You can reduce your risk of getting iron-deficiency anaemia by eating a healthy, balanced diet containing lots of iron. Good sources of iron include meat, green vegetables, dried fruit, pulses e. g. chick peas and lentils, foods fortified with iron e. g. some breakfast cereals and bread (fortified means iron has been added). Vitamin C might help you to absorb iron so a glass of orange juice with your meal may help to improve your levels of iron. You could eat foods with vitamin C at the same time as foods with iron. Good sources of vitamin C include: peppers, sweet potatoes, oranges and kiwi fruit. What you drink affects how your body will absorb iron. Tea and coffee contain substances called polyphenols that can bind with iron and make it harder for your body to absorb it.
Attribution: BUPA