Triumph!!!!!

FINALLY! I am no longer anemic people! This is a HUGE person victory for me! Let me explain: I have been anemic for the longest time...almost my entire adult life. I even developed a heart murmur due to my very low iron. During those frustrating 'female' times, I even get so lethargic that Josh has to take over at times, and ply me with all sorts of red meat.

So to combat this, as at times it has been quite debilitating, I have been pumping myself with Iron..quite literally. I've been taking a combination of vitamins, which include:

a prenatal (with iron)
Calcium + D
Iron (256% the DRA!)
fish oil
potassium (at times)

Today I had blood work done and guess what? MY LEVELS WERE NORMAL!! This is possibly the first time in my life I have not had to worry about my iron levels and I'm ecstatic! So, for anyone else that is extremely anemic out there, you can get your levels normal!

Here are some other tips:

*Cook in cast iron pans--your food will leach some of the iron out of the pan
*DO NOT TAKE your iron pills with any calcium-rich foods, including milk and yogurt, or calcium pills--Calcium blocks iron absorption into the body. Take your Calcium pills at a separate time of the day from your iron pills.
*DO take your iron pills or eat iron rich food with foods/drinks high in Vitamin C--this HELPS your body absorb the iron. Example: eat a steak with a salad chock full of tomatoes!
*Eat lots of iron rich foods-including iron enriched breads, cereals, red meat, kidney beans and leafy greens.
*If you need a quick pick me up, grab a burger! Red meat has "heme" iron which your body absorbs quickly. Leafy greens contain "non-heme" iron which your body absorbs slower, over a period of time!

Good luck!