Eating too much fat in your diet slows your metabolism and reduces your intake of other nutrients, such as the iron and vitamins that your body needs in order to function efficiently. By choosing low-fat sources of protein and iron, you'll automatically get the B vitamins you need to improve your count of red blood cells. These vehicles send oxygen to your body cells to convert food nutrients into energy, which works to maintain or increase metabolism.
Halibut
Halibut has some of the highest protein and iron content among fish. Along with iron and vitamin B, red blood cell synthesis depends on dietary protein. You're less likely to be deficient in this nutrient, and more likely to get a lot of saturated fat from foods that have it. To reduce fat from protein food intake, the American Heart Association advocates eating fish instead of meat at least twice a week. Other fish with strong protein and iron include orange roughy, sardines and haddock.
Clams
All seafood sources deliver significant protein and various B vitamins, but mollusks have greater iron concentrations than fish and crustaceans. Try alternating clams, oysters or scallops with fish entrees in order to boost metabolism. According to the American Heart Association, any cooking method other than breading and frying will keep fat totals low, as will eating clams or oysters raw.
Enriched Cereal
Cereal gives you a chance to increase metabolism daily with a full supply of iron and some B vitamins. Manufacturers enrich some whole-grain oat, wheat, rice, corn and barley cereals with these nutrients. Along with a few grams of protein per serving, your blood count will benefit from up to 100 percent daily values of iron, vitamin B12, folate and other B vitamins, according to the USDA Nutrient Database. Comparing package nutrition facts will tell you which brands have the best nutritional content.
Pinto Beans
Pinto beans and other dry beans and peas are foods to eat in place of meat for protein. After fortified cereals, these legumes have the highest iron content of plant-based foods. The USDA lists soybeans as the richest legume iron sources, followed by lentils, kidney beans and chickpeas. Pinto beans that have been cooked down, or refried, have large amounts of iron due to their condensed form. Beans and peas have a variety of B vitamins as well.
Spinach
Cooking also concentrates the nutrients in spinach and other leafy green vegetables that the National Institutes of Health recommend, such as collards and broccoli. After legumes, leafy greens provide the most iron among plant-based sources, and substantial B vitamins. These foods improve your cellular metabolism and include moderate boosts of protein in their nutrient profiles.
Member Comments