If you’ve been diagnosed with iron deficiency by a medical professional, you’re probably familiar with ferritin. But even then, though the two are connected, they aren’t interchangeable, as many are led to believe. Low ferritin is often the first sign that iron stores are running low, sometimes long before anemia shows up.
That's why people can feel tired, foggy, cold, or notice hair shedding even when their hemoglobin looks normal.” So what’s the fix? Should you find that you may be dealing with an iron deficiency, one of the easiest ways to treat it is through your diet. Can you increase ferritin levels through food?
It doesn’t happen overnight, but it can increase in a few weeks.” “It's a slow build, not a quick fix,” Shapiro agrees. Though non-heme iron isn’t absorbed by our bodies as easily as heme iron, she says it’s still a good idea to include in your diet if you’re low in ferritin. Shapiro agrees and encourages combining both heme and non-heme sources in the same meal.
Some of the best examples of heme and non-heme iron foods include: Heme Iron Beef Poultry Pork Seafood Non-Heme Iron Fortified cereal Cream of wheat cereal Molasses Beans Lentils Spinach Tofu No matter which option you go for, Ehsani recommends pairing iron-rich foods with a source of vitamin C like tomatoes, strawberries, bell peppers, or oranges to enhance absorption of iron. Another pro tip: she says to cook your foods in a cast-iron skillet to increase iron stores in the body. Are there foods you should avoid?
Both Shapiro and Ehsani say that you don’t have to cut food out for the sake of your ferritin levels. What’s more important is the timing of when you eat your iron-rich foods, as certain foods can interfere with iron absorption. Those foods include: Coffee and Tea “Their tannins and polyphenols can significantly reduce iron absorption,” says Shapiro.
Also, don’t rely on a glass of milk alongside your iron-rich dinner. Wheat Bran, Legumes, etc. Shapiro says that high-phytate foods such as wheat bran, unsoaked grains, and legumes can block iron absorption.
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