|  | Diet Nutrition | Nutrition

Foods Contaning Iron

Iron is an essential ingredient of a well-balanced diet and is needed to maintain many important functions of the human body such as improving muscle and brain function, regulating body temperature, strengthening the immune system, reducing chronic fatigue, and carrying oxygen throughout the body. Registered dietitian, Chris Chandler, recommends getting your daily iron from food, before taking supplements. A number of foods either contain iron naturally or are enriched with iron.

  1. Heme and Nonheme Iron

    • The key function of iron is that it carries oxygen to the tissues in the body. Hemoglobin is the protein in red blood cells that carries iron to the cells of the body; three-quarters of the body's iron is found in hemoglobin. Heme, short for hemoglobin, iron refers to iron found in animal foods such as fish, poultry, and red meats, and is most easily absorbed by our bodies. Nonheme iron is the most common iron found in the diet and refers to the iron in plant foods like beans, lentils, and greens.

    Heme Iron

    • Organ meats such as liver contain the highest amount of heme iron, with 3.5 oz., accounting for 70 percent of your daily intake. For other meats a general rule applies: "the darker the meat, the more iron," says Chandler. Shellfish such as oysters and clams, as well as red meats, provide 15 to 25 percent of your body's daily iron requirements.

    Nonheme Iron

    • Nonheme iron is added to foods that are iron-enriched or iron-fortified. The highest amounts of this type of iron can be found in iron-fortified cereals, which can contain up to 100 percent of your body's daily iron requirements. Naturally occurring nonheme iron is found in high percentages in legumes such as lentils, soybeans, kidney beans, black beans, pinto beans, and other beans. High levels of nonheme iron are also found in collard greens, spinach and chard.

    Iron Absorption

    • The absorption of iron by the body is a key consideration. Your body typically absorbs 10 to 15 percent of dietary iron. Certain things can be done to increase the absorption of the iron in your diet. For example; pairing heme iron with vitamin C is a common method for increasing iron absorption within the body. Taking an iron supplement may be needed for those with low absorption rates.

Nutrition - Related Articles