Contents:
- Medical Video: Importance Of Folic Acid During Pregnancy - Manipal Hospital
- What is iron?
- Why is consuming iron so important?
- When do you have to consume iron?
- Other foods that contain iron
Medical Video: Importance Of Folic Acid During Pregnancy - Manipal Hospital
It is very important to maintain your iron levels during pregnancy. If you don't have enough daily iron intake, you will easily feel tired and get an infection. In addition, the risk of babies born under normal weight will increase.
What is iron?
Iron is used to form hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to organs and tissues. When you are pregnant, your body produces additional blood supplies for you and your baby. The body will need extra iron to form the blood supply and also to support the acceleration of your baby's growth.
Why is consuming iron so important?
If you don't get enough iron from food, your body gradually takes it from iron storage in your body so that it risks increasing anemia. Iron deficiency during pregnancy is very common. It is estimated that half of all pregnant women worldwide are iron deficient.
According to experts, anemia caused by iron deficiency in the first two trimesters is associated with twice the risk of your baby being born prematurely and tripling the risk of low birth weight. Fortunately, iron deficiency is easy to prevent and treat.
Most doctors check in the first trimester and again in the third trimester to make sure anemia does not occur. If your blood count is low, your doctor will prescribe you iron supplements as a companion to iron fortification prenatal vitamins for the rest of your pregnancy.
When do you have to consume iron?
You should start taking low-dose iron supplements (30 mg per day) since your first pregnancy consultation. In most cases, you will get iron intake according to that level in your prenatal vitamin.
You need at least 27 milligrams (mg) of iron every day during your pregnancy. While you are breastfeeding, consume at least 9 mg of iron every day if you are 19 years or older. Nursing mothers aged 18 years or younger need 10 mg of iron.
Other foods that contain iron
Red meat is one of the best sources of iron for pregnant women. Animal liver has the highest level of iron concentration, but because it contains unsafe amounts of vitamin A, it should be avoided during pregnancy. If your food does not contain animal protein, you can get iron from nuts, vegetables and whole grains.
There are two forms of iron: non-heme iron, which is found in plants (as well as meat, poultry, and fish), and heme iron, which is only found in animal products. Heme iron more easily absorbed by your body (foods and supplements enriched with iron provide non-heme iron) To make sure you get enough iron, eat a variety of foods that are rich in iron every day.
Food sources that contain heme-iron include red meat, poultry, and fish. To more easily measure the size, 3 ounces of meat are roughly the same as a deck of cards.
- 3 ounces of lean beef: 3.2 mg
- 3 ounces of beef has an outer: 3.0 mg
- 3 ounces of roasted turkey, red meat: 2.0 mg
- 3 ounces of roasted turkey breast: 1.4 mg
- 3 ounces of grilled chicken, dark meat: 1.1 mg
- 3 ounces of grilled chicken breast: 1.1 mg
- 3 ounces of halibut: 0.9 mg
- 3 ounces of pork has outer: 0.8 mg
Source containing non-heme iron:
- 1 cup of ready-to-eat iron-fortified cereal: 24 mg
- 1 cup of fortified instant oatmeal: 10 mg
- 1 cup of edamame (boiled soybeans): 8.8 mg
- 1 cup cooked lentils: 6.6 mg
- 1 cup of cooked red beans: 5.2 mg
- 1 cup beans: 4.8 mg
- 1 cup five beans: 4.5 mg
- 1 ounce of roasted pumpkin seeds: 4.2 mg
- 1 cup of cooked black or pinto beans: 3.6 mg
- 1 tablespoon of molasses sugar syrup: 3.5 mg
- 1/2 cup raw tofu: 3.4 mg
- 1/2 cup boiled spinach: 3.2 mg
- 1 cup prune juice: 3.0 mg
- 1 slice of wheat or white bread: 0.9 mg
- 1/4 cup raisins: 0.75 mg
Here are some tips on how to get the optimal iron intake from the food you eat:
- Cook in an iron pan. Moist and acidic foods like tomato sauce can absorb iron better in this way
- Avoid drinking coffee and tea with food. They contain compounds called phenols which interfere with iron absorption. (It's a good idea to stop consuming caffeine during pregnancy.)
- Eat foods that are rich in vitamin C (such as orange juice, strawberries, or broccoli), especially when eating iron-containing vegetables such as nuts, because vitamin C can increase iron absorption by up to six times
- Many healthy foods contain "iron inhibitors" which can reduce the amount of iron absorbed by the body in foods that are eaten at the same time. Phytates in whole grains and nuts, oxalate in soy foods and spinach, and calcium in dairy products are examples of iron inhibitors. There is no need to remove this food from your food. Simply eat using "iron enhancers" - foods that contain vitamin C or a number of meat, poultry, or fish.
- Calcium other than dairy products will reduce iron absorption. So if you take calcium or antacid supplements containing calcium, eat between meals, not with food.
