Nutrition

Iron, anemia and the Indian plate

4 min read · MyBloomingBelly editorial

Roughly one in two pregnant women in India is anemic — low haemoglobin, usually from low iron. Pregnancy nearly doubles your iron needs (about 27 mg a day) because you are building extra blood for two. Fatigue, breathlessness on stairs and pale inner eyelids are its quiet signs.

Iron comes in two forms: heme iron from meat, fish and eggs (absorbed easily) and non-heme iron from plants (absorbed with help). Vegetarian plates can absolutely meet the need — they just need pairing tactics.