• Welcome to Crohn's Forum, a support group for people with all forms of IBD. While this community is not a substitute for doctor's advice and we cannot treat or diagnose, we find being able to communicate with others who have IBD is invaluable as we navigate our struggles and celebrate our successes. We invite you to join us.

Low Folic Acid & Iron

Hi,

I've had crohns for roughly a year now, the first couple of months were pretty difficult but I was feeling okay since then.

I have been really tired lately and had some stress at work which I think contributed to some mild pain so when I visited my GI doctor she did blood tests and they showed I'm low in Iron and Folic Acid but my CRP is normal (she was worried things were "stirring" and wanted to check before things became worse).

so I will be on tablets for about 3 months.

My question is what can I eat which has iron and folic acid?
I have stayed away from green veggies has I have a problem with them and google says they are the best.

Any suggestions would be great.
Thanks in advance.

PS. I am currently on Humira bi weekly
 
Last edited:

nogutsnoglory

Moderator
You can do green juices if fiber is the issue for folate. Organic pasture raised meat, wild caught sardines, beans strained if fiber is an issue are all great for iron.

You may also have a genetic mutation called MTHFR which is not very uncommon. You can buy methylfolate from a vitamin store. This is the folic acid the body recognizes and readily absorbs.
 
The problem with eating "iron rich" foods as supplements to cure iron deficiency is that for Crohn's the deficiency start because of malabsorption of iron due to inflammation (or resection of parts of the intestine) in the first place and no matter what iron rich foods you eat, the malabsorption will still lead to low iron/ferritin levels. I am taking 160-240mg daily in iron(II) supplements which is way above any possible iron content you can eat in a normal diet. During times of acute inflammation and diarrhea that was still not enough to get rid of iron deficiency and I require iron IV.

My advice would be to not concentrate on iron rich food (most of it uch as red meat, lentils, beans etc. Isn't exactly Crohn's friendly ) but on finding oral supplements that won't get your stomach and intestine upset. Took me several years to find tardyferon tabs which work for me and losferron which are solvable tabs (in lots of water) that I have no prob taking.

If your iron is very low (below 15) and your hemoglobin below 10g/dL (moderate-severe iron caused anaemia) it would be more prudent to do a few courses if iron infusions IV.
 
Thanks for both your replies. They didn't tell me the exact numbers just that they were slightly low and to make an appointment with my GP which is on Wednesday so I will ask my GP for the numbers.
 
My prescription was 210mg, three times a day. And that's about 40x RDA of iron. So you're not going to get that in your diet, no matter how much beef and spinach you eat.

Don't be surprised if it turns your stools black.
 
Low folic acid is very common in crohns, mostly due to malabsorbtion and crohns being most common in the part of the intestine where folic acid is absorbed. As far as what you should eat as far as anemia goes, you're likely better off taking iron supplements; they're cheap enough and if it's a malabsorbtion issue you're likely going to have to eat a lot of anything to make a difference.
 
Top