Iron, a necessary component of the blood, helps transport oxygen to cells throughout the body. Insufficient amounts of iron in the body leads to fatigue and a weak immune system because of poor oxygen circulation. Iron is found in many foods, and there are two types: heme and non-heme. Heme iron comes from meat or organ foods that have had blood running through them, and non-heme is found in sources such as vegetables and grains. While both are good choices, heme iron is best absorbed by the body.
Meat (Heme) Sources
Beef liver has the highest content of heme iron, at 7.5 mg in a 3-ounce portion. The next highest amount in 3-ounce beef portions are beef round at 4.6 mg and beef flank at 4.3 mg. These content measurements were taken with lean cuts of beef, so trim all visible fat from meat before cooking if you are calculating your iron content.
Second to beef liver for iron content is chicken liver, which weighs in with 7.3 mg of iron in a 3-ounce serving. Unfortunately, the rest of the chicken does not measure up to the beef content of iron. Turkey rates low also, with a 3-ounce portion of dark meat leading a 3-ounce portion of white meat, 2.0 mg to 1.2 mg of iron.
If you prefer to get your iron from seafood, you will have to eat a lot more of it to get the same amount of iron that you would from the cuts of beef, depending upon the seafood source. Fresh caught blue-fin tuna is one of the lowest sources, containing 1.1 mg in a 3-ounce serving. Better seafood choices for iron are eight pieces of shrimp with 1.4 mg, 1 cup of fried clams with 4.0 mg of iron or six fried oysters, which contain 4.5 mg of iron.
Plant (Non-heme) Sources
Beans are considered a non-heme source of iron. One cup of soybeans is the best bean source of iron, with 8.8 mg of iron. One cup of boiled lentils has 6.6 mg, 1 cup of kidney beans has 5.2 mg, 1 cup of boiled lima or navy beans has 4.5 mg and 1 cup of black beans or pinto beans has 3.6 mg. of iron. Other good plant sources are spinach, brown and white rice, peas, prune juice and raisins.
Fortified Foods and Absorption Tips
Because getting iron from dietary sources is not easy, many foods are fortified with iron. Oatmeal, breads, pastas, bagels and most breakfast cereals are now labeled as being fortified. Iron can also be obtained from dietary supplements.
Because the absorption of non-heme (plant sources) of iron is not as good as absorption of meat sources, eat a food that contains vitamin C, such as citrus fruit or broccoli, with the non-heme iron source. An example of this would be having strawberries on fortified cereal. Also, cook food in a cast iron pan, or eat a meat source of iron along with a plant source in the same meal.
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