Foods with iron

[aquachick]

Does anyone know what kind of foods have a lot of iron in them? I am told to eat more, what does iron do for you exactly?

[ANUSHIKA]

Spinach has a lot but Liver is the best bet it has loads of iron in, however it isn't the nocest meal in the world hope this helps.

[5029]

red meat, esp liver, broccoli

[chijiki]

Many foods contain iron. The best is liver. Others high in iron are organ meats (kidneys, heart etc) chicken, eggs, fish, green leafy vegetables, whole grain breads & cereals, and nuts. Iron is important in your diet because it's major role is involved with the production of red blood cells. Lack of iron causes anemia resulting in fatigue, paleness, shortage of breath and possibly heart palpitations. Iron deficiency will also lead to you having lowered resistance to infection, becoming apathetic and irritable.

[Squirrel]

The recommended dail allowance 9rda0 of iron is around 0.01g for men, and 0.015g for women. This is such a tiny amount that it might be worth just sprinkling a few iron filings onto your food before you eat it. I doubt it would taste much different; the only problem there might be with that is if it would be absorbed by the body or not.

[Gef]

Cornflakes actually contain very fine iron filings. If you gring up Cornflakes you can extract the iron with a magnet. The iron can be absorbed into the bloodstream because it dissolves in the acid in the stomach. By the way, lamb's liver sliced very thinly, tossed in seasoned flour and lightly fried is, in my opinion (and Delia's) just as good as fillet steak.

[chijiki]

Gef, I have to question your statement that cornflakes contain iron filings that you can extract with a magnet. I find this very hard to believe. Can you (pretty please) provide some evidence of this. Maybe a web link. If you are right I'll eat my cornflake box.

[Gef]

to chijiki, it's a holiday weekend, I'm at home and so don't have access to my original source for this. Don't eat your Cornflake box just yet but I can assure you that it's true and the experiment works. I'll get back to you on Tuesday.

[anthomson]

Have just tried this with my son's magnet and NO iron filings. Think I will write a letter of complaint to Kelloggs. PS My wife now thinks I am mad.

[anthomson]

Spinach's reputation as being extremely high in iron is apparently due to a misplaced decimal point in test results made at the turn of the last century. For a long time people believed it contained 10 times more iron than it actually does. Its reputation was of course further enhanced by Popeye.

[jak108]

I am a vegetarian, so I had to get "informed" as to what things were best for me to eat re: iron. Yes spinach is one, but if you don't cook it with something like tomatoes then the iron doesn't come out. There is more iron in strawberries than there'll ever be in meat and you don't get the "additives and extra hormones" they now put in meats - not to mention the dyes!! Grapes are another good source of iron as is brocalli - and the best source being leafy green veges!!! Lots of them. Like anything BALANCE is the key.

[cucumbers]

acccording to my current wife there is lots of iron in red wine ! She had major surgery earlier this year and lost loads of blood but did not need a transfusion . She did however lose about a third of her iron count and through some research with nursey type friends discovered this to be true. Spinach as jak 108 says contains loads but getting it out is a different matter.

[treaclefight]

the importance of spinach... you can have as much iron as you want in your diet but you need the vitamins that are in leafy green veg (SPINACH, cabbage, broccoli...) in order to absorb the iron otherwise it will just go straight through your digestive system without benefitting you at all. this is why you must eat up your greens, its a waste of time eating the rest if you dont. :-)

[aloha]

Other responses are quite good. I would just add that you can also find iron in beans, dried fruits and other fortified cereals. You can also cook in a cast-iron pan. What iron does for you,as is stated, is to help you produce red blood cells. What the red blood cells do is carry OXYGEN to all of the other cells. Please stay in touch with your doctor, as iron deficiency CAN be a signal that something else is going on. Also, you probably don't need to worry if you have a low amount of iron in your blood, but others should be aware that too much of iron supplements(pills or potions) can harden the arteries and heart.