Iron Rich Foods
All the talk about getting good nutrition and what is the easiest way to get a well balanced diet makes it easy to ignore another problem that can be easily corrected through proper nutrition. Iron deficiency is a common problem in women, but although it is rarer, men also need a small amount of iron in their diet. Supplements can be an easy source of this iron for those concerned, but some people prefer more natural solutions to bring iron into the diet. There are a variety of foods that can be incorporated into your diet easily enough so that you can avoid the need for supplements entirely.
Iron in foods can come in two forms, Heme Iron and Non-Heme iron. The difference is with the ease that the body absorbs these. Heme Iron occurs naturally in meats and is readily absorbed into the body. Non-Heme iron occurs in plants and is processed more slowly by the body. Eating either type will benefit the person who suffers from an iron deficiency, although the meat iron rich foods will yield results more quickly than plants that are iron rich foods.
If you are not a vegetarian, iron rich foods in the meat category are the best thing to consume to prevent conditions related to an iron deficiency. Liver is perhaps the best known example of an iron rich food in this category, but many people do not like it and pregnant women are advised against eating. Other meats that are iron rich foods are clams, oysters, pork liver, chicken liver, and mussels. Of course if those don't appeal to you, there are other iron rich foods in the meat group that have a lesser amount of iron but are still good sources for it. These foods include beef, shrimp, sardines, and turkey. With the exception of the sardines, the latter group is tastier.
If you do not eat meat, you will still benefit from eating iron rich foods, although you will be taking in non-heme iron. Before you can incorporate these foods into your diet, you must first now what they are. Excellent sources are breakfast cereals, cooked beans and lentils, pumpkin seeds and blackstrap molasses. Of course, if you are looking for good sources, you can start adding the follow iron rich foots into y our diet: canned beans, baked potatoes with skin, enriched pasta, or canned asparagus.
Just remember that too much iron in your diet is not any better than too little. Be sure to take in enough irons by eating the iron rich foods or supplements if that is your choice so as to not suffer from an iron deficiency. Just remember to take everything in moderation, as the Ancient Greeks suggested. Remember also that meats that are iron rich foods allow the iron to be more easily absorbed by the body than the plants that are iron rich foots.
