What Foods Are Good Sources of Iron?

Are you trying to add more iron to your diet? Studies show that many teens and women don’t consume enough iron-containing foods, and this is an important contributor to iron deficiency.  Knowing which foods contain iron and the best ways to absorb the iron can make a big difference.

Iron is essential for life – every cell in your body needs iron to function. Iron is part of hemoglobin in blood and myoglobin in muscles, helping deliver oxygen to cells. The following information will let you know how much iron you need, and the best ways to get iron from your diet.  (If you are an athlete concerned about iron intake, this article contains additional information pertinent to athletes, and information about supplements.)

How Much Iron Do I Need?

The Recommended Dietary Allowances for daily iron intake are as follows:

  • Females 14-18 yrs: 15 mg
  • Females 19-50 yrs: 18 mg
  • Females 51+ yrs: 8 mg
  • Males 14-18 yrs: 11 mg
  • Males 19+ yrs: 8 mg

Who Needs More? Vegetarians and vegans should try to consume more iron (up to 1.8 times more), as these recommended intakes are based on the assumption that at least 10% of iron intake is from heme iron; female athletes engaging in weight bearing activities (i.e., runners) should also try to consume more iron to account for iron losses due to foot strike; pregnancy increases demands to 27 mg.

READ  What Foods Are Good Sources of Protein?

Getting Enough Iron with
a Healthy Diet

TO INCREASE YOUR IRON STORES, you should consume a healthy diet that includes a wide variety of iron-containing foods. Foods contain two types of iron: heme iron is found in red meats, fish, and poultry, and non-heme iron is mostly from plant sources (enriched and whole grains, beans, nuts and some vegetables and fruit) as well as eggs and dairy products. About 60% of the iron in meat is non-heme.

The following charts lists FOOD SOURCES OF HEME AND NON-HEME IRON.

Food Sources of Heme Iron

Food Sources of Non Heme Iron

How to Figure Out the Iron Content
Based on Food Labels

food label ironFiguring out the iron content of foods based on food labels is tricky.  Although iron requirements vary by age and gender (and pregnancy, athletic, and vegetarian status), the Nutrition Facts Table for foods only has one value for iron.  You need to look at the  % daily value panel, and know what value it is based on:

  • In Canada, this is based on 14 mg iron (so 50% daily value means 1 serving contains 7 mg iron);
  • In the US this is based on 18 mg iron (so 50% daily value means 1 serving contains 9 mg iron).

Iron Absorption

How well you absorb iron might be as important as the amount that you consume. But iron absorption is a complex phenomenon: your body only absorbs about 10-15% of the iron you eat, and the amount of iron you absorb from a food is influenced by (1) your body iron status; (2) the type of iron (heme iron is better absorbed than non-heme iron); (3) iron inhibitors; and (4) iron enhancers.

Iron Inhibitors are substances in foods that interfere with iron absorption (especially non-heme sources of iron). These include

  • Calcium, dairy products, and eggs.
  • Oxalates found in spinach, kale, beets, nuts, chocolate, tea, wheat bran, rhubarb, strawberries, and some herbs.
  • Polyphenols – antioxidants found in some cereals and legumes, most fruits and vegetables, cocoa, coffee, tea (black, green, and herbal), some spices, and wine.
  • Phytates – antioxidant compounds found in nuts, seeds, grains, soy proteins, and legumes.

You’ll notice that this list includes many healthful foods, and the health consequences of limiting or avoiding these foods (not to mention meal-planning headaches) likely outweigh the possible iron boosting benefits of avoiding them. My advice? Focus on Iron Enhancers. 

Iron Enhancers

  • Vitamin C helps your body absorb iron, and overcomes the negative influence of iron inhibitors. Some studies estimate that Vitamin C can increase iron absorption as much as four times. Try to include a vitamin-C rich food with meals and snacks. A bonus is that most vitamin-C rich foods are full of other protective nutrients important for health.

This chart lists FOODS RICH IN VITAMIN C.

