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12 Top Vegan Iron Sources

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
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!

Related:
Vegan Sources of Vitamins & Minerals
21 Sources of Protein for Vegetarians
Iron: Dark Chocolate Has More Than Beef?

Read more: Diet & Nutrition, Eating for Health, Food, Health, Vegan, Vegetarian, Whole Soy Benefits

Melissa Breyer

Melissa Breyer is the Senior Editor for Healthy Living. She is a writer and editor with a background in sustainable living, specializing in food, science and design. She is the co-author of True Food (National Geographic) and has edited and written for regional and international books and periodicals, including The New York Times Magazine. Melissa lives in Brooklyn, NY.

167 comments

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12:54PM PST on Feb 3, 2012

When I first went vegetarian 20 years ago I became severely anemic because I simply cut out meat and didn't think about nutrition. But I get tested for it every year and it has been years since I have had a low iron count. I make sure I have folic acid with my iron as well as it helps to digest it. We also have to watch our B12 levels.

5:38PM PST on Feb 2, 2012

thanks

8:10AM PST on Feb 2, 2012

thank you

10:22AM PST on Feb 1, 2012

Thank you

10:00AM PST on Feb 1, 2012

Great article, thanks for sharing! :)

10:58PM PST on Jan 31, 2012

helpful & interesting, thank you!

7:54PM PST on Jan 31, 2012

Thankyou.....

1:24PM PST on Dec 26, 2011

AMARANTH!
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/cereal-grains-and-pasta/5676/2

8:02PM PST on Nov 19, 2011

Nice article. Thanks!

1:41PM PST on Nov 18, 2011

so, do some acids in food only seem to leach iron out of iron pots or do they provenly do this? I once tried to find out if cooking with iron pots is beneficial. As far as I could find out, iron in this compound is not able to be absorbed by our bodies. So I would be interested to know if certain substances in food could affect the necessary change.

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