http://www.care2.com/greenliving/12-top-vegan-iron-sources.html
12 Top Vegan Iron Sources
If you are a vegan, what is the first argument you hear from meat-eating advocates? Well the sarcastic ones might say something about plants having feelings too, but the most popular rebuttal usually has something to do with iron. And yes iron is an essential mineral because it contributes to the production of blood cells. The human body needs iron to make the oxygen-carrying proteins hemoglobin and myoglobin. But just because you don’t eat meat doesn’t mean your going to wither away with anemia.
However, anemia is not something to be taken lightly. (Although I realize I just did.) The World Health Organization considers iron deficiency the number one nutritional disorder in the world. As many as 80 percent of the world’s population may be iron deficient, while 30 percent may have iron deficiency anemia. The human body stores some iron to replace any that is lost. However, low iron levels over a long period of time can lead to iron deficiency anemia. Symptoms include lack of energy, shortness of breath, headache, irritability, dizziness, or weight loss. So here’s the 411 on iron: how much you need, where you can get it, and tips to maximize its absorption.
Iron Requirements
The Food and Nutrition Board at the Institute of Medicine recommends the following:
Infants and children
• Younger than 6 months: 0.27 milligrams per day (mg/day)
• 7 months to 1 year: 11 mg/day
• 1 to 3 years: 7 mg/day
• 4 to 8 years: 10 mg/day
Males
• 9 to 13 years: 8 mg/day
• 14 to 18 years: 11 mg/day
• Age 19 and older: 8 mg/day
Females
• 9 to 13 years: 8 mg/day
• 14 to 18 years: 15 mg/day
• 19 to 50 years: 18 mg/day
• 51 and older: 8 mg/day
Non-animal iron sources:
Eating red meat and organ meat are the most efficient ways to get iron, but for vegans, obviously, that’s not going to happen. Here are 12 plant-based foods with some of the highest iron levels:
Spirulina (1 tsp): 5 mg
Cooked soybeans (1/2 cup): 4.4 mg
Pumpkin seeds (1 ounce): 4.2 mg
Quinoa (4 ounces): 4 mg
Blackstrap molasses (1 tbsp): 4 mg
Tomato paste (4 ounces): 3.9 mg
White beans (1/2 cup) 3.9 mg
Blackstrap molasses (1 Tbsp): 3.5 mg
Cooked spinach (1/2 cup): 3.2 mg
Dried peaches (6 halves): 3.1 mg
Prune juice (8 ounces): 3 mg
Lentils (4 ounces): 3 mg
Tips to get the most iron out of your food:
- Eat iron-rich foods along with foods that contain vitamin C, which helps the body absorb the iron.
- Tea and coffee contains compounds called polyphenols, which can bind with iron making it harder for our bodies to absorb it.
- Calcium also hinders the absorption of iron, avoid high-calcium foods for a half hour before or after eating iron-rich foods.
- Cook in iron pots. The acid in foods seems to pull some of the iron out of the cast-iron pots. Simmering acidic foods, such as tomato sauce, in an iron pot can increase the iron content of the brew more than ten-fold. Cooking foods containing other acids, such as vinegar, red wine, lemon or lime juice, in an iron pot can also increase the iron content of the final mixture.
Do you have iron sources that you depend on not mentioned here? Share them with us in the comment field!
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47 comments
add your comment »@Ruth, that sounds like good news! But I'm not certain what you mean "helps produce it" Can you elaborate?
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red wine does not contain iron but helps produce it...I drink one glass a day and have done this for years...healthy and fun...
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for picky kids try olives processed with ferrous gluconate to can them. Add to salads, serve as finger food and they won't know that they are rich in Iron
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I'm a vegetarian, and my mom always worries about my health,
More symptoms of anemia:
Cold hands and feet,
Feeling chilly overall,
White dents in finger nails,
Thanks for the tips on eating healthier!
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Great link, Jennifer R. - thanks! The paragraph I found most relevant to this discussion:
"Total dietary iron intake in vegetarian diets may meet recommended levels; however that iron is less available for absorption than in diets that include meat. Vegetarians who exclude all animal products from their diet may need almost twice as much dietary iron each day as non-vegetarians because of the lower intestinal absorption of nonheme iron in plant foods. Vegetarians should consider consuming nonheme iron sources [beans, grains, soy, spinach, etc.] together with a good source of vitamin C, such as citrus fruits, to improve the absorption of nonheme iron."
So... follow up your lentil salad with a nice juicy orange!
The article also notes the importance of vitamin A for mobilizing iron from its storage sites. So if you were to add some grated carrot to that lentil salad, it sounds like you'd be in good stead.
So hard to keep track of all the foods we're supposed to have to maximize this or reduce the risk of that, etc. But I have to say - it sound to me as if, as a veg or vegan, that if you try to seriously focus on getting enough -- and absorbing enough -- iron, you're probably covering a lot of other important nutrient needs at the same time, for the most part.
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You left out the iron requirements for pregnant women: 27 mg. Also, grains, beans (especially soy), and many fruits and vegetables (including spinach) contain compounds that inhibit iron absorption (phytates, oxalates). See:
http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/iron.asp
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Debrah Roemisch, how I envy you. You can grow your own food, free of all the chemicals that we city people have to remove painfully unless we want to pay an arm n a leg for organic food, which I personally think is just a big hype at the moment, and manufacturers are taking advantage of the hype.
I wanna live on a farm and grow my own apricots and spinach, and asparagoos!!! :D
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I'm a Blood Group O and don't need meat to keep my iron level on par.
Every morning I like my prunes and apricots with are soaked in a honey mixure.
During the day I drink a lot of Pomegranate, which gives me a lot of iron.
Legumes I can eat morning noon and night, haha. There are such a vast variety of Legumes and Soy products, that one does not need meat, or the taste of it.
Good health to you all, hugs n smiles
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Debrah, actually fish do feel pain, check out "Do fish feel pain?" at firstscience.com for an easy to understand look at recent studies. Behavioural studies have also shown that they have better memories than people commonly believe. Even goldfish can consistently improve their times a maze course if a reward is waiting.
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@Shirley: Thanks! The Green Smoothie Challenge looks great!
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