Food Sources of Vitamin C

  • Eating heme iron-rich foods with non-heme-iron rich foods helps increase iron absorption (for example, adding a small amount of meat to chili will help you absorb more iron from the beans).
  • Carotenoids (beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin – found in brightly-colored fruits and vegetables like carrots, greens, sweet potatoes, red peppers, cherries, cantaloupe, oranges) improve iron uptake and help overcome the effects of iron inhibitors.
  • Old cast iron cauldron with scoop , isolatedCooking in cast iron can increase the iron content of food, especially acidic foods (i.e., tomato sauce). Studies have found that the iron content of cast-iron cooked foods was 2 to 12 times higher than foods cooked in other types of pots: more acidic, high moisture foods and longer cooking times results in more iron leaching into foods. One study estimated an increased daily iron intake of 14.5 mg for adults and 7.5 mg for children eating foods cooked in cast iron pots. (Cast iron is great for other reasons too!).

Designing Meals and Snacks
to Maximize Iron Absorption

A main focus should be to include vitamin-C rich foods with your meals and snacks. Here are some other tips and meal ideas:

  • A burrito or Mexican-inspired meal containing beans and rice with salsa and sweet peppers is a delicious iron-rich vitamin C combination. Add a little lean beef or chicken to increase the iron content even further.
  • molassesBake with Blackstrap Molasses – it’s full of all the good stuff that’s left behind after processing sugar cane into sugar, including lots of iron and other minerals like calcium, magnesium, and potassium.  Some people add 1 tbsp. to water or milk. A little can add a rich flavor to baked goods like yeast breads, quickbreads and muffins (I use 3-4 tbsp. for baking a large loaf of whole wheat bread). The flavor is intense – so experiment with just a little at first.
  • For a pre- or after-workout snack, try trail mix with iron fortified cereal (shreddies/oat squares), dark chocolate, and dried fruit with vitamin C (mango, papaya, apricot) to increase iron absorption.
  • Enjoy an iron-fortified breakfast cereal with fresh berries and milk or yogurt. This is a great post-workout snack too because it includes carbs and a bit of protein.  Low-sugar/whole grain varieties are your best bet.
  • Top a spinach salad with vitamin-C sources, like strawberries, or mandarin oranges, and peppers (all rich in Vitamin C).
  • Fabulous Fruit Tart (640x427)Finish off a meal with a vitamin-C rich fruit tart (try my recipe!) to improve the iron absorption of your meal.
  • Add red peppers to any meal – they are the leading source of vitamin C to help iron absorption and full of other nutrients. Eat raw as a snack, add slices to sandwiches and wraps, dip into hummus, or cook into omelets, soups, and stews.
  • Here are 28 iron-rich recipes from my favourite cooking magazine Eating Well.

Including iron-rich foods in your meals and snacks along with healthful foods that help iron absorption should help you get enough of this important mineral.  If dietary efforts aren’t sufficient, consult your physician about iron supplementation. If your iron stores are normal, there is little robust evidence to suggest that taking iron supplements will improve aerobic capacity or reduce fatigue. In fact, this practice is risky because excess iron is associated with health problems.

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This Week in Food, Health, and Fitness

This week, read about misleading wellness gurus, carbs to fuel a fast marathon, running into old age, music for sprint intervals, microwaving and nutrient loss, coffee for cancer prevention, and more.

Pseudoscience and strawberries: ‘wellness’ gurus should carry a health warning

Hadley Freeman writes an excellent article about the proliferation and popularity of “wellness” bloggers promoting nutrition and health advice that isn’t backed by science.  Does this sound familiar?

“They write blogs about healthy living, which invariably means randomly cutting out various food groups and gluten  . . . They usually have a story about how they fell ill and cured themselves through their diet. They often claim that the modern food industry is killing us all . . . ”

Gwyneth Paltrow and Vani Hari (the Food Babe) are some of the more popular examples, but unfortunately there are many more. (The Guardian)

I am constantly amazed (and discouraged) at the large number of food and health blogs with misleading nutrition and health information.  In fact, that was my motivation for starting this website!  It’s easy to be confused . . .

