Iron in my diet

lisa2499

hi, what is the best foods to have to get iron in my diet? I don't really eat red meat, and I prefer fruit and salad foods to cooked vegetables.. What would be best? Thank you

mls100771

I hear talk that Spinach and beets are good iron foods

RGv2

Sweepypie

Plenty of green leafy veg.

CatHunterFit

Legumes: lentils, soybeans, tofu, tempeh, lima beans
Grains: quinoa, fortified cereals, brown rice, oatmeal
Nuts and seeds: pumpkin, squash, pine, pistacio, sunflower, cashews, unhulled sesame
Vegetables: tomato sauce, swiss chard, collard greens

TeaBea

Packaged cereals.....Raisin Bran (has vitamin C) & Grapenuts are good. I like to sprinkle Grapenuts in Greek Yogurt (although calcium isn't great for iron absorption).

Spinach salad with strawberries...or a citrus vinaigrette is good. The vitamin C helps your body absorb the iron.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/iron-rich-foods

chubby_checkers

RGv2 wrote: »

PowerfulHunt

Salmon

JessRaddatz

RGv2 wrote: »

Why is there no "like" button???!!!

lisa2499

Thank you , I'm going to give some tofu a go as I've never tried it. I'm staying off cereals at the moment as much as I like them x

mygnsac

Along with everything already mentioned, cinnamon and blackstrap molasses also are good iron sources.

avskk

Do you eat seafood? I made a killer "crab" salad recently that turned out to be an iron powerhouse.

WinoGelato

Every time I see a thread with iron in the title, I open with caution...

But I recall this list being posted in one of our other crazy iron threads so it may be helpful for this OP.

What foods are high in iron?
The iron in food comes from two sources: animals and plants. Iron from animal sources is known as heme iron and is found in various meats and fish. Iron from plants is known as nonheme iron, and is found in certain vegetables and in iron-fortified foods such as breakfast cereals. Heme iron is better absorbed by the body than nonheme iron.

The following foods are good sources of heme iron (from animal sources):

Chicken liver
Oysters
Clams
Beef liver
Beef (chuck roast, lean ground beef)
Turkey leg
Tuna
Eggs
Shrimp
Leg of lamb
The following foods are good sources of nonheme iron (from plants):

Raisin bran (enriched)
Instant oatmeal
Beans (kidney, lima, Navy)
Tofu
Lentils
Molasses
Spinach
Whole wheat bread
Peanut butter
Brown rice

Try to combine nonheme iron foods with vitamin C (for example, a glass of orange juice) to increase absorption of iron.

lisa2499

That's really helpful thank you, I prefer seafood to meat so will def try the crab. I eat lots of vitamin c boosting foods already.. I'm just not great with veg, I love salad foods and fruit but not cooked veg so much... But I do wonder how bad are the natural sugars as according to this app my sugars are way over but it's from all the fruit I'm consuming.. Surely I shouldn't worry about that?

WinoGelato

lisa2499 wrote: »

That's really helpful thank you, I prefer seafood to meat so will def try the crab. I eat lots of vitamin c boosting foods already.. I'm just not great with veg, I love salad foods and fruit but not cooked veg so much... But I do wonder how bad are the natural sugars as according to this app my sugars are way over but it's from all the fruit I'm consuming.. Surely I shouldn't worry about that?

Unless you have a medical reason to avoid sugars, then no, you shouldn't worry about exceeding your MFP daily sugar goal. Most people find that the goals for sugar in MFP is fairly conservative and people exceed those limits regularly with no adverse impact. There is also no difference in how your body processes natural sugars vs added sugars. That's not to say there is no difference between an apple and a Snickers bar, just that the sugars within each are processed by the body in the same way.

avskk

@lisa2499 The crab salad I made is as follows:

1 package (14oz) imitation crab (mine is a blend of cod and crab meat), flake-style for preference but lump will work
4-6 tablespoons light mayo (I used 6)
1 teaspoon mustard
3/4 medium onion, diced fine (~150g)
100g grapes, halved
2-4 scallions, bulb and greens, chopped fine
8 tablespoons dried parsley (or equivalent fresh)
6 tablespoons dried dill (or equivalent fresh)
3 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons garlic powder (or taste equivalent fresh garlic, crushed and chopped finely)
Old Bay to taste (I used about 2 tablespoons)
salt to taste
pepper to taste
splash (~1Tbsp) seasoned rice vinegar, optional

I divvied this into four servings at 29%RDA iron/serving. It's REALLY tasty, too, particularly with some Wheat Thins or popchips.

lisa2499

Thank you for the recipe! Will def try it... And thank you for the info about the sugars! Very helpful x

nickatine

Pumpkin seed butter, cashews, canned smoked oysters, dried apricots, coconut flour, brown rice protein powder. Cocoa powder, beef, fish, chicken dark meat.

PaulaWallaDingDong

http://www.quakeroats.com/products/cold-cereals/oatmeal-squares/honey-nut.aspx

mwyvr

I'm a regular blood donor so iron is always on my mind; it seems there's no real alternative for many donors other than to take supplements. Even with a lot of iron rich foods in our diet while my haemoglobin (iron delivery) would be ok, my ferritin (iron stores) levels would occasionally dip low.

We've been reducing our red meat intake and don't like livers, further complicating things. We do eat poultry and seafood regularly so we still get some heme iron. Green leafy veg are good sources of non-heme iron as are almonds /cashews but be aware of the high cal/high fat in a small volume of many nuts.

To stay on top of iron after giving blood, for 10 days I take a supplement called Feramax which is absorbed a little differently than other formulations; it's high dose but many who take it don't suffer from the usual side effects. Ditto here. After 10 days I take a multi-vitamin supplement to help with iron.

As some are at risk of retaining way too much iron it's important to know your ferritin stores situation before taking supplements.

jetortola

OP --- low iron is a symptom of something else happening... not enough iron in your diet, or poor absorption, or loss of blood. Has your doctor told you that you need more iron?

mwyvr wrote: »

I'm a regular blood donor so iron is always on my mind; it seems there's no real alternative for many donors other than to take supplements. Even with a lot of iron rich foods in our diet while my haemoglobin (iron delivery) would be ok, my ferritin (iron stores) levels would occasionally dip low.

We've been reducing our red meat intake and don't like livers, further complicating things. We do eat poultry and seafood regularly so we still get some heme iron. Green leafy veg are good sources of non-heme iron as are almonds /cashews but be aware of the high cal/high fat in a small volume of many nuts.

To stay on top of iron after giving blood, for 10 days I take a supplement called Feramax which is absorbed a little differently than other formulations; it's high dose but many who take it don't suffer from the usual side effects. Ditto here. After 10 days I take a multi-vitamin supplement to help with iron.

As some are at risk of retaining way too much iron it's important to know your ferritin stores situation before taking supplements.

I've been put on a supplement after frequent donations (3 in a row, at 8 week intervals). The unfortunate part is they are not covered in my drug plan and they are not cheap! Also my doctor is being over-cautious (IMO) and sending me for an upper GI scope to make sure I'm not losing blood or have an absorption issue (like celiac), and may send me for a colonoscopy. He says that the 8 weeks should have been long enough for my ferritin to restore... and since its not, there is another issue. I think that the intervals were just too short for me... but I'd rather be safe than sorry, and its not a horrible idea to have baselines established with these procedures at least!