Eating enough iron-rich foods is important for good health. You need to get enough of this trace element every day. Iron can be seen as one of the building blocks of your body.
By eating enough foods with iron, you prevent an iron deficiency. This keeps your physical and mental condition in top condition. But what exactly is iron-rich food and what types are there? In this article, we would like to answer those questions. In addition, we zoom in on what iron supplements can mean.
What is Iron Rich Food?
Many people have wondered what iron-rich foods are. The name logically already gives away somewhat that it concerns foods that contain a lot of iron.As described above, the micronutrient iron is a trace element. Many people assume that iron is a mineral, but that is not true.
Iron-rich foods naturally contain a lot of the trace element iron. By getting enough iron every day, you ensure that your health is supported positively. Ideally, you choose to eat natural foods with a lot of iron to meet the recommended daily allowance (RDA).
The recommended daily amount of iron depends on a person's age and gender. For example, eating enough iron-rich foods during pregnancy is crucial to ensure that the unborn child can develop properly. Are you curious about the types of foods with a lot of iron? Then read on quickly.
What types of iron-rich foods are there?
There are many different types of food containing the trace element iron. Below we describe several species that can be linked to the most iron-rich diet. That way you know which food to add to your diet when you need to remedy or prevent an iron deficiency. In addition, pregnant women benefit from it.
Five natural foods that contain the most iron are as follows:
- Liver
- Red meat
- Eggs
- Legumes (lentils)
- Spinach
Let's take a closer look at these five types of nutrition below. We will indicate the amount of iron per species, among other things. So after reading this article you will know exactly which foods you can add to your diet to get more iron.
1. Liver is Iron Rich Food
The liver is one of the foods that contain the most iron. After all, the liver naturally has a very high iron content.But exactly how much iron does the liver contain? That depends somewhat on the type of liver, but beef liver usually contains about 6.4 mg of iron per 100 grams.
This is about 35% of the recommended daily amount of iron.
2. Red meat contains a lot of iron
In addition, there is red meat, which contains a lot of iron. You can think of minced meat. As an iron-rich food, minced meat contains about 2.7 mg of iron per 100 grams. This is about 15% of the RDI for iron. Not only does red meat contain a lot of iron; it is also rich in many other essential nutrients. This type of meat also contains substances such as proteins, folic acid, and magnesium.
3 eggs
Eggs are also rich in the trace element iron. The beauty of eggs is that they are relatively easy to add to your diet. This way you can easily provide a salad with extra eggs so that you get more iron. But exactly how much iron does an egg contain? Well, a boiled egg typically contains 1.0 mg of iron. So it's not surprising that eggs can be related to the most iron-rich foods.
4. Legumes like lentils
The three foods above that are high in iron are not suitable for people with a vegan lifestyle. Fortunately, there are foods with iron that are suitable for them.For example, legumes naturally contain a lot of iron; no less than 5 mg iron per 100 grams! Lentils and other legumes are also packed with other good nutrients. Think of vitamins, zinc, and proteins.
5. Spinach
Finally, there is spinach, which should not be missing from this list of iron-rich foods. 100 grams of spinach contains about 3.5 mg of iron. This applies to cooked spinach. And so it can be concluded that spinach contains a lot of iron and is ideal for people who want to get extra of this trace element. By eating spinach and other foods with a lot of iron a few times a week, you can ensure that you will not develop an iron deficiency.
Using Iron Supplements
In this article, you have read that iron-rich foods are preferable when it comes to enriching your diet with the trace element iron. However, in some cases, it is necessary to take iron supplements; for example, if you have an iron deficiency or during pregnancy.Suppose that an iron deficiency has been diagnosed by a medical specialist, he or she will most likely advise you to (temporarily) buy and use an iron supplement. In this way, you can quickly combat the respective deficiency of this trace element and prevent or reduce iron deficiency symptoms.
Iron supplements do not replace a healthy and varied diet consisting of natural types of iron-rich foods. These iron supplements should therefore only be used to supplement your diet. Are you considering buying a dietary supplement with iron? Please discuss this with a nutritionist or your doctor first.