Had some blood work done recently and in looking over the results, I'm realizing I very likely have the beginnings of anemia. Oh. Hell. No. Virgo NN needs to nip that in the bud.

I take a multi-vitamin that contains iron, but I surprisingly eat A LOT of food that blocks absorption. I also noticed I don't eat as much red meat as I could/should. Now I know why I've had a vague craving for calf liver lately. Sheesh!

At any rate, do you have tips for absorbing iron? Thanks!

http://www.livestrong.com/article/35058-complete-list-foods-absorb-iron/

Sorry Namaste for the link. Hoping it will help somewhat :)
Off to work....

drink apple cider vinegar and blackstrap molasses in water, they work synergistically.

epsom salt soaks (in the bath water) and Ener-G vit C powder in smoothies

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=bl_sr_hpc?_encoding=UTF8&field-brandtextbin=Alacer&node=3760901

Cutt back on milk-dairy products, eat more spinach [but really any DARK, leafy green ought to work], mabe take slowFE once a day for no more than a month, and drink more orange juice (for the vitamin C). 

*Vitamin C helps absorb needed minerals, especially iron.

I don't know about absorption, but when I was severely anemic, the doc told me to eat a steak every week, lol. I was also taking iron supplements.

There were some excellent suggestions on an earlier thread. Good luck on bringing your iron back up. Link:

http://boards.elsaelsa.com/topic/my-iron-count-is-still-going-down

I was very, very anemic during certain periods of my life. My preferred iron pill brand was Ferro-sequel. Their formulation is fairly easy on the system. Take with food and vitamin C. Calcium will intefere with absorption, so space that out by about 2 hours if you take a calcium supplement.

Cooking in a cast iron stove is helpful. 

Combining meals high in Vitamin C with iron containing foods helps. 

Foods:  beans, raisins, leafy greens, artichokes, shellfish. Meats are the most efficient way to get iron.

Yup, make sure any vitamins do not combine too many things, it is for marketing, not absorption.  Make sure the vitamins dissolve in water, if they are pressed too firm, they are just little pebbles of vitamins, and go through you the same.  Iron suppliments should not be mixed in with your calcium suppliments.

Make sure the vitamin B12 levels are ok, folic acid is usually fine, unless you eat only canned foods.

I am on my phone so I cant cut and paste but google pernicious anemia for some info which might help

If you are not absorbing iron, low even with suppliments, then you may have a food allergy.  Wheat is the most common, about 50% but any protein family can cause it.

Pernicious anemia is B12 deficiency.  BUT,  folic acid can mask this, so don't usually see as anemia, but can be nerve damage, fatigue.  That said, too low of B12 is getting more common.  (I also use a level of 400, not 200 as the bottom normal, and my own doctor prefers a level of 800)

Thanks, everybody! I started taking my multi-v in the evening and have been mindful of my meat consumption (what I'm eating with it, etc.).

I feel good, my nails are pink again. They were looking pale for awhile. Laying off the alcohol...gonna get retested in 6 months.

Can't offer much but a recipe for red meat.

Not clicked on all the links, but I remember being really shocked when I was consistently anaemic that tea and coffee have a huge impact on absorption.

Basically, cut down on both and don't drink with of them within half an hour of eating a meal or taking a supplement.

Drink orange juice with meals and supplements - this will not only help absorption, but will also help counter the effect of iron tablets (I always get really constipated on iron tablets).

Re alcohol - if you fancy a drink, you could always try Guinness. It's recommended by doctors here (or used to be!) for pregnant women because of high iron content. If you want that without the alcohol, malt drinks/stouts look and taste a bit alcoholic but are very high in iron.

Great advice here. Currently I'm going through really bad anemia, but I just bought something called Floravital, since the prescription iron pills I'm taking aren't working. When I took Floravital before, saw results fast.

<------- Agrees with Karrma.

Cooking with a cast iron skillet frequently ((grandma said every day is best)) solves this problem. My science teacher ((many moons ago)) said it's the leaching of iron from the skillet into the food that keeps a woman's blood fortified. Obviously helped the men , too.