Vegetable Non-Heme Iron Bioavailability | Vegetables Sources Of Iron
Non-Heme Iron Is A Reliable Source Of Iron In Combination With Vitamin C
There are two forms of iron in our food, heme iron and non-heme iron. Meat contains heme and non-heme iron, and plants only contain non-heme iron. Heme iron contains the hemeprotein, which allows it to be better absorbed by the body than heme-iron. This may appear to be a concern for plant based eaters – vegans since their diets only contain non-heme iron, but this is not necessarily so. Vegans who eat a well balanced diet eat foods that are high in iron, and the ratio per calorie is higher than that of meat. So even though non-heme iron is not absorbed as well as heme iron, a vegan and vegetarian diet offers higher amounts of iron equalling out the amount of iron that is bioavailable to the body.
Vegans and vegetarians also benefit that their diets that their are high in vitamin C. Vitamin C greatly increases absorption of non-heme iron, by binding with the non-heme iron and allowing it to reach the intestines so it can be absorbed into the bloodstream.
Recommended Daily Allowance Of Iron
The Food and Nutrition Board at the Institute of Medicine recommends the following:- Younger than 6 months: 0.27 milligrams per day (mg/day)
- 7 months to 1 year: 11 mg/day
- 1 to 3 years: 7 mg/day
- 4 to 8 years: 10 mg/day
- 9 to 13 years: 8 mg/day
- 14 to 18 years: 11 mg/day
- Age 19 and older: 8 mg/day
- 9 to 13 years: 8 mg/day
- 14 to 18 years: 15 mg/day
- 19 to 50 years: 18 mg/day
- 51 and older: 8 mg/day
- 14 to 18 years: 27 mg/day
- 19 to 30 years: 27 mg/day
- 31 and 50 years: 27 mg/day
- 14 to 18 years: 10 mg/day
- 19 to 30 years: 9 mg/day
- 31 and 50 years: 9 mg/day
Plant Based, Vegan, Vegetarian Sources For Iron
- Peaches, Dried (1 cup, halves): 6.5mg
- Spinach (1 cup): 6.4 mg
- Spirulina (1 tsp): 5 mg
- Pumpkin seeds (1 ounce): 4.2 mg
- Sesame Seeds (1 ounce): 4.12mg
- Quinoa (4 ounces): 4 mg
- Swiss Chard (1 cup cooked): 3.96mg
- White beans (1/2 cup) 3.9 mg
- Pears, Dried (1 cup, halves): 3.78mg
- Blackstrap molasses (1 tbsp): 3.5 mg
- Prune juice (8 ounces): 3 mg
- Lentils (4 ounces): 3 mg
References:
Iron Content of Common Foods
Ferralet 90
The Food and Nutrition Board at the Institute of Medicine
