Article: If you have anemia caused by an iron deficiency, you need to get more iron in your diet. Men and non-menstruating women need about 10 mg of iron a day. Menstruating women or nursing mothers should have 15 mg of iron a day, while pregnant women need 30 mg. Eat at least 2 to 3 servings of iron-rich foods every day to help get this dosage of iron. Iron-rich foods include: Red meat, liver, poultry, pork, and fish Spinach, mustard greens, collard greens, Swiss chard, beet greens, all different kinds of lettuce, broccoli, and kale Tofu, soy milk, and other soy products Legumes, such as peas, white beans, red beans, baked bean, chickpeas, and soybeans Dried fruits, such as raisins, apricots, and prunes Prune juice Whole grain cereals and breads that have been iron-fortified Certain foods can cause your body to decrease its iron absorption. If you are trying to up your iron intake, do not drink tea, coffee, or cocoa with your meals because they lower the amount of iron you absorb. You should also not take an iron supplement with your meals. Avoid milk and dairy products for at least an hour after taking iron because the calcium in dairy products may decrease iron absorption. If you are suffering from a vitamin B12 deficiency that is causing your anemia, you need to get more of this nutrient from your diet. You should be getting 2.5 mcg of B12 every day. If you are pregnant, you should get 2.6 mcg per day. If you are nursing, you should be getting 2.8 mcg every day. Eat at least 2 to 3 servings of vitamin B12-rich foods every day to get these daily amounts. Foods rich in vitamin B12 include: Breakfast cereals fortified with vitamin B12 Beef, liver, poultry, sardines, salmon, tuna, and cod Eggs, milk, yogurt, and cheese Foods with added vitamin B12, such as soy-based beverages and vegetarian burgers Deficiencies of folate, another form of vitamin B, can also cause anemia. Men over 13 years old should have 400 mcg of folate per day. Women over 13, pregnant women, and women who are breastfeeding should have 400 to 600 mcg per day. To help with this, you should eat 2 to 3 servings of folate-rich foods every day. These foods include: Bread, pasta, and rice with added folic acid, which is a form of folate Kale, broccoli, lettuces, spinach, Swiss chard, beet greens, and collard greens Dried beans, such as lentils, black-eyed peas, pinto, garbanzo, and kidney Beef liver Eggs Bananas, oranges, orange juice, and other fruits and fruit juices To make healthy RBCs to keep up your blood supply, your body needs vitamin C. Adults over 19 should get 85 mg of vitamin C per day. Smokers should get an extra 35 mg daily. Vitamin C also enhances iron absorption, so vitamin C-containing foods can be taken with the iron-containing foods to increase your overall absorption. Vitamin C-rich foods include: Citrus fruits, such as oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, lemons, and limes Kiwi fruit, papaya, and pineapple Berries, such as strawberries and raspberries Cantaloupe Vegetables, including broccoli, tomatoes, red peppers, potatoes, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and leafy green vegetables. You should keep track of how much iron, B12, folate, and Vitamin C you get each day. You can do this by keeping track of the serving sizes of the foods you eat and checking online to see how much of each nutrient is in the serving size you eat. You can also determine how much of each nutrient is in the food you eat by using an online Food Advisor, which is a questionnaire that can help determine your overall vitamin and mineral intake. If you find that you can't get enough nutrients from food sources, you can take a supplement to pick up the slack. Try to buy vitamins and minerals derived from organic, whole foods, instead of those that have been chemically synthesized. You can buy supplements for each separate vitamin and mineral, or you can buy a multivitamin that has them all in it. Make sure any supplement you buy has been tested by an independent lab. It also needs a Seal of Approval from a reputable investigation agency, such as Consumer Labs, the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), LabDoor, or the Natural Products Association (NPA). Always follow your doctor's instructions and recommendations in regards to supplements. Although these nutrients exist in nature, you can get too much of them. If you are getting too much of them from food and supplements, it can have some adverse effects on your health. For example, there is a condition called hemochromatosis that can be acquired if you are taking too much iron as a supplement. It can be very serious. Once you have been using nutrition for a while, you should get retested to see if your anemia has improved. The general timeline for getting tested again is 6 to 8 weeks. Your doctor may recommend you get retested sooner, so do as they recommend.

What is a summary?
Get more dietary iron. Avoid iron-decreasing foods. Ingest more vitamin B12. Consume more folate. Eat more vitamin C. Make sure you get enough of each vitamin or mineral. Take supplements if your doctor recommends it. Avoid getting too much of any vitamin or mineral. Get retested.