When you need a boost in dietary iron, a few foods and drinks can help you achieve daily values quickly. The FDA recommends an average intake of 18 mg of iron, and the USDA encourages you to get those minerals from food sources.
While you could take a supplement pill, the added nutritional benefits from foods such as spinach further improve your diet. Discover foods that offer healthy amounts of dietary fiber, vitamins and other nutrients that your body needs along with high iron content.
Canned Clams
Take care of your iron needs for the whole day -- and part of tomorrow -- by eating canned clams occasionally. The USDA Nutrient Database reports a 3-oz. serving carries 24 mg of dietary iron in this processed form of clams, which removes inedible parts and concentrates the iron content. The drawback of this iron food source is its high cholesterol, but watching your levels of that "risky" nutrient for a day or two will restore your dietary balance.
Fortified Cereals
You can eat fortified wheat, oat, rice, barley or corn cereals low in sugar every day for their rich fiber, vitamin, iron and other mineral content. These whole-grain food sources can provide 100 percent or more daily value of iron, calcium and other nutrients in low-calorie meals. Choosing nonfat milk, soy or rice beverages as an accompaniment bumps up iron amounts by about 1 mg, according to the USDA.
Organ Meats
Calories and cholesterol offset the high iron content of organ meats, but again, their overall nutritional value warrants occasional indulgence. For instance, 1 cup of turkey giblets has 11 mg of iron; two slices of pork liver sausage, 6 mg; and 3 oz. of beef liver, 5 mg, as well as lots of protein, the USDA says.
Lentils
Control calories, fat and cholesterol by eating iron-rich lentils and other dry beans and peas frequently. A 1-cup serving of lentils has 7 mg of dietary iron and significant fiber and potassium as well. The USDA also includes black, kidney and navy beans among high-iron food sources.
Spinach
Spinach is famous for its iron content of 6 mg per 1 cup, as well as rich calcium, potassium and magnesium. The National Institutes of Health notes spinach also helps you absorb iron from other plant-based sources.
Prune Juice
Get your dietary iron in liquid form by drinking prune juice. While 1 cup provides 3 mg of iron, the drawback of prune juice is its high sugar concentration of 42 g, as listed by the USDA. Some commercial nutritional shakes also provide significant iron enrichment in convenient drinks.
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