Fara 24 October 2008 General Health, Healthy Foods, Nutritions 1,452 views No Comment/Trackback Print This Post  Email This Post

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Iron Rich Foods – List Of Foods High In Iron

Did you know that iron deficiency can lead to anemia? Every red blood cell in our body contains iron in its hemoglobin (iron main job is to carry oxygen in hemoglobin). Anemia is a type of disease that results from the lack of oxygen reaching the cells and tissues, which inevitably affecting their functions. The main symptom of anemia is the body will become tired and weak more easily than usual.

Causes of iron deficiencies:

• insufficient iron in the diet
• poor absorption of iron by the body
• Ongoing blood loss because of injury, or from gradual blood loss in the intestinal tract, and also due to menstruation.

Poor absorption of iron by the body is influenced by multiple factors. One important factor is the form of the iron. There are 2 types of iron ; heme iron, which can be absorb easily, found in animal source and non-heme iron, plant origin which can not be absorb as easy as heme iron. However, both causes of iron deficiencies: lack of iron in diet and poor iron absorption can be prevented by taking a simple method. It is by planning your diet and chooses the type of food that you eat, and this can be achieve through reliable and well-organized healthy eating plans.

Recommended daily intake of iron

• Children from birth to age 6 months = 10 mg daily
• Children from ages 6 months to 4 years = 15 mg daily
• Females ages 11 to 50 = 18 mg
• Females over age 50 = 10 mg
• Pregnant women = 30 to 60 mg
• Males ages 10 to 18 = 18 mg
• Males over age 19 = 10 mg

Below is the list of iron rich foods divided into 2 type.

Source of heme iron – Iron (mg)

Beef liver, braised (3 oz.) = 5.6 mg
Lean sirloin, broiled (3 oz.) = 2.9 mg
Lean ground beef, broiled (3oz.) = 2.5 mg
Skinless chicken, roasted (Dark meat) (3 oz.) = 1.1 mg
Skinless chicken, roasted (White meat) (3 oz.) = 0.9 mg
Pork, lean, roasted (3 oz.) = 0.9 mg
Salmon, canned with bone (3 oz.) = 0.7 mg

Source of non-heme iron

Fortified breakfast cereal (1 cup) = 4.5-1.8 mg
Pumpkin seed kernels (1 oz.) = 4.2 mg
Soybean nuts (1/2 cup) = 3.4 mg
Blackstrap molasses (1 tbspn.) = 3.2 mg
Spinash, boiled (1/2 cup) = 3.0 mg
Red kidney bean, cooked (1/2 cup) = 2.6 mg
Prune juice (3/4 cup) = 2.3 mg
Lima beans, cooked (1/2 cup) = 2.2 mg
Enriched rice, cooked (1/2 cup) = 1.4 mg
Pretzels (1 oz.) = 1.2 mg
Dried plums (prunes) (5) = 1.0 mg
Whole-wheat bread (1 slice) = 0.9 mg
Egg, large (1) = 0.9 mg
Raisins, seedless (1/4 cup) = 0.8 mg
Green beans, cooked (1/2 cup) = 0.6 mg
Peanut butter (2 tbspn.) = 0.6 mg
Apricot, dried (3) = 0.6 mg
Grapes (1/2 cup) = 0.3 mg
Zucchini, cooked (1/2 cup) = 0.3 mg
Cranberry juice cocktail (3/4 cup) = 0.2 mg
Un-enriched rice, cooked (1/2 cup) = 0.2 mg
Egg white, large (1) = < 0.1 mg

Source: US Department of Agricultural Research Service. 2005. USDA National Nutrient Database For Standard Reference.

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