is also known as HB and it is one of the major factors to diagnose anemia. Hemoglobin is the pigment that gives blood its red color. It is a protein that transports oxygen. The normal range for adult women is 11.6 to 15. g/dL. A lower count usually signals insufficient iron.
- Ferritin – It is your storage form of iron. Low ferritin levels usually means low iron.
- Hematocrit – This basically measures the percentage of your blood that is made up of red blood cells. The normal range for adult women is 35.5% to 44.9%.
- Red blood cell color and size: If red blood cells are obsevered to be smaller than usual and paler in color, it generally points towards anemia.
Daily Iron Requirements for Women
This is information you need to keep in mind so you can include iron-rich foods or take a good iron supplement to fulfil your requirements (source):
- 18mg of iron for non-pregnant women aged 19-50, daily
- 8.7mg a day for women over 50, daily
- 27 mg RDI for pregnant women, daily
You should be able to get this RDI (recommended daily intake) of iron from your diet. Below we shall look at some iron-rich foods that you can add to smoothies for low iron!
What Foods Are Good to Add in Smoothies for Low Iron?
It is incredibly important to make sure that you are getting adequate iron when a woman of child bearing age. These food sources are great iron-rich options!
Before we see the list of iron-rich foods, you must know that there are two types of iron in food: heme iron (from animals) and non-heme iron (from plants).
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Heme iron is better absorbed and is found in animal products, like liver and beef.
On the other hand, non-heme iron is not absorbed as well, but is still a source of iron. This form is found in plant foods. The best way to make non-heme iron more readily absorbed by the body is taking it with Vitamin C, for example, making a smoothie with spinach (rich in non-heme iron) and an orange (rich in Vitamin C).
Some of the foods good to add in smoothies for low iron include:
- All legumes including black beans, black eyed peas, red beans, chickpeas, lentils and lima beans
- Dairy milk as well as non-dairy milk such as almond, coconut and oat milk
- Dried fruits such as apricots, dates, figs, prunes and raisins
- Fruit such as apples, apricots, avocados, bananas, mulberries, passionfruit, pears, persimmons, strawberries and watermelon
- Grains such as amaranth, oatmeal, quinoa and spelt
- Leafy greens including collard, beet greens, kale, spinach and swiss chard
- Natural sweeteners such as date syrup, palm jaggery, coconut sugar and black strap molasses
- Nuts and seeds such as almonds, cashew nuts, hazelnuts, peanuts, pistachios, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and walnuts
- Superfood powders such as maca root powder and cacao powder
- Superfoods from the sea such as chlorella, spirulina and kelp
How to Boost Iron Absorption – 4 Tips
As we saw from above, non-heme iron (that comes from plants) is harder to absorb than heme iron (that comes from animals).
There are a few foods or compounds in foods that can actually reduce iron absorption which you can find in the list below:
- Caffeine
- Herbal teas that are high in polyphenols such as chamomile and peppermint, among others
- Food extremely high in fiber
- Oxalates in coffee and tea
- Phytates in coffee, legumes and tea
- Tannins in tea such as black, green and other herbal teas
You can still consume these foods but don’t mix them with iron rich foods for better iron absorption.
Below are top 4 tips to boost iron absorption, especially when you are consuming non-heme iron.
- Pair non-heme iron foods with Vitamin C foods – Good news! Vitamin C is known to enhance the absorption of iron. Good news part 2! Research shows that having enough amounts of Vitamin C in a meal can counteract the inhibitory effect of compounds like tannins that reduce iron absorption. Make sure your meal has a good amount of Vitamin C in it – oranges or any citrus fruit, kiwis, and more!
- Eat non-heme iron foods with Vitamin A foods – Just like Vitamin C, Vitamin A also boosts iron absorption if you eat it together with iron-rich foods. Foods high in Vitamin A include carrots, papaya, sweet potatoes, bell peppers and more.
- Mix non-heme iron foods with heme iron foods – If you’re not vegan or don’t consume animal products, why not get the best of both worlds by eating non-heme iron with heme iron? Heme iron gets absorbed much better by the body and it also encourages the absorption of non-heme iron when combined in the same plate. Think a spinach filled omelette!
