Although iron is abundant in many foods, iron deficiency is one of the most common nutrition problems in the United States.  Particularly at risk for iron deficiency are individuals going through periods of rapid growth—infants, adolescents, women who are pregnant—and athletes and women who are menstruating.

Iron does a body good in a variety of ways, but its main job is to make hemoglobin, which carries oxygen to the body cells and helps generate energy.  When you don’t get enough iron, fewer hemoglobin cells are produced, less oxygen is transported, and less energy is generated.

Iron deficiency may result in fatigue, dizziness, shortness of breath, rapid heart beat, depression, and weakness.

As people increasingly strive to adopt a heart healthy diet, they may reduce their consumption of red meat, poultry, and seafood—the best sources of iron.  But whatever your dietary preferences may be, there a number of strategies you can use to ensure that you get an adequate amount of this essential mineral.

MAKING THE MOST OF IRON

• Eat a variety of iron-rich foods.  The best sources are liver and other red meats.
• Combine heme iron-rich foods with nonheme iron-rich foods.  The heme iron enhances the absorption of iron from nonheme sources.
• Combine iron-rich foods with foods rich in Vitamin C, which boosts the body’s ability to absorb iron.  This is a particularly good strategy if you are a vegetarian or choose to limit your intake of meat, poultry, and seafood, for it helps the body make better use of nonheme iron.  Drinking orange juice with meals may be a simple way to help make the most of the iron in your food.
• Cooking in cast iron pans can help increase your intake of iron.

HOW MUCH DO YOU NEED?

Following are the Recommended Dietary Allowances for Iron:

Infants up to 6 months:                         6 milligrams

Infants 6 months to one year:              10 milligrams

Children:                                            10 milligrams

Males ages 11-18:                              12 milligrams

Adult males:                                      10 milligrams

Females ages 11-50:                          15 milligrams

Females age 50 and older:                  10 milligrams

Women who are pregnant:                   30 milligrams

Women who are breastfeeding:            15 milligrams

Postmenopausal females:                   10 milligrams

GOOD SOURCES OF IRON

Dietary sources of iron are either heme (animal) or nonheme (plant-based).  Heme iron—found, for example in red meat—is the most easily and efficiently absorbed.  The deeper the red color of the meat, the greater the iron content.

Sources of Heme Iron

• Beef liver
• Beef
• Pork
• Lamb
• Veal
• Poultry
• Clams
• Oysters
• Mussels
• Sardines
• Tuna
• Shrimp
• Crab

Sources of Nonheme Iron

• Iron-rich meat substitutes
• Iron-fortified cereals, breads
• Nuts, almonds, cashews, peanuts, pecans
• Seeds:  Sesame, pumpkin, squash, sunflower
• Dried beans and peas
• Tofu
• Pumpkin, sweet potato
• Prune juice
• Potatoes
• Rice
• Bran
• Blackstrap molasses
• Egg yolk
• Dried fruits (raisins, prunes)
• Dark green leafy vegetables (spinach, mustard greens, kale, broccoli)
• Citrus fruit and juices
• Kiwi
• Melons
• Potatoes
• Strawberries
• Tomato
• Papaya
• Brussels sprouts
• Peppers
• Cabbage

IRON BOOSTERS

Certain substances in food—oxalic acid in spinach, for example, tannates in tea, polyphenols in coffee and tea, and phytic acid in legumes and wheat bran—hamper the absorption of nonheme iron.  These foods may contain important nutrients, so cutting back on them is not necessarily the answer.  Instead, avoid eating foods with these substances when consuming food that is rich in iron.  Or, when eating meals that may contain oxalic or phytic acids, include foods with a healthy dose of Vitamin C to help counter the ironbusting effects.  It can also be helpful to limit consumption of coffee or tea, or drink coffee and tea in between, rather than during, meals.