If you're showing puzzling symptoms of fatigue or have been diagnosed with anemia, you may need to improve the iron content of your diet. Women's stores of iron can drop either because of heavy menstruation or pregnancy or changes in nutrient absorption brought on by medication or age. While your doctor may order iron supplementation, you can still benefit from the additional nutrition in iron-rich foods. Whole grains, peas and beans, and certain animal-based foods infuse your meals with significant dietary iron.
Iron-Enriched Cereals
Achieve your daily value, or DV, of 18 g of iron first thing in the morning by eating a fortified breakfast cereal. Many brands contain 100 percent DV of iron per suggested serving, or can reach that total with the addition of iron-rich dried fruits such as raisins. Cereal also has beneficial fiber, protein and vitamins. Learn the iron content of cereal by reading the nutrition facts on the package.
Vegetable Juice
Tomatoes are a good source of iron as well as potassium and vitamin C. The juice form offers concentrated nutrient content. According to the USDA, one cup of tomato juice or 100-percent vegetable juice provides about 1 g of iron to add to your daily totals.
Eggs or Liver
Eggs and chicken, pork and beef livers make significant iron contributions as entrees or as ingredients in other dishes. Suggested servings of liver have 5 to 6 g of iron. Poached or scrambled eggs offer about 1 g per large egg. The National Institutes of Health relate that the iron content in eggs is found in the yolks, which contain low fat but high cholesterol. Liver has a similar nutritional trade-off. If you're watching your cholesterol intake, choose plant-based iron foods most of the time instead.
Turkey Sandwiches
Turkey contains more iron than lean chicken, pork or beef cuts other than the livers. The iron in 3 oz. of turkey breast, 1 slice of tomato and 2 slices of whole-wheat bread adds up to about 3 g total.
Beans and Rice
Mineral-rich beans such as navy, lima and kidney beans deliver 4 to 5 g of iron per 1-cup serving, while, such as black-eyed peas and split peas, have slightly less than that. One cup of enriched rice adds 3 g of iron to your meal, providing as much as 45 percent DV of iron.
Cooked Spinach
Like vegetable juice, spinach has relatively high iron content when cooked. You'll receive additional vitamins and minerals along with the 6 g of iron in 1 cup of cooked spinach.
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