Is it safe to take an iron pill WITH my multivitamin?

Question

I'm 15 years old and I'm a vegetarian/semi-vegan.

I don't drink milk and I avoid other dairy products and products with eggs.

So since I don't eat meat, I don't get much iron. And I have not been diagnosed, but I show most symptoms of anemia. My regular multivitamin contains 18mg of iron. The iron pills I would like to take with the vitamins have 25mg per tablet, but on the bottle it says to take 2, meaning, 50 mg.

I also think it would be helpful because the iron pills I have also contain some calcium, 58.5mg per pill to be exact. Meaning 117mg in the 2 pill serving size.

Would it be safe to take the iron pills with the vitamin?

And if it's any help, I'm 5'5" tall and I weigh 125 pounds. So I'm not TOO small of a person.

Answer 1

Calcium can inhibit the absorption of iron, unfortunately. Also, it's a good idea to take your pills seperately because there is only so much that your body can absorb at any given time from a meal before it moves too far into your colon to be of any use. Sometimes people's vitamins don't get absorbed at all! So it's a good idea to break it up and take one vitamin in the morning and one later on(I would recommend taking your iron pill with a big glass of orange juice because vitamin C will help it absorb much better). Maybe take your multivitamin later in the day, preferably not in a very heavy meal so maybe with lunch.

Of course, to be certain, talk to your doctor that is prescribing the iron pills (whoever diagnosed you with anemia, presumably) about drug interactions, and whether dietary supplements (including other vitamins)  can impact the pill you are taking. It's good that you're looking into it, many people never take the time to learn about the way their vitamins interact with one another and how their supplements might negate one another's effects.

Answer 2

maggie - who answered first is dead on.

Instead of taking an iron pill I highly recommend  liquid iron which absorbs easier and doesn't give your body a hard time You can find it at reputable health food stores.  it's called Floradix.  It works very well, and helps keep your iron levels and stores up to a good level.

Most doctors though don't really know about it, but once you've used it and they see the results, and you'll feel the difference they will become fans as well.