In the name of health, should you drink only almond milk? Use coconut oil for fat and agave for sweetener in your cooking? Ditch gluten and grains? Check out my Myths and Misconceptions about Healthy Eating, and here are 10 Ways to Spot Health Quackery.

More Links of Interest This Week

Haile_Gebrselassie_Dubai_Marathon_2010What we can learn about carbs from star runner Haile Gebrselassie.  Dietitian and National Post columnist Jennifer Sygo reports on a talk by exercise physiologist and sports nutrition expert Trent Stellingworth showing his work with the world famous distance runner Haile Gebrselassie. He highlighted the high amount of carbs that fueled Gebrselassie’s record setting Berlin marathon in the form of gels and sports drink –  about 1 cup of sports drink every 5km – about 15 minutes at his fast pace – including a sports gel every 5km after the 20km mark – that’s 80-100 g carbs and 900 ml water per hour. With a trend to shun carbohydrates, this is an important reminder (supported by much research) that carbs are the fuel for fast performances (Jennifer Sygo).

It’s important to recognize that there’s a BIG difference between sports nutrition for endurance athletes to support training and racing, and “everyday” healthy eating, which shouldn’t include too many simple sugars. You can read more about that here.

Cheat on your diet (or else!). David Despain looks at the potential pitfalls that “clean eating” can have for some athletes (and others), and encourages flexibility in eating plans.  (Outside)

The Dietary Guidelines expert panel recommends eating less meat. Is science on their side? Industry lobbyist are working hard to poke holes in this recommendation. Seems experts in the field and science provide good evidence to back reducing our consumption of less meat for health. (Washington Post) Often the arguments focus on heart health, but meat intake and cancer is also important to consider. You can read more about the upcoming Dietary Guidelines report here.

Master Runner Luciano_Acquarone_CCRunning into old age. More and more older adults are competing in marathons and triathlons, providing insight into how exercise affects aging bodies.  Starting late in life is better than never, and exceeding recommendations likely best for health.
(The Atlantic)

How do treadmill desks impact job performance? A growing body of research is linking sitting too much to chronic diseases. Treadmill desks are one solution, but how do they impact work performance? This study found that treadmill workers do experience a slight drop in productivity for tasks that require fine motor skills or heavy concentration, but the health benefits of such desks outweigh this small decriment. (PLOS One, April 2015)

Why are we so obsessed with fat burning?  “Fat burning” can be a confusing concept. Exercise physiologist Asker Jeukendrup does a great job explaining fat burning, and how it might relate to health and athletic performance. (Mysportscience.com)

Great coaches are more than results, they’re magic. An excellent article that questions the benefits of centralized training centers for all athletes. (Outside)

musicMusic enhances performance and perceived enjoyment of sprint Intervals.  When study participants completed a high intensity interval session with self-selected music, they performed better and enjoyed the exercise more than when they did the same session without music. (Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, May 2015).

The answer to soreness this spring might just be another workout. The most powerful remedy for delayed onset muscle soreness is exercise. (Even exercising one arm or one leg protects the opposite limb from subsequent soreness!).  (Alex Hutchinson, Globe and Mail).

Do microwaves degrade food nutrients? Plenty of confusion surrounds microwaves. Generally any method of cooking can degrade certain nutrients (e.g., Vitamin C), but can enhance other nutrients (e.g., carotenoids). Some experts believe cooking in a microwave can be healthier as cooking times are shorter than other methods, which can preserve some vitamins and minerals, as long as the food is evenly heated.  (New York Times Health)

Sugary drinks boost risk factors for heart disease. This short study is the first to show a dose-response relationship between sugary drinks and risk factors for heart disease (the more you drink, the greater your risk).  Over only 15 days, researchers observed increases in markers for heart disease (lipoproteins, triglycerides and uric acid ) related to the amount of sugary drinks participants consumed. Unless you are fueling an intense or long workout, best to stick to unsweetened beverages. (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, April 2015).

