Top 6 Iron-Rich Foods to Improve Your Health
Incorporating iron-rich foods is essential for good health and well-being. Here we show you how these foods can effectively contribute to your diet.
Iron is an indispensable mineral for the proper oxygenation of tissues, as it is part of the heme group that makes up hemoglobin. Therefore, let’s imagine how fundamental this mineral is in everyone’s life, especially among athletes, who require more oxygen for physical effort.
There are two types of iron, the one found in plant-based foods called non-Hem iron, which is absorbed to a lesser extent (between 5 and 20%) than the iron from animal sources called Hem iron, which is absorbed up to 35%. Below we show you the 6 foods that contain the most iron regardless of the food’s origin and its absorption in the body.
1. Clams: to our surprise, clams contain around 24mg of iron per 100 grams, which represents more than we need daily (8mg for adult men and 18mg for women of childbearing age). The issue with these foods is that they are rarely consumed in our regular diet and, in addition, they have a high cost/quantity ratio.
2. Whole grains: the cereals available in the market today are very rich in iron due to their fortification and maintenance in the grain’s husk, with a content ranging from 7 to 12 mg per 100 grams of product. However, we must not forget that fiber and their plant origin significantly reduce absorption, so to optimize their assimilation in the body, I recommend consuming cereals with freshly squeezed orange juice or a bit of lemon rich in vitamin C. Not the best source since we generally don’t like cereals.
3. Organ meats: beef liver, as well as blood sausage made from red blood, are excellent dietary sources of Hem iron, which is easily absorbed, as they contain around 8mg per hundred and 14mg per hundred, respectively. As you can see, these foods contain so much iron due to the animal blood that contains hemoglobin, which provides iron ready to be absorbed.
4. Legumes: soybeans as well as lentils are the legumes with the highest content of non-Hem iron, as they have 7 and 8 mg per 100 grams, respectively. Their absorption is lower than that of the iron found in meats, but their low cost and advantageous nutrients offer us an ideal food to prevent anemia and other nutritional deficiencies.
5. Green vegetables: spinach and Swiss chard contain between 3 and 4 mg per hundred of low-absorption iron, but as with legumes, they are low-cost foods whose composition can greatly benefit the body. Additionally, by combining them with citrus fruits rich in vitamin C or with a bit of meat, their absorption increases so that the body can take advantage of more of their iron.
6. Meats: beef, chicken, fish, turkey, pork, and others all contain iron in amounts around 2 mg per 100 grams approximately. It is easily absorbed iron and, except for vegetarians, everyone usually includes it in their diet.
By following a varied diet, we should never lack iron in our diet, so the only thing we need to pay attention to is our bodily requirements, which may increase in special situations, such as extraordinary demands for oxygen, blood loss, or others.
Therefore, let us not forget that this mineral is essential for our body, and to maintain it at adequate levels, we cannot stop including various foods that facilitate its availability and absorption in the body.
Marc Bony, DC
sources naturalnews.com