- Try not to take coffee or tea with/after your meals – Since tea and coffee are high I compounds like caffeine, oxalates, polyphenols, phytates and tannins, you’d rather not consume them with a meal that has iron-rich foods in it. Instea, drink tea/coffee between meals or at a designated time like 1-2 hours before (we all need that coffee early in the morning!) or 2-3 hours after a meal (like tea time!).
4 Healthy Smoothie Recipes for Low Iron
Now we are finally going to go into these 4 awesome smoothie recipes for low iron! Let’s dive right into them! Choose any and drink daily for a boost in your iron levels!
These smoothies contain iron-rich ingredients in varying amounts.
Drinking these smoothies can help increase your iron, however, they won’t give you all of your RDI (Recommended Daily Intake) of iron. Make sure to add them to a balanced diet filled with iron-rich foods.
You can even take these smoothies for low iron together with iron supplements, after consulting with your doctor of course! But I’m sure it’s totally okay since these smoothies use fresh, whole, unprocessed food you need to eat daily anyway!
1. Breakfast Smoothie for Low Iron
What you Need
- 1 cup of almond milk (where to get it)
- ½ cup baby spinach
- 2 Medjool dates, pitted (where to get it)
- ½ frozen banana
- ½ ripe pear
- 1 ripe persimmon
- ½ avocado
- High speed blender (where to get it)
- Smoothie drinking jar & straw (where to get it)
Directions
- Wash all fresh produce.
- Remove skin & seeds of fruits.
- Cut them into smaller chunks to fit your high speed blender.
- Add all ingredients including the liquid.
- Blend till absolutely smooth and lump-free.
- Pour into a smoothie jar and enjoy with a straw!
2. Chocolate-Fix Smoothie for Low Iron
What you Need
- 2 tbsp of Greek yogurt
- 1 cup almond milk (where to get it) or coconut milk (where to get it)
- 2 tbsp cacao nibs (where to get it)
- 1 tbsp of flaxseeds (where to get it)
- 1 tbsp of sunflower seeds (where to get it)
- 2 tbsp of rolled oats, soaked (where to get it)
- 1 tbsp of maple syrup (where to get it)
- High speed blender (where to get it)
- Smoothie drinking jar & straw (where to get it)
Directions
- Begin by soaking 2 tbsp of rolled oats in 2 tbsp of water overnight.
- The next morning, your oats will be nice and soft.
- Add it to a high speed blender together with the rest of the ingredients.
- Blitz till you get a thick smoothie!
- Pour it into a smoothie jar and drink up!
3. Coconut & Date Green Smoothie for Low Iron
What you Need
- A handful of spinach
- A handful of dandelion greens
- 2 tangerines
- 2 Medjool dates, pitted (where to get it)
- ½ tsp of extra virgin coconut oil (where to get it)
- A pinch of sea salt (where to get it)
- 1 cup of coconut water (where to get it), coconut milk (where to get it) or filtered water
- High speed blender (where to get it)
- Smoothie drinking jar & straw (where to get it)
Directions
- Wash all greens thoroughly.
- Remove seeds from tangerines and dates.
- Add all ingredients into your high speed blender.
- Blend till smooth and creamy.
- Serve fresh!
4. Citrusy Super Green Smoothie for Low Iron
What you Need
- 1 cup of raw spinach
- ½ cup of kale
- 1 medium orange, peeled and deseeded
- 1 frozen banana
- 1 tbsp chia seeds (where to get it)
- ¼ cup of cold water or ice cubes
- High speed blender (where to get it)
- Smoothie drinking jar & straw (where to get it)
Directions
- Wash produce and remove the seeds of the orange.
- Put everything in the high speed blender and blend away till smooth and lump-free.
- Enjoy immediately!
Thank you for reaching the conclusion of this article, ‘4 Healthy Smoothies for Low Iron.’ I do hope you try out the recipes above. I wish you healthy iron levels! Stay safe <3
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