Vegetarian needing advice on iron

moby_chick
moby_chick Posts: 86 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hello. Can any of you vegetarians/vegans advise me on how to get more iron? My intake of it is very low.

Replies

  • whatjesseats
    whatjesseats Posts: 228 Member
    I'm not a vegetarian, but beans, lentils, and leafy greens (especially spinach) are great sources of iron.

    Here's an article you might find useful: http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/iron.php
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I'm not a vegetarian, but beans, lentils, and leafy greens (especially spinach) are great sources of iron.

    Here's an article you might find useful: http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/iron.php

    Yep, beans and greens!
  • junipearl
    junipearl Posts: 326 Member
    I am vegan and here are some of the things that gave me the most iron this week (incidentally, most of them also a good source of protein:

    - spinach
    - organic energy bars such as Vega or Clif or Luna
    - hemp hearts
    - chickpeas/tofu and other soybean products/other beans (use these in chilis, salads, stirfries, whatever I can!)
    - nutritional yeast
    - silver hills gluten free omega flax bread
    - cashews and almonds
    - sesame seeds (I add these to my protein shakes to give me my mono and poly fats)
    - fortified breakfast cereal
    - CINNAMON! - 2 tsp is only 12 calories and has 10% of your daily iron intake.... add it to anything!

    and of course a multi-vitamin for days that i still fall short.
  • moby_chick
    moby_chick Posts: 86 Member
    @ whatjesseats Thank you, that's a really good link! :D
  • BonnieFife
    BonnieFife Posts: 104 Member
    Green Veg, im not a veggie but not a big meat eater either i love my brussels, broccoli & cabbage :)
  • links_slayer
    links_slayer Posts: 1,151 Member
    low to medium, light steam if you need to get a lot of wrinkles out.
  • Lemonade2013
    Lemonade2013 Posts: 17
    that is a really good link - thank you - I didn't know that about cinnamon! will put it on my porridge of a morning with a couple of apricots.
  • moby_chick
    moby_chick Posts: 86 Member
    @ bcattoes Yeah, I'll have to start eating my greens! :O)

    @ junipearl Thanks for the list. I didn't know that about cinnamon. I already use it a little, but will use more now. :D
  • Melo1966
    Melo1966 Posts: 881 Member
    When checking out one of my vegetarians friends dairy her tofu was a good source.
  • romyhorse
    romyhorse Posts: 694 Member
    I take a maintenance dose of ferrous gluconate every day, no matter how hard I try I can never get enough iron in my diet. This way I don't have to worry about it.
  • seena511
    seena511 Posts: 685 Member
    definitely spinach. just throw it on everything. you could try taking some ferrous sulfate. i think also avoid eggs with your spinach, because i remember reading before giving blood that eggs inhibit the uptake of iron.
  • seena511
    seena511 Posts: 685 Member
    low to medium, light steam if you need to get a lot of wrinkles out.
    :laugh:
  • MakingChangesToday
    MakingChangesToday Posts: 15
    It might be helpful to take a supplement. My doctor always recommends to take one next to the green stuff. It seems meat would fill up the long-term storage better than plants therefore the pills.
  • staceycanada
    staceycanada Posts: 54
    Eat something like oranges with your iron rich foods. Vitamin c helps iron absorption.
  • bluebug53
    bluebug53 Posts: 86 Member
    well, I learned something new today! I am plant strong and had not realized that cinnamon, not only contains iron, but C, K, calcium, and manganese.. I put it in my coffee every morning, and didn't realize I was doing so much for myself : ). Does that out way the caffeine I wonder...hmm!
  • Insanity2bSane
    Insanity2bSane Posts: 204 Member
    Not a vegetatian but beans and lentils are a good source of iron. When I was pregnant and low in iron I actually craved lentils which I didn't like before. Beets are also high in Iron. I juice some beets with carrots and orange on the weekend mornings for the kids. Pretty tasty.
  • daffodilsoup
    daffodilsoup Posts: 1,972 Member
    Another vote for lentils!
  • moby_chick
    moby_chick Posts: 86 Member
    Thank you everyone, for all your replies with great advice! :D
  • moby_chick
    moby_chick Posts: 86 Member
    @ Seena511 Yeah, that tickled me too. :happy: As long as it gets rid of the wrinkles, but leaves the laughter lines alone. :smile:
  • BamBam125
    BamBam125 Posts: 229 Member
    Cook with seasoned (not enabled) cast iron. The iron will leak from the pan into your food as it cooks.
  • domgirl85
    domgirl85 Posts: 295 Member
    In addition to all the food people have mentioned, I take iron supplements (food alone isn't enough for me, whether I'm eating meat or not). I was told and read that if you take it with vitamin C, it helps absorption. THis week I tried taking it with oranges in my smoothie since I don't buy orange juice anymore. :)
  • coffee_rocks
    coffee_rocks Posts: 275 Member
    Not a vegetarian, but I do not eat red meat, and have the same concerns. I have to take an iron supplement, because I suffer from low iron stores. I also have a bowl of iron fortified cereal for my snack at night - Raisin Bran, 90% iron Mini Wheats, etc.
  • aepdx
    aepdx Posts: 218 Member
    Hi! I am vegetarian and was recently diagnosed with iron-deficiency anemia. To correct this, I eat a lot of lentils, oatmeal, fortified cereals, spinach, etc. In combination with vitamin C, of course, which helps with the absorption. I also take a ferrous sulphate tablet once a day. I have to make sure though that I do not have any caffeine within an hour or two of taking the tablet because this also interferes with the absorption. It is pretty ridiculous how many things interfere with the absorption of iron! Take a look at my diary to see the foods that I eat that have a lot of iron in them. Just make sure you research what to couple the iron-rich foods with and what to avoid when you are eating an iron-rich meal.

    Also, I have so much more energy now that I am actually paying attention to my iron intake.

    Good luck!

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