By: Hannah Doerr – Gleaners Nutrition Education Team
Iron is an essential nutrient for our bodies. Most of the iron in our body is found in a protein called hemoglobin, which is a protein found in our red blood cells. These red blood cells help carry oxygen throughout our bodies.
Iron is not made in the body, and it must be obtained from our diets. There are two types of iron in foods: heme and non-heme iron. Heme iron is found in some animal products such as red meat, poultry, and pork. Heme iron is most easily absorbed by our bodies. Non-heme iron is not as easily absorbed by the body. Plant foods are typically high in this type of iron. Some sources of non-heme iron include: greens, breakfast cereals fortified with iron, breads and pasta, tofu, beans, dried fruit, and eggs.
Our bodies don’t absorb 100% of the iron in the foods we eat, especially the non-heme iron from plant foods. One way to enhance our bodies absorption of iron is to consume vitamin C along with our iron sources. Vitamin C can be found in broccoli, citrus fruits, leafy greens, red and yellow peppers, strawberries, and tomatoes.
There are a multitude of ways to incorporate vitamin C into your iron-rich dishes! You can stir-fry lean meat pieces (like steak or chicken) with broccoli florets and red bell peppers, have a bowl of iron-fortified cereal with sliced strawberries on top, or make a salad of leafy greens (like spinach and kale) with oranges and grapefruit, black beans and sliced bell peppers.
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