Iron is an essential mineral for the development of cells in our body. It is needed to reproduce hemoglobin, a part of blood cells, and also for the creation of myoglobin, proteins that carry oxygen. If you need to include this nutrient in your diet or want to know all its values, do not miss our list of iron-rich foods
The body needs iron and many nutrients to function at full capacity. A low level of this element and for a long period can cause the dreaded iron deficiency anemia. The iron proportions are not equal between men and women. For this, we detail it in the following lines.
How do we measure the amount of iron we need?
The amount of iron we should take It will depend on age and gender. The National Institutes of Health recommends taking 8 milligrams of iron per day in men. For adult women 18 milligrams and from the age of 51 already reduce it to 8 milligrams. This is due to the fact that during menstruation and its fertile age, much more of this nutrient is required.
If you recently had an analysis done and you have a deficiency, the best solution is for your doctor to prescribe iron supplements to progress in eliminating anemia. However, the best foods we can include is meat, since it provides the main iron we need. Vegetables also contain iron, but in another type of proportion that we will detail later.
Legumes
Legumes in general are very rich in this nutrient, we can find it in practically all its varieties. There are some varieties with more proportion than others, as in the lentils, kidney beans or chickpeas. They contain between 5 to 7 mg of iron per 100 grams of this food.
Nuts
Nuts in general are also rich in this nutrient. Keep in mind that legumes and nuts they are seedsTherefore, all the varieties that we can find around this specialty will always be the healthiest for our body.
The almonds are rich in iron, contains about 4 mg per 100 grams. They are also fabulous for their high content of phosphorus, magnesium and calcium for the bones.
Cashew nuts contain some 6,7 mg per 100 grams. In addition, it contains other important nutrients such as copper and magnesium.
The pistachio it also contains about 7 mg per 100 grams. Other important nuts are hazelnuts and almonds.
It must be remembered that nuts have a high fat content and therefore are very caloric, the ideal is to take a handful of this food every day.
Green leafy vegetables
Swiss chard, lettuce and spinach has a high amount of iron. Its amount ranges from 3 and 4 mg every 100 g vegetable.
One of the vegetables that the whole family likes are beans, also called green beans, with a high fiber, iron and vegetable protein content. They provide 7 mg per 100 grams.
The meat
Meat in general provides a high iron content. And we talk about this food as a good contributor of this nutrient, since this heme iron is absorbed much better than iron from vegetables. In addition, it is assimilated much better by the body.
Non-heme iron that found in vegetables is absorbed much worse, but it is not of poor quality for that reason, it is equally acceptable. One of the foods rich in this substance is found in the animal liver and it is one of the most recommended parts in a low diet.
An important fact to note is that the Vitamin C it is key for much more iron to be absorbed. If you are taking supplements, they will surely recommend taking it with a large orange juice.
Dark chocolate
Good news for chocolate lovers! This food contains 11,8 mg per 100 grams. Of course, it must be pure chocolate, not the one that comes mixed with milk. Also, if you really like this ingredient, you should know that it is not good to take a lot of sugar, therefore, regulate your consumption when you are exceeding it in other aspects.
Whole grains
Cereals have always been labeled as a good source of carbohydrates, but they also contain a great source of other vitamins and iron. You have to exclude the refined cereals and take whole grains like oatmeal or Quinoa, which are those that contain the most iron.
About 100 grams of Quinoa contain up to 13,2 mg iron. In addition, it is rich in calcium, zinc and isoflavones. The oats contains some 5,5 mg per 100 gramsIt also gives us a lot of fiber and controls blood sugar.
There are many more foods that contain iron that we have not mentioned, but we have reviewed the richest in this nutrient. There are many fish that we can eat and incorporate into our diet, such as clams, cockles, mussels or anchovies.