coffee_© Vincent Mo_LatteCoffee protects against breast cancer recurrence. Women treated with tamoxifen who had a moderate or high coffee consumption had half the likelihood of breast cancer recurrence compared to women who drank little or no coffee.  (Clinical Cancer Research, April 2015)

The real side effect of a gluten-free diet: scientific illiteracy. Good interview and interesting perspective on the popularity of avoiding gluten. (Vox.com)

New Recipe: Fabulous Fruit Tart with Walnut Crust

Fabulous Fruit Tart (640x427)I love fruit tarts, and have been collecting recipes for various tarts for as long as I can remember.  The only part that I was ever satisfied with was the fruit topping . . . but how can you go wrong with those vibrant colours and fabulous flavours? So, I set out to make the perfect tart. Of course,  perfect means I want the tart to taste great, but also be nutritious.

I think I”ve succeeded! This crust features two nutrition all-stars  – walnuts and oats; the filling is protein-rich Greek yogurt; and the topping, nature’s bounty of colourful fruits full of health-promoting compounds. Just one piece has a whopping 1715 mg of potassium, a mineral many people don’t get enough of in their diet.

 

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Fabulous Fruit Tart in a Walnut Crust

I love fruit tarts, and have been collecting recipes for various tarts for as long as I can remember.  The only part that I was ever satisfied with was the fruit topping . . . but how can you go wrong with those vibrant colours and fabulous flavours?

I set out to make the perfect tart. Of course,  perfect means I wanted the tart to taste great, be relatively easy to make,  and also nutritious.

I think I’ve succeeded! This crust features two nutrition all-stars  – walnuts and oats; the filling is protein-rich Greek yogurt; and the topping, nature’s bounty of colourful fruits full of health-promoting compounds. Just one piece has a whopping 1,715 mg of potassium, a mineral many people don’t get enough of in their diet.

Healthy enough for breakfast, flavourful enough for dessert!

Ingredients

Walnuts isolatedWalnut Crust
  • 1 1/3 cup oats
  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 2 tbsp. sugar
  • 1/8 tsp. salt
  • 1 egg
Yogurt Filling
  • 1 carton (500 g/about 2 cups) Greek Yogurt (I used nonfat vanilla)
  • 3 tbsp. cold water
  • 1 package unflavored gelatin (2.5 tsp.)
Fabulous Fruit Tart (640x427)Fresh Fruit
  • A variety (about 4 cups) of bite-sized colourful fresh fruit – anything goes! I typically include some sort of berry. Cut larger fruit into small pieces as necessary.

Directions

Walnut Crust
  1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Place the oats, walnuts, sugar, and salt, in food processor and process. Add the egg and process until well mixed.
  2. Press mixture into a 9 or 10 inch tart dish lightly greased with butter (consider lining bottom with circle of parchment paper – sometimes the crust sticks without it). Use your fingers to spread the dough and press it evenly all over the inside of the tart pan (it helps if you wet your fingers with water).  Poke the crust in a few places with a fork.
  3. Bake for 10-15 minutes (until lightly browned) and cool on a wire rack.
Yogurt Filling and Fruit Topping
  1. Pour the yogurt into a large bowl and whisk if vigorously until it is smooth. Set aside.
  2. Put cold water in a 2-cup microwavable measuring cup. Sprinkle with gelatin; stir and let stand for 2 minutes (gelatin will expand and solidify).
  3. Microwave water/gelatin mixture on High for 30 seconds (gelatin will become liquid).
  4. Add gelatin mixture to yogurt, stir or whisk well, pour into baked crust, and let it set in refrigerator for about 1 hour.
  5. This the the fun part: top with fresh fruit  – use patterns of colours, or just throw it all on – you can’t go wrong!

