Iron is an essential nutrient, critical to the production of hemoglobin, the part of red blood cells that transport oxygen throughout the body. Iron deficiency symptoms in children can include weakness, fatigue, dizziness, decreased appetite and crankiness. Severe iron deficiency can cause an irregular heartbeat and, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, even delay physical and mental development in infants, as well as have a negative impact on physical and mental function in older children. Because children grow so fast, it is easier for them to experience deficiency than other groups, making iron-rich foods an important part of every child's daily diet.
Meat, Poultry and Fish
The two forms of iron available from food, as explained by the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements, are heme and nonheme. Heme comes from red meats, poultry and fish, and is easier to absorb than nonheme. Because of its more efficient absorption, lean red meats, poultry and fish are an ideal choice to meet the changing iron needs of growing children and teens. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, infants from 7 to 12 months old need 11 mg of iron daily and toddlers from 1 to 3 years of age should have 7 mg daily. Children from 4 to 8 years of age require 10 mg of iron per day. Once the rapid growth of adolescence starts, iron needs change again, with males needing 11 mg and females 15 mg, due to menstruation. Chicken livers offer 12.8 mg heme iron per 3 1/2 oz. serving, beef tenderloin provides 3 mg in a 3 oz. serving, dark turkey meat has 2.3 mg per 3 1/2 oz. serving and canned tuna offers 0.8 mg in 3 oz.
Fortified Cereal
Ready-to-eat cereal, as the Office of Dietary Supplements refers to packaged breakfast cereals, can be a rich source of nonheme iron. These cereals don't have to be limited to the breakfast table with milk poured on them. They can be eaten dry, replacing less nutritious snack foods. Cereals that are 100 percent fortified have 18 mg iron per 3/4 cup serving and those that are 25 percent fortified offer 4.5 mg. An iron-rich sort of trail mix can be created by adding raisins, which offer 1.5 mg nonheme iron per half cup serving, roasted pumpkin or squash seeds, offering 4.2 mg iron per oz., and other dried fruits and seeds. Nuts can be added for children older than 4, old enough not to worry about accidental choking.
Blackstrap Molasses
A single tablespoon of blackstrap molasses packs a powerful iron punch, providing 3.5 mg of nonheme iron. Blackstrap molasses can be used in place of brown sugar in oatmeal, instead of jelly on a peanut butter sandwich, drizzled on biscuits or used in place of or mixed with syrup on pancakes. With its high concentration of iron, it can easily be snuck into the diet to provide an iron boost, useful for younger children who don't eat the volume of food per day that older children do and may struggle to fit all the day's necessary nutrients into the daily food intake.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Iron Deficiency
- National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements: Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Iron
- The College of Family Physicians of Canada: Anemia--When Low Blood Iron is the Cause
- National Institutes of Health, U.S. National Library of Medicine: Iron Deficiency Anemia--Children
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