The short explanation
You are choosing good foods. Drumstick leaves, ragi, dates, pulses and jaggery all contain iron. The difficulty is that iron from plants is absorbed less easily than iron from meat, and some habits block it further. So a careful vegetarian diet can still fall short, especially if your losses are high. Small changes help absorption: eat a vitamin C source such as lemon, amla, guava, orange or tomato in the same meal, and keep tea and coffee at least an hour away from meals. Cooking in an iron kadai can add a little too. But if your haemoglobin is still not rising, the next step is to find out why, not just to eat more.
What depends on your situation
The parts of this that change from woman to woman. Uncertainty is stated, not hidden.
- If your periods are heavy, food alone may not keep up with the loss.
- Not all anaemia is from low iron. Low vitamin B12, which is common in people who do not eat eggs, meat or much dairy, also lowers haemoglobin and needs a different treatment.
- Some people absorb iron poorly because of stomach conditions or long-term acidity medicine. A doctor may suggest iron supplements if diet is not enough.
What this answer cannot determine
The boundary of online education. These need a clinician who can see you.
- This cannot tell you why your haemoglobin is not improving. Tests such as ferritin and B12, and a look at your periods, are needed to find the reason.
Questions for your clinician
Take these with you. You can add any of them to an appointment card.
- Can we check ferritin and B12, not just haemoglobin?
- Is my anaemia from low iron or something else?
- Would a supplement help more than diet in my case?
- Could heavy periods be the bigger problem?
When to seek help
Clinician-approved guidance for this topic. When in doubt, being seen is never the wrong choice.
Book an appointment soon
- See a doctor within a few days if you feel breathless on climbing stairs, dizzy, or your heart races on effort.
Raise it at a routine appointment
- Book a routine appointment to check iron studies and B12 if your haemoglobin has stayed low despite diet changes.
Sources
The evidence this explanation is built on.
- The vegetarian diet NHS
- Vegetarian diet MedlinePlus (US National Library of Medicine)
- Iron NHS
- Iron deficiency anaemia NHS
Who wrote and reviewed this
Every AskHer answer names its author. A clinically reviewed answer also names the clinician who signed it off — if no clinician is named below, it has not been clinically reviewed.
- Author
- AskHer Editorial (AI-assisted draft) AskHer's editorial team — not an individual clinician Works in English, தமிழ், हिन्दी
- Clinical reviewer
- Nobody yet No clinician has signed this answer off, and no person on the editorial team has read it yet. That is what the “Written with AI assistance” label means. It is queued for an editor to read, and then for a clinician who works in this area. The sources it was drafted against are listed above.
- Review status
- Written with AI assistance — not yet reviewed by a person
- Last reviewed
- Not yet reviewed by a person
- Version
- 1
Correction history
Substantive changes are listed, not quietly edited away.
No corrections have been made since this answer was first published.
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