Before hitting the net endlessly I thought I’d ask you guys what foods provide a ready source of iron other than meat?
Raisin Bran cereal
Excellent source is Raisin Bran cereals. I especially like Raisin Bran Crunch as a dry snack as well as a cereal meal with milk.
A Doctor Once Told Me
The greener a vegetable is the more iron it has. I guess Popeye was on to something with that spinach.
Paddle an iron boat.
other than meat seems unnecessary
provisos about spinach
– Last Updated: Jan-01-15 2:22 PM EST –
It's important to understand that spinach also contains oxalic acid which blocks the absorption of iron. You need to cook it and also to combine it with vitamin C rich and heme-rich foods to allow absorption. The iron in beans, fortified cereal and greens is non-heme and you need both. Clams and sardines are excellent heme sources if you don't want to eat mammals or poultry. If you are going to be a vegetarian you have to add heme supplements. If you simply consume large quantities of raw greens you are not going to facilitate your complete iron intake.
http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/drawback-using-spinach-iron-supplement-7894.html
Also, if you take supplements, ferrous sulfate can upset your stomach more than ferrous fumarate or ferrous gluconate. It should only be taken with food.
Any particular reason you think you are risking iron deficiency? It is not that common with people on a normal diet, and if you are actually anemic you should be getting advice from your doctor in conjunction with a nutritionist. Only 3% of American men have insufficient iron in their diet. It is more common in women (20% on average, 50% among pregnant women.) Iron is not excreted by the body and there can be health issues with toxicity if you consume too much.
Frying your red meat in a cast iron skillet
will load your body with enough iron to set off TSA alarm bells at the airport. If you are male, you are probably already getting too mulch iron iron your regular diet. Have you had your blood levels checked, or are you self-prescribing?
skillet
are you defishant ? and ah one and ah two…that iron deficiency anemia gig was a scam. Ah one and Ah two years for fraud.
Know skillets with raised ridges on the frying surface ? Excellent braised meat cooking, less fat…drains off.
The NIH handles this:
http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iron-HealthProfessional/
Vegetarian
– Last Updated: Jan-02-15 3:30 PM EST –
I am a vegetarian (and that includes not eating seafood). I have never supplemented my iron or been concerned about oxalic acid. While I don't doubt what you're saying is true, I also have great iron levels and get blood draws regularly. Meat is not necessary to be healthy so long as you're eating a balanced diet rich in fruits, veggies, etc.
Yup
Red cross refused to let me be a donor for the first time ever… and I’ve donated many times. MD said he doesn’t know why but I’m slightly anemic. Said to eat red meat once a week. Haven’t eaten red meat in 20 years, so wondered what other sources were?
Nobody mentioned beets?
or iron supplements?
^good stuff here
good source of info
Mentioned this question to a vegetarian friend who sent me a link to this site with very good information on the subject:
http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/iron.php
I was a vegetarian for many years during which I always qualified for blood donation with excellent iron levels. Seems, per the article, the combinations I ate and my fondness for high vitamin C foods were inadvertently the right thing to do.
If your iron level was marginal I would not be worried about it. But if it comes up low again, I would seek a doctor’s advice to rule out any systemic problems. Taking calcium supplements and/or antacids with meals can reduce iron absorption, by the way, so the timing of supplements ingestion is important.