How to Choose Iron-Rich Vegetables

If you're a vegetarian, you may be concerned about getting enough iron. Here are some iron rich vegetable sources to add to your diet.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. There are many health benefits associated with adopting a vegetarian diet, but it can be a challenge getting enough iron, particularly if you’re a pre-menopausal female. Although too much iron has been correlated with an increased risk of heart disease, too little can be associated with iron deficiency anemia, fatigue, and low energy levels. If you’re concerned about getting enough iron in your diet and you don’t eat meat, there are still a variety of vegetarian options available to help increase your iron stores. Here are some iron rich foods for vegetarians.

2. Legumes
   
   Legumes of all types, including beans, peas, and lentils, are one of the richest plant based sources of iron. Soybeans, kidney beans, and lentils stand out from the crowd as excellent iron rich foods. Enjoy them in the form of bean burgers, as tasty side dishes, on salads, or as a fiber rich addition to soups. They’re a good source of resistant starch which means you’ll feel full longer.

3. Green Leafy Veggies
   
   Popeye was right when he opened that can of spinach to get superhuman strength and energy. A one cup serving of spinach has around 6 mg. of iron, but it isn’t the only green, leafy vegetable that’s rich in this important mineral. Swiss chard, beet greens, turnip greens, and collard greens are other leafy sources of iron. Add these greens to your salads, soups, and sandwiches and you may feel stronger and more energetic just like Popeye.

4. The Importance of Vitamin C
   
   Although these two classes of iron rich foods are superior to other vegetables, the cruciferous vegetables offer iron related benefits since they’re high in vitamin C. Vitamin C helps to promote iron absorption so that the iron taken in can be better utilized by the body. For this reason, it’s important to add fruits and vegetables that are high in vitamin C to maximize iron absorption. It’s been shown that iron absorption can be enhanced by up to six times in the presence of vitamin C. Although spinach and Swiss chard may seem like the obvious choice when it comes to an iron rich vegetable, they’re also high in oxalate which can bind to the available iron and make it unusable by the body.

5. Vegetarian sources of iron are usually less readily absorbed than meat based iron sources which means that vegetarians, particularly pre-menopausal females, should have a slightly higher iron intake than non-vegetarians. Fortunately, these foods eaten along with foods rich in vitamin C can go far towards maintaining healthy iron stores and preventing iron deficiency anemia.