Healthy Diet to Prevent Iron Deficiency

Iron rich Foods

Iron deficiency (Anemia) is an extremely common, curable condition that occurs if your body does not get the daily required amount of iron through diet. Iron rich foods help to correct this deficiency which can also be triggered by excessive blood loss or a reduced ability of the body to absorb iron. Iron is required for the proper production of hemoglobin.

Low hemoglobin counts cause serious health problems like fatigue, dizziness, palpitations, sore tongue, paleness and much more. Insufficient iron rich foods cannot produce enough hemoglobin (a substance in red blood corpuscles that makes it possible for them to carry oxygen to the body’s tissue).

Last summer, my brother Aakash suffered from an excessively low hemoglobin count caused by iron deficiency. The normal hemoglobin count in adult males is 130-170 g/L, and 120-150 g/L for females. Aakash’s hemoglobin had dropped alarmingly low to 50g/L. Even getting up from the bed was a struggle for him.

He was surviving on painful iron injections. Doctors advised him to rethink his lifestyle choices and improve his diet. I did some research and realized that iron deficiency could have easily been avoided by having a good diet.

Here we have listed some iron rich foods and at least one of them must be included in your everyday diet.

Iron rich food list

1. Spinach

Inspired by Popeye’s panache for spinach, I remember asking for more spinach as a child. Just about half cup of cooked spinach contains 3.2 mg of iron along with plenty of other vitamins and minerals. Popeye The Sailor Man was correct, spinach does make you stronger by providing your body with iron.

(Fun Fact: Popeye was so loved by spinach farmers that they erected statues of him in and around the spinach capital of the world in Crystal City, Texas.)

2. Red Meat

Red meat is a rich source of iron. Beef, veal, lamb and goat meat have the highest iron and zinc content of all protein foods. Moreover, iron and zinc in the red meat is easily absorbed by the body. (A tip while choosing red meat: The redder the meat, the higher is the iron content present in it.)

3. Beetroot

Scrumptious to eat, but I simply detest how a beetroot can stain anything and everything it touches. Overlooking the staining part, a beetroot has excessively high levels of iron in it. Moreover, it helps in activating and rejuvenating red blood cells.

4. Broccoli

Broccoli is rich in many vitamins and minerals including iron. Boil broccoli and sprinkle some salt and pepper on it, add it to your salads, so that you meet your everyday iron requirement.

5. Pumpkin Seeds

An impressively rich source of iron, pumpkin seeds, are a proven solution for keeping iron deficiency at bay. Pumpkin seeds help in curing all the associated symptoms of iron deficiency or anemia such as fatigue, sore tongue, hair fall-out and dizziness.

6. Blackstrap molasses

Blackstrap molasses is a wonderful vegan source of iron. For fulfilling iron needs, blackstrap molasses is a good food source as it contains lesser calories and has no fat. A spoonful of blackstrap molasses everyday is beneficial for pregnant women as they need more iron in their diet.

7. Potatoes

Everybody loves potatoes; it is probably one vegetable which is found in every household! Potatoes enhance the absorption of iron and baked potatoes along with their skin are a good source of iron. So have one baked potato in breakfast, a iron rich food , but remember not to remove the skin!

Eating iron rich foods can help you prevent iron deficiency as well as stay healthy and symptom-free by providing all the iron you need every day. Iron rich foods prevent Iron Deficiency.

Iron deficiency is an extremely common and curable condition that occurs if our body does not get the daily required amount of iron through diet.

Avatar

About the Author

Mansi Agarwal is a Delhi based writer, photographer and a travel enthusiast. She loves writing on health and travel related topics. On a casual note, she adores mountains and all things green.

Leave a Reply