When you donate blood, you reduce your dietary iron stores temporarily. The American Red Cross suggests eating iron-rich foods before giving blood, so you won't risk deficiency. Your food sources of dietary iron, however, should limit fat content, which may affect the routine tests of your blood quality prior to donation. This means avoiding hamburgers and french fries and getting your daily value, or DV, of iron from less-fatty foods. The FDA recommends an average intake of 18 mg of iron per day.
Whole-grain Cereals
Whole-grain cereals with fortified iron content may be your healthiest food source to tap before giving blood. Low in fat, many ready-to-eat corn, wheat, barley and oat cereals have from 20 to 100 percent DV of iron, according to the USDA Nutrient Database. The nutrition facts on package labels must report their iron content, if enriched. You may also compare fat grams and choose the cereal with the fewest. Many are fat free.
Shellfish and Meats
Your body absorbs the dietary iron you get from animal-based food sources better than that from plant-based foods. Try 3-oz. servings of oysters for 33 to 140 percent DV. For variety, beef round roast and lamb chops provide more moderate amounts of iron. Choose the cuts lowest in fat, because these may contain 10 g of fat or more.
While shellfish and meats have more fat than veggies, you can still take advantage of their greater usable iron content from time to time, or you may add small amounts as ingredients in grain, legume or vegetable dishes. The National Institutes of Health note that such a blend of foods promotes the most efficient mineral absorption.
Vegetables
Green vegetables, such as spinach and Brussels sprouts, have legendary iron content, but standbys such as potatoes and tomatoes are strong contenders too. To get 33 percent DV of iron, eat 1 cup of cooked spinach, because cooking concentrates the minerals. Bake, don't fry, your potatoes and enjoy tomato-based pasta sauce over iron-enriched noodles. These low-fat food sources are all rich in iron, according to the USDA.
Dry Beans
Dry beans, peas, lentils and soybeans all provide high dietary iron with only about 1 g of fat or less in 1-cup cooked servings. Lentils and soybeans provide 40 to 50 percent DV of iron per cup, according to the USDA. Additional legumes with at least 20 percent DV include black, lima, navy and Great Northern beans, as well as chickpeas and black-eyed peas.
Member Comments