Cooking Tips & Variations

  • Don’t have a tart pan?  You can also make this in a glass pie plate.
  • Make it simpler. You can pour yogurt filling into a premade graham cracker crust.
  • Yogurt filling.  My initial cooking experiments avoided gelling agents and were a  mess, as the yogurt/fruit spilled everywhere once a piece of tart was cut. Gelatin works miracles here! There’s even preliminary evidence that combined with exercise it can stimulate collagen synthesis that might promote healing of tendon and ligament injuries. Gelatin is derived of collagen from animal body parts, so strict vegetarians may want to omit this or try a substitute (note – I have not tried any of these).
  • Fruit topping. You can be creative with the fruit patterns – and it’s an opportunity to get others involved (kids love to do this, so do most adults).
  • Sweet dessert or healthy breakfast. If you want something more decadent, use a higher fat yogurt and whisk maple syrup or other liquid sweetener into the yogurt before adding the gelatin (this will be higher in calories and fat, but will still be much healthier than most tarts and pies). If you want a less sweet tart, use plain yogurt instead of vanilla yogurt, which has less sugar.

Nutrition Notes

  • walnutinshellWalnuts are a good source of healthy fats, and contain more of the omega-3 fat alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) than other nuts. Eating walnuts has been associated with lowering cholesterol, reducing breast cancer risk (in mice), helping control blood sugar, and reducing the risk of diabetes.
  • Falling strawberries. Isolated on a white background.Berries are one of the most nutritious fruit: they are rich in vitamin C, fiber, folate, and potassium. They also rank higher in antioxidant power than most fruits and vegetables. Berries also contain anthocyanin, a phytochemical that helps fight oxidative cell damage that can lead to chronic diseases including cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.
  • Greek yogurt is exceptionally rich in protein and a good source of calcium, so if you have this tart for breakfast, it’s a great way to start the day (most people don’t eat enough protein in the morning).  High yogurt Oats (with Path)consumption (> 7 servings/week) is linked to lower weight (especially in people who eat more fruit), and lower risk of diabetes.
  • Oats are well-know for their cholesterol lowering properties, and recent research shows that they contain antioxidant compounds called avenanthramides that help decrease chronic inflammation that can lead to disease.

fruit tart with words

Nutrition Per Serving

1 serving = 1/8 tart

  • 255 calories
  • 11 g protein
  • 49 g carbohydrate
  • 12 g fat
  • 23 mg cholesterol
  • 5 g fiber
  • 72 mg sodium
  • 1715 mg potassium

More recipes with OATS

More recipes with WALNUTS

You’ll find more healthy recipes here.
Yum

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This Week in Food, Health, and Fitness

This week, read about food and nutrition tracking, muscle-building supplements and cancer risk, saturated fats, Blue Zones, salt and endurance performance, and more.

Food and Nutrition Tracking

salmon_fotoliaIt should be easier to track what you eat. Analyzing dietary intake used to be a tedious task and almost exclusively the domain of nutrition professionals, but advances in technology, and widespread availability and quality of food databases has changed all that. Examples of such programs include sparkpeople or myfitnesspal.  Although this is a dramatic improvement, new research identifies several areas that would make these food diaries easier to use and more helpful. (Paper to be presented at ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems)

Why would you track what you eat?
 Ahhh –  the topic of my Master’s thesis! So I could go on for awhile, but here’s the scoop. Tracking what you eat is a proven method of improving your diet – it makes you aware of your habits, can help you eat more mindfully, and tell you how the food you eat translates to calories, fat, carbohydrates, or protein, vitamins, and minerals. Certainly it’s not desirable (or advisable!) to convert all fine dining experiences into numbers, but getting an idea of how your typical diet stacks up can be importDIet Tracking Appsant for your health, and is especially helpful if you’re considering making some changes. For example, athletes may want to know if they’re consuming enough carbohydrates to fuel and recover from their workouts, or people trying to lose weight would benefit by knowing where their excess calories are coming from.

Here’s a review of some popular diet/nutrition tracking apps.

