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Iron supplements cause constipation, nausea, stomach pain and black stools in around a third of people who take them, and most of it is avoidable: take iron on alternate days rather than daily, know the elemental dose, choose a gentler form if ferrous sulphate disagrees with you, and keep it away from tea, coffee and calcium. What each side effect means, which are harmless, which forms are better tolerated, who should not take iron, and why children must never reach it.
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The foods highest in iron are liver, mussels, red meat, sardines, fortified breakfast cereals, pulses, tofu, dark chocolate, pumpkin seeds and dried apricots; the catch is that iron from plants is absorbed at a fraction of the rate of iron from meat, and tea, coffee and calcium cut it further. UK portions in milligrams against the 14.8 mg women need and 8.7 mg men need, how to pair foods so the iron gets in, the top 10 for vegetarians, and what drink actually helps.
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The foods highest in folate are liver, pulses, asparagus, spinach, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, edamame, beetroot and oranges, with fortified breakfast cereals and yeast extract as the easy top-ups. UK portions in micrograms against the 200 microgram daily need, the difference between folate and folic acid, why boiling halves it, what UK flour fortification changes, and whether methylfolate is better.
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Folate deficiency causes the same anaemia as B12 deficiency, with tiredness, breathlessness, a sore tongue, irritability and low mood, but usually without the nerve damage, and it develops in months rather than years because the body stores little folate. The symptoms, how to tell it from B12 deficiency, the common causes (diet, alcohol, pregnancy, medicines, gut disease), the blood test, and why folic acid should not be taken before B12 is checked.
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Vitamin B12 is found naturally only in animal foods: liver, shellfish, oily fish, meat, eggs and dairy, with fortified cereals, plant milks and yeast extracts as the plant-based route. UK portions in micrograms against the 1.5 microgram daily need, what vegetarians can rely on, why no fruit or vegetable contains B12, and why seaweed, tempeh and mushrooms do not count.
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