>>      Mothers that have been prescribed iron medically need another source if
>>they stop taking the supplement.
>>
>I suggest that she get a food-based
>iron.  Obviously this is an iron supplement that comes from common
>iron-rich foods instead of from rocks.
>
>I have found that the food-based iron supplements do not cause GI distress
>in either mother or infant.  These supplements restore the blood count much
>quicker than ferrous sulfate because they are completely assimilated.
>
>These food-based iron supplements are not hard to find in any natural food
>store.

I would be interested in seeing the research on this.  To the best of my knowledge Iron is Iron, but yes, iron in heme-based sources (ie food containing hemoglobin) is absorbed most easily.  It's just not easy to get enough from heme-based sources in the diet to replenish a low hemoglobin.  It's hard to get the 5-25 mg a day for pregnancy from food.

Another choice is to switch to ferrous gluconate or ferrous fumarate.  The latter is much better tolerated.  And of course to ensure that they are taken with food and either juice or Vitamin C, plus avoiding taking iron with tea or coffee which chelates the iron, making it non-absorbable.  

Where cost is an issue(as it is with many of my clients), natural food sources and herbals would be more expensive than pills.  

Judith

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