Iron without red meat?

healthychanges1
healthychanges1 Posts: 110
in Food and Nutrition
I know there's plenty of vegetarians/vegans on MFP. My question is how do you get enough iron? I don't eat red meat and was wondering how to get more in my diet. I've heard spinach will do it but I'm not a big fan. Anything else?

Replies

  • RuthSweetTooth
    RuthSweetTooth Posts: 461 Member
    A cheap one a day multivitamin with 100% of almost everything including your iron is good for a young woman like yourself. Megadoses are not needed, will do more harm than good.
  • jamies76
    jamies76 Posts: 30 Member
    I suggest having a blood panel done and checking your levels. I ate red meat and took a quality multivitamin but STILL had iron deficiency anemia. Now I take a reacted iron supplement with ascorbic vit. c powder mixed in 8 oz water to enhance absorption.
  • shanae727
    shanae727 Posts: 546 Member
    Cereal, beans and rice. Fortified-enriched breads. I'm not huge on processed so I'd stick to green leafy vegetables. I have Iron Def. Anemia so I take a vitamin every other day or so when I didn't get enough Iron in my diet the day before. Whole foods are the best way to get iron though and vitamin C helps to absorb it. So I would take eat a spinach salad with mandarin oranges or with a glass of OJ.
  • sabinecbauer
    sabinecbauer Posts: 250 Member
    3 words: CREAM OF WHEAT.

    One serving (1 cup cooked) contains 50% of your RDA of iron.
  • mirandamayhem
    mirandamayhem Posts: 772
    Cereal, beans and rice. Fortified-enriched breads. I'm not huge on processed so I'd stick to green leafy vegetables. I have Iron Def. Anemia so I take a vitamin every other day or so when I didn't get enough Iron in my diet the day before. Whole foods are the best way to get iron though and vitamin C helps to absorb it. So I would take eat a spinach salad with mandarin oranges or with a glass of OJ.

    Yup, OJ to help absorb the iron and everything else she said!
  • Drop_it_Like_Its_Hawt
    Drop_it_Like_Its_Hawt Posts: 226 Member
    Broccoli and legumes are good to look into. I'm anemic, and often turn to those for boosting my iron (along with daily slowFE supplements)
  • taylor5877
    taylor5877 Posts: 1,792 Member
    Vitamin C helps, but no other iron source really is as good as heme iron from meat.

    IIRC absorption is like 30-40% for heme iron and 10 or so at best for other sources (in normal individuals).
  • mirandamayhem
    mirandamayhem Posts: 772
    Vitamin C helps, but no other iron source really is as good as heme iron from meat.

    IIRC absorption is like 30-40% for heme iron and 10 or so at best for other sources (in normal individuals).

    If you're not going to eat meat, you just increase the amount of plant based food containing iron in your diet. Simples.

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