5 Things You Need to Know About Avoiding Anemia

1. Let's Hear It for Liver

If you have a tendency to be anemic, the best way to avoid the condition is through a well balanced diet. There are two kinds of iron: heme iron, those found in animal products, and non-heme iron, found in vegetables. Choose foods rich in iron to help replace what your body doesn't have and to increase your production of strong red blood cells. Pork liver, beef liver and even chicken liver have high amounts of iron, as do clams, mussels and oysters. Other good sources of iron include beef, shrimp, sardines and turkey.

2. Vegetarian Iron Boosters

Low iron anemia occurs often in people who don't eat meat. So, if you're a strict vegetarian be sure to load your diet with iron rich foods from other food sources. Cooked beans and lentils have lots of iron. Other good non meat iron choices are enriched breads and cereals, pumpkin seeds and black strap molasses. Canned beans, baked potatoes with the skin on, enriched pasta products and canned asparagus also gives your body an iron boost.

3. A Little Help Please

Foods containing iron get absorbed better when combined with certain other foods. These iron absorption aiding foods help the body process and use iron in a more efficient way. Give your iron a fighting chance by eating iron rich food along with the iron absorption enhancers of meat, fish, poultry, fruits and fruit juices, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, tomatoes, tomato juice, potatoes and white wine.

4. Don't Take It Away

While some foods enhance iron absorption, others inhibit it. Don't combine iron rich foods with these iron inhibitors: red wine, coffee and tea, spinach, chard, beet greens, rhubarb, sweet potato, whole grains, bran and soy products. Eat these foods separately from iron rich foods to get maximum iron absorption.

5. Cast Iron Cure

Your grandmother had a good idea when she cooked in cast iron cookware. Although probably her only choice, it was also a great choice for boosting iron intake. Studies show that food cooked in cast iron cookware picks up iron from the pot. That means even foods that aren't typically rich in iron get a boost from an old fashioned kitchen friend. Be careful not to cook highly acidic foods in cast iron, like tomato sauce, as the acid in the food reacts with the iron and turns the food dark.