Iron deficiency most often affects people with poor overall nutrition, women who are pregnant or have heavy menstrual flow, teenage girls and children under age 2. If you fit this risk profile or have an increased need for iron, you can stave off low iron and iron-deficiency anemia by eating the right foods.
There are two types of iron foods. Heme iron is found in animal-based foods, and your body can rapidly absorb and use this mineral form. Non-heme iron is found in other sources and is less accessible but still effective in vital hemoglobin production. Grain products, legumes, meats and leafy greens contribute the most toward your recommended daily dose--18 milligrams--of dietary iron.
Low Levels
The Food and Drug Administration considers mineral content that is 5 percent of the daily value, or DV, or less per serving low in iron. Still, small portions from iron foods such as fruits, vegetables, dairy products and other low-level heme iron sources do add up.
Meats and fish with low but significant dietary iron--just under 1 mg in small servings of 3 ounces--include boneless chicken breast, ham, halibut and orange roughy. Milkshakes, frozen yogurt and ricotta cheese represent dairy items with similar iron content. Pumpkin pie, corn muffins and cinnamon rolls offer the same level of dietary iron per standard serving. Other sources for your daily dose include pineapple, apricots, blueberries, squash, corn and eggs.
Moderate Intake
Medium-iron foods may provide the bulk of your dietary iron intake. Meats and fish in the moderate range (6 to 19 percent DV) are lamb, ground beef, dark chicken and turkey meat, canned shrimp and haddock. These all contain about 2 mg in a 3-ounce serving.
Readily available foods such as ¼ cup of cashews, a single toaster pastry and a slice of pizza also contribute 2 mg apiece toward your daily dose of iron.
High Values
High-iron foods should be incorporated into a balanced diet, rather than relied upon for quick periodic fixes to iron levels. You can add 20 percent DV or more per serving to your daily dose with a fast-food cheeseburger (large patty, 4 mg), kidney beans (1 cup, 5 mg) and oysters (3 ounces, 6 mg).
One cup of rice and a cup of canned pork and beans each provide about 8 mg of iron. Higher values come from chicken and turkey giblets and Cheerios cereal (1 cup each, 10 to 11 mg). Some of the highest iron DVs come from fully-fortified cereals. Package labels indicate 100 percent DV iron for items such as Kellogg's Product 19 and General Mills Total cereals.
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