Other Links of Interest This Week

Study finds troubling link between use of muscle-building supplements and cancer.  A new study looked at the relationship between using “muscle-building” supplements and testicular germ cell cancer (the most common form of cancer in young men) in a case-control survey of 900 men.  The study didn’t discriminate between various types of supplements, but noted that supplements included 30 different types of powders and pills, and the major ingredients were creatine, protein, and androstenedione.  Investigators observed a clear link between using supplements and cancer risk, and associations were stronger among early users, men using more than 2 types of supplements, and longer use of supplements. This case-control study can’t draw conclusions, but these preliminary findings highlight an important area that merits further research. (British Journal of Cancer)

Is All Saturated Fat The Same? A very good article by David Katz on an issue that’s become pretty complicated for many to understand.  Here is a highlight from the article:

“Dietary fat was never all good or all bad; carbohydrate was never all good or all bad; and saturated fat is not now all good after having formerly been all bad. It depends on the specifics, which in turn depend on the foods you choose.

Choose wisely — foods close to nature, mostly plants — and you will avoid a host of ills, from the wrong kinds of fat, to excesses of sugar, salt, starch and calories. By choosing wholesome foods, you construct a wholesome diet — with a good chance of adding both years to your life and life to your years. Vegetables, fruits, whole grains, walnuts, almonds, lentils, beans, seeds, olives, avocados and fish are all among the foods most decisively recommended for health promotion and all are low in saturated fat. That is by no means their only virtue, but it is among them.”

Student projects get creative to encourage healthy eating.  I love the idea of prescriptions for healthy foods! (UC Global Food Initiative)

10 Ways to Spot Health Quackery. A good list! (UC Berkeley Wellness Letter)

Interview with physiologist and beetroot expert Prof Andrew Jones.  One great sports physiologist interviews another – and good questions whose answers you won’t find in research publications.  (Mysportscience.com)

Blue Zones: What the Longest-Lived People Eat (Hint: It’s Not Steak Dinners).  The plant-based nutritional choices of “Blue Zone” inhabitants are just one aspect of their longevity. Other traits include daily physical activity, sense of purpose, low stress, and strong family and community connections.  (Scientific American)

A Swim Team for Teens With Autism. Profile and video clip of “Swim Team” a documentary of the Jersey Hammerheads, a swim team for children with autism. (New York Times)

The making of Dr. Oz. How an award-winning doctor turned away from science and embraced fame. Excellent piece on “the most influential health professional in America” (how unfortunate) by Julia Beluz. (Vox.com) Also this week a group of doctors has asked Columbia to reconsider Dr. Oz’s faculty appointment at Columbia University.

The Right Dose of Exercise for a Longer Life.  Studies have looked at the right amount of exercise to improve health and longevity. Two new studies shed light on the “ideal dose.” (Gretchen Reynolds, New York Times).

Sweet PotatoesThe Health Benefits of Sweet vs. Regular Potatoes. There is a lot of misinformation about potatoes, often related to starches and glycemic index. This article debunks some popular myths, and provides evidence-based advice and eating tips. (John Berardi)

More Salt Doesn’t Mean Better Performance for Endurance Athletes. A new study questions that idea that additional salt (beyond sports drinks) can help performance in endurance athletes.  (Journal of Sports Science & Medicine)

5 days of eating fatty foods can alter the way your body’s muscle processes food.  Investigators at Virginia Tech found that eating fatty meals for just 5 days can influence how muscles process nutrients (their ability to oxidize glucose is disrupted).  The “fatty” diet was 55% fat, and high in saturated fats from foods like cheese and butter. Researchers believe these short-term disruptions could eventually lead to long-term problems such as weight gain, obesity, and other health issues. (Obesity, April 2015 )

9 Ways to Optimize Your Breakfast. Some good tips! (Nutrition Diva Monica Reinagle)

Cycling Canada’s “Hop On” Campaign. A clever video to promote cycling . . . Here’s how they made the video.

chickpea salad ovalNew Recipe

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad. This is a terrific salad with vibrant colors and a great combination of flavors. It’s also quite versatile: it’s a great side dish to bring to a pot-luck or BBQ, a nutritious meal you can pack for tasty lunch, and stuff any leftovers into a pita for a nutritious sandwich.

 

 

 

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