Are You Getting Enough Iron?

If you're regularly feeling tired, have heart palpitations, pale skin and shortness of breath, you may not be getting enough iron in your diet.

Iron is vital for making haemoglobin in red blood cells. This clever compound takes oxygen from the lungs and carries it around the body to your organs and also to your baby if you're pregnant.

Anaemia develops when the level of haemoglobin in your blood is lower than normal and as a result, less oxygen can be carried around the body. You are more likely to have low levels of iron and become anaemic if you have very heavy periods or are pregnant.

It is important to optimise your iron levels at all stages of life, but particularly in pregnancy and around your period.  It'll make you feel better in so many ways. It helps you to enjoy life on a daily basis, but also to maintain a healthy immune system.  And if you are pregnant, it can also reduce the risk of having a blood transfusion after labour and improve your postnatal recovery.

So, why am I writing about it?  Mainly because there are a few ways you can support you body not to become anaemic, by using tea!

It's not well known, but black tea and rooibos both have an anti-oxidant in them which inhibits your body absorbing non-haem iron.  This is the type of iron found in green leafy vegetables.  

If you're vegetarian, or reducing your meat intake, it's really important to make sure you don't drink these types of tea around mealtimes - ideally not 2 hours before or after.  This will enable your body to get the full benefit from them.

Instead, vitamin C can help you absorb even more non-haem iron, so have a glass of juice instead.  And swap to herbal teas for a very low sugar, natural way to hydrate and get a boost.

We highly recommend our Get Up & Glow tea, as it has vitamin C in it naturally (no where near the same level as a juice, so do stick with juice at meals alongside this!) and won't affect iron absorption.