What foods are rich in iron?

[Amethyst]

Don't say red meat...because I don't eat red meat. It makes me sick.
I believe I've been having trouble with iron deficiencies again. I went for a run and it no matter how much I breathed, I still felt like I couldn't breathe (not asthma).

Are there any foods other than red meat that are cheap to buy, easy to make, healthy, and full of iron?

 

[FeatheredFrenzy]

A can of smoked oysters costs about $2, is already cooked, and contains 20% DV worth of iron.

 

[sLiPpY]

Get yourself some cast iron skillets by Lodge. That'll add some natural iron to anything you choose to cook.

 

[Within]

I eat it for the taste though.

 

[Amethyst]

Oh, all of them sound delicious!
I need to be less picky...then I won't die during exercise.

 

[gromit]

A lot of cereals are iron-enriched, like Cheerios (if you live in the US), and green, leafy vegetables, like spinach, etc. have it. Iron from non-meat sources is less accessible to your body, but it still can be absorbed. Also, molasses has a fair amount of iron.

Have you considered a supplement?

The iron cookware suggestion by sLiPpY is also good! I am vegetarian, so I have to be careful about this too... what makes you think you have an iron deficiency?

 

[Thalassa]

Actually beans are an excellent source of iron and apparently prune juice has it too...good fiber there along with your iron

Clams and sardines contain lots of iron too. I think clams have more iron than red meat.

 

[Amethyst]

A lot of cereals are iron-enriched, like Cheerios (if you live in the US), and green, leafy vegetables, like spinach, etc. have it. Iron from non-meat sources is less accessible to your body, but it still can be absorbed. Also, molasses has a fair amount of iron.

Have you considered a supplement?

The iron cookware suggestion by sLiPpY is also good! I am vegetarian, so I have to be careful about this too... what makes you think you have an iron deficiency?

Hmm...I like cheerios!


I actually didn't at first think it was an iron deficiency. At first I thought CFS, but pretty much everyone in my life that has seen me eat (including my dietitian mother) and has said that *symptom* is probably caused by *shitty eating habit*. I, for the most part, never really bought it, until recently when I just crashed. I slept for 8 hours one night, got up, left the house for some breakfast, came back home, and slept all day. Got up around 8 PM, then went to bed a couple hours later. I'm still incredibly fatigued, and I've tried everything to fight it (exercise, B vitamins, regular sleep pattern etc.), except eat more iron.

Usually I'm just tired all the time, but I fight it off by just telling myself it's nothing or drinking 5 hour energies. There are more reasons, but they're mostly woman reasons that could be the cause, and I've done everything for that too (I'm actually going in to see my OBGYN to up the dosage on my pill). That might not be anything, per say, but it could compliment the problems that I'm already having making them more severe.

I don't know what else it could be.

 

[Tiltyred]

Spinach! It has more iron than meat.

You could also just take a supplement.

When I eat too many simple carbohydrates, I sleep like that and have brain fog. Eat, for example, eggs for breakfast, 3 oz chicken, some brown rice, a big salad (no bread) for lunch, and some variation on that for dinner (small portion meat, leafy greens, smal portion complex carbs), and you should feel more energy.

 

[Amethyst]

Spinach! It has more iron than meat.

You could also just take a supplement.

When I eat too many simple carbohydrates, I sleep like that and have brain fog. Eat, for example, eggs for breakfast, 3 oz chicken, some brown rice, a big salad (no bread) for lunch, and some variation on that for dinner (small portion meat, leafy greens, smal portion complex carbs), and you should feel more energy.

I pretty much eat whole grains and avoid most processed carbs (like red meat, they do not sit well in my tummy), but I'll try that. Thanks

 

[matmos]

Dandylions are rich in iron and Vitimin 2. Mixed with the requisite proportion of brambles, they make a fine tea, which can be used as a tincture that acts as an antidote for wasp stings. Ironically wasps are rich in both vitimin 2 and iron.

Eat more wasps.

 

[ragashree]

Spinach! It has more iron than meat.

Agh, no, definitely NOT!

Why? Spinach may be high in iron, but is also extremely high in oxalic acid, which actually inhibits iron absorbtion by binding to it. Iron that the body can't use isn't going to do you any good. Too much spinach consumption may even cause the defficiency to worsen because of this effect. Almost anything else high in iron is better in this respect than spinach, that includes other green leafy vegetables, which are also a good source.

Yeast extracts are also very high, and completely vegetarian if that's an issue - but where do you live? It's mostly in the Uk and Antipodes they're popular I believe.

 

[gromit]

I thought if you eat it with something like OJ then it helps to absorb the iron better... maybe like the vitamin C or something?

 

[ragashree]

I know that vitamin C can increase iron absorbtion. I can't see that making any difference to spinach though, as it wouldn't affect the process which makes spinach problematic as an iron source, which is that of the oxalic acid binding to the iron, making it unavailable. Orange juice is also relatively high in oxalic acid itself. It may help most to take orange juice, other high vitamin C foods, or vitamin C supplements a little before a meal, especially if it's something high in iron, as this will promote absorbtion when you do consume the iron. Actually it won't make so much difference with other vitamin C sources, but I can see it helping most with orange juice if there's a slight gap.

 

[Amethyst]

Dandylions are rich in iron and Vitimin 2. Mixed with the requisite proportion of brambles, they make a fine tea, which can be used as a tincture that acts as an antidote for wasp stings. Ironically wasps are rich in both vitimin 2 and iron.

Eat more wasps.

Oh dear god! I want wasps to be extinct!!! They serve no environmental purpose as far as I know.

 

[ThinkingAboutIt]

Eggs are great. Believe it or not, quinoa is a complete protein and has a lot of iron along with other heart healthy goodies. Try this: Nutrition facts, calories in food, labels, nutritional information and analysis – NutritionData.com

 

[Synapse]

yeah i can agree with eggs though sometimes i can taste the chemicals in the eggs really strongly and can't eat them. i buy bread with added iron, its not much but it helps. my pallets seems to disagree with eating red meat. i ate some when i went out with my friends but went home and felt so ill i brushed the taste out of me. still spinach dose indeed have a lot of iron.

eating liver paste from pork, chicken and other meats would probably have iron.

Doesn't feel like meat then, more like cheese funnily enough.

 

[cafe]

One of my biology profs once said that cooking spinach and/or eating it with vinegar helped to break down the oxalic acid. If you eat a lot of it raw, it can also interfere with the absorption of calcium and give you kidney stones.

 

[ThinkingAboutIt]

Try this: Nutrition facts, calories in food, labels, nutritional information and analysis – NutritionData.com

I just noticed that you can get specific info there too - check this out:
http://www.nutritiondata.com/foods-000119000000000000000-w.html

 

[ThinkingAboutIt]

Hmm...I like cheerios!


I actually didn't at first think it was an iron deficiency. At first I thought CFS, but pretty much everyone in my life that has seen me eat (including my dietitian mother) and has said that *symptom* is probably caused by *shitty eating habit*. I, for the most part, never really bought it, until recently when I just crashed. I slept for 8 hours one night, got up, left the house for some breakfast, came back home, and slept all day. Got up around 8 PM, then went to bed a couple hours later. I'm still incredibly fatigued, and I've tried everything to fight it (exercise, B vitamins, regular sleep pattern etc.), except eat more iron.

Usually I'm just tired all the time, but I fight it off by just telling myself it's nothing or drinking 5 hour energies. There are more reasons, but they're mostly woman reasons that could be the cause, and I've done everything for that too (I'm actually going in to see my OBGYN to up the dosage on my pill). That might not be anything, per say, but it could compliment the problems that I'm already having making them more severe.

I don't know what else it could be.

A friend of mine was talking about these same things and said she was tested for a vitamin D deficiency and was low. Within a week of taking supplements, she said it was amazing, she felt like a whole new person with all her 'old' energy back.